Kees van Wonderen has exuded a lot of confidence since his announcement as the new coach of FC Schalke 04, but he has by no means presented himself as a “magician”.

“I’m no Harry Potter, we can’t do magic, we can’t make what we want to see at the end possible in a short time. But we’re going to work on it, and we want to take a step every day,” the Dutchman said in an interview with Schalker Vereins-TV.

Van Wonderen, who is still largely unknown in Germany and has signed a contract until 2026, also gave insights into his style as a coach. “I’m challenging,” said the 55-year-old, who demands that players “do everything they can to get better every day,” van Wonderen explained.

But he can also be “quiet, I can be analytical, but I can also be emotional when necessary. I always say I’m an open book. What I see, I say to you.”

Van Wonderen, who played as a defender primarily for Feyenoord Rotterdam, had already followed the 2-2 draw against Hertha BSC on Saturday in the stadium – in the executive box of Gelsenkirchen. So far, the Dutchman has been particularly successful in the youth sector – as in 2018, when he won the European Championship with the Oranje U18s. He has only been on the sidelines in club football since 2020 – initially with Go Ahead Eagles from Deventer, then with SC Heerenveen.

With the Schalke team, which is in 13th place with eight points after eight match days, van Wonderen now has two weeks to prepare for his competitive debut on October 19 at Hannover 96 due to the international match period. “I can’t say right now that everything will be ready in three weeks and then it will work out. Maybe we need more time, maybe it will be faster. We never know, we can’t predict that,” said van Wonderen.