Schalke’s new sporting director Marc Wilmots has arrived at the training camp in Albufeira. How he sees his tasks and thinks about S04.
Marc Wilmots has put on a few kilos, but compared to his career as a player, which earned him the nickname “Willi, the fighting pig” at FC Schalke 04, he has hardly changed.
The Belgian is now 54 years old, but his French accent, his alpha-male charisma and his clear words remain. Wilmots traveled to the second division club’s training camp in Albufeira on Friday – as the new sporting director.
In the middle of the season, Schalke, who crashed to 14th place in the second division, have reorganized their organization chart – as a reaction to the completely botched first half of the season. Matthias Tillmann is the new chairman of the board, sports director Peter Knäbel left the club on January 1 and the previous sports director André Hechelmann was demoted to technical director.
The new figurehead is Wilmots, who has been one of the club’s greatest heroes since 1997. He scored the decisive penalty in the UEFA Cup final.
Schalke: Marc Wilmots has never worked as a sports director before
The Schalke that Wilmots left in 2003 was a different one. The arena had just been built, manager Rudi Assauer was all-powerful. There was plenty of money and the club’s long-term prospects were international. Even after his time at Schalke, Wilmots had international ambitions, working as Belgian national team coach with stars such as Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.
Now his sentences sound different. “The whole club must have the ambition to return to the Bundesliga within the next two years,” said Wilmots, for example. And about transfers in the winter transfer period: “I will look at the financial possibilities. If we don’t have any, we’ll continue with the squad we have.” Instead of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, he is now working with Henning Matriciani and Lino Tempelmann.
But can it really work with Wilmots? He has never worked as a sports director or squad planner, only as a coach. Schalke coach Karel Geraerts, also a Belgian, need not fear for his job. “I have signed a three-year contract as sports director. So I’ll remain sporting director for three years,” said Wilmots – another clear statement, which he even underlined: ”We’ve had so many coaches in recent years – I want stability.”
Schalke legends Asamoah and Büskens on the brink of retirement
However, the restructuring could mean the end for two former teammates who, like him, are Schalke legends. The contracts of head coach Gerald Asamoah and assistant coach Mike Büskens end on June 30, 2024, and their current duties have been divided between Wilmots and Hechelmann. Will they both have to leave?
This decision would not be easy for Schalke, but Wilmots did not allow himself to be sentimental, even though he used the duo’s nicknames: “I will speak to Asa and Buyo as soon as possible. There will be clarity. No lies.” All decisions are not about individuals, he said. “It’s all about FC Schalke 04.”
Matthias Tillmann put it in similar terms. The 41-year-old introduces himself to the professional team in Albufeira, but enjoys the fact that he can leave the spotlight to Wilmots. “When you make structural changes, you do it from the top. That’s what we did,” said Tillmann. “That can then also lead to changes underneath.” Schalke is far from finished with the restructuring of the club
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