Mike Büskens has reacted to the Schalke exit of his long-time colleague Gerald Asamoah. He tells an anecdote from the promotion year.
It was the expected bombshell that FC Schalke 04 announced on Friday: club legend Gerald Asamoah is no longer needed at the Royal Blues. The head of the licensed player department will not receive a new contract and will have to leave in the summer.
This had already been indicated, but for many Schalke fans and Asamoah himself, the separation is still a low blow. “It will be hard to get up in the morning and soon no longer go to Schalke,” said Asamoah in a video message.
A long-time companion also spoke out at the weekend. Co-coach Mike Büskens wrote an emotional text on Instagram to bid Asamoah farewell. The two worked together for many years at Schalke 04 and Greuther Fürth. “Sometimes it’s just time to say ‘THANK YOU’,” Büskens opened his message. Asamoah had “quickly become a very good friend”.
Büskens praises Asamoah’s qualities, which he brought to the pitch as a player. Thanks to him, he won the DFB Cup twice with Schalke and almost became German champion in 2001. Above all, “Asa’s” physical strength was special. “As a teammate, I thought I was running into a wall in some training duels. As a defender, you normally distribute pain, but in the duels with you it was the other way around.”
In 2022, the two celebrated Schalke’s promotion to the Bundesliga together. Büskens had taken over the team as coach in the second half of the season, while Asamoah supported him as head of the licensed player department with the then sports director Rouven Schröder. Büskens provides an anecdote from the promotion year. Asamoah and assistant coach Matthias Kreutzer surprised “Buyo” on his birthday. “I’ll never forget how you and Matze Kreutzer stood outside my room before the Hannover game to toast my birthday with me. Our conversation back then was the foundation for an incredible second half of the season and the team’s return to the top. That hour together says so much about two fantastic people like Matze and you.”
Schalke future of Mike Büskens open
The decision in the case of Asamoah has already been made. It remains to be seen what will happen to Büskens after the current season. His contract also expires at Schalke. Büskens has fixed tasks in Karel Geraerts’ coaching staff and works closely with the young players. Geraerts will probably also have a say in the decision. Head of sport Marc Wilmots did not want to comment on this personnel matter in an interview with this editorial team. “As long as we don’t know which league we’ll be playing in next season, we won’t talk about the future of individuals. “