Marcin Kaminski is back in demand at Schalke 04. He was in the starting line-up in Ulm, and the Royal Blues didn’t concede a goal.
Marcin Kaminski should have resigned himself to the fact that his time at FC Schalke 04 would come to a quiet end in the background. He will celebrate his 33rd birthday in January and his contract expires in June 2025. All three S04 coaches this season, Karel Geraerts, Jakob Fimpel, and Kees van Wonderen, have mainly relied on other, younger center backs alongside defensive leader Tomas Kalas.
Kaminski had already been stripped of the vice-captaincy in the summer amid heavy criticism from fans. “What happened before the season wasn’t easy for me. But I’m a professional footballer and I have to respect that. And I have,” he said. And now he’s even back in demand.
Kaminski is Schalke’s longest-serving player after Michael Langer and is playing his fourth season in royal blue. No one in the current squad has played more for Schalke than him – 80 games and eight goals. But this season, others were in demand: Ibrahima Cissé, for example, who is now out with illness and has been sent to the U23s by Fimpel.
The young newcomers Felipe Sanchez and Martin Wasinski are not up to the current crisis. Henning Matriciani (Mannheim) and Leo Greiml (Breda) have been loaned out. Now Kaminski is playing: “Sometimes I played, sometimes I didn’t. Now I’m back. And I have to seize my chance.”
Before the DFB Cup match against Augsburg, his record looked bleak: he had only started two of eleven competitive games, had been brought on late twice and otherwise sat on the bench. In Augsburg, he defended alongside Kalas – until he was substituted in the 58th minute. The score was still 0-1, and the goal had been made possible by a mistake on the pitch. In Ulm (0-0), the defense organized by Kalas and Kaminski kept a clean sheet. Kalas and he complement each other well, both are experienced – and while Kalas’ strengths lie in heading and tackling, Kaminski also has qualities in building up play with a good left foot. “We can’t say that Ulm was good, but it was a small step forward that we didn’t concede a goal. We have quality up front, we have to put the guys in situations where they can score goals,” Kaminski explained.
The former Polish international is valued at the club for his calm manner. But is he also in demand as a leader, even though he is no longer vice-captain? There have been few leaders on the pitch recently. “I know I have to take responsibility, I’m the second oldest. That’s definitely an area where we can do more,” he said. Especially when he’s back on the pitch himself.
However, Kaminski is not universally popular with Schalke fans. His declining speed due to age is the main point of criticism – and indeed, Kaminski often looks poor against fast opponents as he no longer wins sprint duels. But he is not slower than two of his young rivals – figures from bundesliga.de confirm the impressions from training: Kaminski reached a top speed of 31.18 km/h, while Sanchez, who got more playing time in the second division, only reached 30.89 km/h. Martin Wasinski even only reached 28.5 km/h.
Schalke faces Jahn Regensburg on Sunday
Marcin Kaminski – still an underrated leader? Or is he a has-been and proof that sporting director Ben Manga’s squad policy isn’t working? One thing is certain: he has a good chance of being in the starting line-up against Jahn Regensburg on Sunday (1:30 p.m./Sky). “We’ll go out there and give it our all to get the fans behind us and take all three points,” Kaminski promises.