Actor Peter Lohmeyer has been a Schalke fan since childhood. After the game against Bayern, he spoke about the first half of the season, the change of coach and the prospects of staying in the league.
Actor Peter Lohmeyer (“Das Wunder von Bern”) has never made a secret of the fact that his heart belongs to FC Schalke 04. The Hamburg native has been a Schalke fan since he was six years old. He watched the game against FC Bayern Munich together with his son in the arena. Afterwards, he spoke to RevierSport about the game, the development of the Königsblauen and the prospects of staying in the league.
Mr Lohmeyer, what did you think of the game?
We didn’t play badly. But you can see that there is always too much respect against Bayern Munich. That was a bit of a shame, otherwise we could have taken something with us.
How do you assess the situation?
You can see a development. We took something with us from the Mainz game and you can see a change due to the coaching change. You can take Henning Matriciani as an example, who also put in a super performance against Bayern. I have the feeling that many have now arrived in the 1st division. And I also don’t think it’s too late to stay in the class.
You think Schalke can keep the league?
It would be stupid to say it’s already too late. There’s still more than half a season to play and a lot can still happen. The winter is about consolidating that. And I think Thomas Reis can do that with the team. I hope that in this winter break, which is pointless in all directions, with the players who are still injured now and who will then come back, we will put together a team that can then make it.
Should Schalke have reacted sooner to the change of coach?
The change of coach definitely came too late. They were too cautious. Frank Kramer was probably the wrong coach from the start. And perhaps Mr Reis should have shown the flag earlier. There were obviously talks. And in the summer they should have got down to business immediately. You simply need time to build up a team like that when you get to the first division. We probably gave away some important time. That’s not what fellow promoted Bremen did, but they didn’t have as many players leave in the summer either.
It seems as if you are burning for your S04 again, although you had even left the club in the meantime. Is that impression deceptive?
For me, the Schalke feeling was always there. But above all, it’s been stronger for me since the club restructured itself after Tönnies. That takes time and we don’t have to reach for the stars right away. For example, I also found the second league incredibly exciting and something like that also welds a club together. And we should continue to build calmly and take setbacks into account. Then we’ll come back again.