All information accurate as of August 18th, 2026.
Club Name: FC Schalke 04
Founded: 1904
Stadium: Veltins-Arena – 62,271 capacity
Nickname: Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues), Die Knappen (The Miners)
Titles: DFB-Pokal x5, DFL-Ligapokal x1, DFL-Supercup x1, UEFA Cup/Europa League x1
Head Coach: Miron Muslić
Captain: Kenan Karaman
Mascot: Erwin the Coal Miner
Goal Song: Horn followed by the original Schalke Torhymne
2025/26 Season: 1st in 2. Bundesliga (promoted)
Opening Fixture: Augsburg (A)
Into his first season in charge in the Bundesliga, Miron Muslić has developed a reputation for building defensively solid teams, albeit at the expense of being flashy in any way. Bosnian by birth, Muslić spent the majority of his career in Austria, and started coaching in two short stints in his adopted country. Muslić got his big break in Belgium with Cercle Brugge, bringing them back to European competition for the first time in 14 years.
In England, he is best known for his spell at Plymouth Argyle, which he began a month after being dismissed at Cercle Brugge. After setting his team up to be impenetrable, knocking the soon-to-be Premier League champions Liverpool out of the FA Cup, saving the club from relegation proved to be a step too far, despite making a real fist of it. The board wanted to keep him in post, but he had other ideas, signing for Schalke for the 2025/26 season to replace Kees van Wonderen who had the club finish down in 14th and only three points above the relegation playoff place.
Despite having a lot of work to do, Muslić delivered a defensive masterclass with just 31 goals conceded all season. With just 50 goals in the entire league campaign (two less than in 2024/25), they became the 2. Bundesliga champions with the fewest goals scored since Eintracht Frankfurt in 1997/98, who also scored 50. It’s now up to him to prove that he can translate the defensive form to the Bundesliga against much higher quality opposition.
Die Königsblauen have chosen not to reinvent the wheel this summer, which is probably for the best considering their ill-fated 2022/23 campaign, where they were relegated directly after their last promotion.
Senior reinforcements come in the shape of two juniors: Junior Adamu, Freiburg’s goal shy Austrian forward, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Junior Dina Ebimbe, both for €800k. Former Germany international Robin Gosens, now 32, comes in on loan from Fiorentina to play on the left, and Austrian international Max Wöber joins on a free from Leeds United after an injury-ravaged 2025/26 season on loan at Werder Bremen.
No major outgoings to report except for centre-back Felipe Sánchez who joins Santos Laguna on loan in Liga MX.
Legendary striker Edin Džeko finally put pen to paper on a contract extension on August 3rd. Having just captained Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup, the country that he is a bonafide icon with as record appearance maker and top scorer, Džeko took some time off to decide his future before committing to one more season. Now 40 years of age, his role on the pitch will reduce, but having won the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and the Premier League with Manchester City amongst numerous personal accolades, he knows better than anyone at the club what it takes to be a winner.
Robin Gosens is a significant addition to the club’s ranks and, along with goalkeeper Loris Karius, he is the most experienced player out of the starting XI options. He can play as a left-back, a left-winger, or even somewhere in between if Muslić switches to a back three. Last campaign with Fiorentina, despite not having his best year, he finished in the 87th percentile for interceptions, the 89th percentile for clearances, and the 79th percentile for touches in the opponent’s penalty area amongst left-sided players, showing that he can make an impact at both ends of the pitch. Having played 24 times for Germany, and featuring in the Champions League for Atalanta, Inter Milan and Union Berlin, his wealth of experience will be valuable to his teammates and his manager.
Do keep an eye out for the North African midfield duo of 24-year-olds, Adil Aouchiche and Soufian El-Faouzi. Aouchiche is an attack-minded Algerian that excelled since joining in January from Aberdeen, playing on the left of a midfield three. El-Faouzi is a Moroccan box-to-box player that finished in the 96th percentile for both chances created and interceptions in his debut 2. Bundesliga season after signing from Alemannia Aachen. He plays predominantly on the right of the trio with Ron Schallenberg playing the holding role.
Muslić may be dogmatic in his tactical plan, but he is more pragmatic than people give him credit for with formations and player selection. That does make it difficult to choose a specific XI, but I have a good feeling that this will be his default.
You don’t lose defensive stability overnight, so I’m putting Schalke in 10th. Muslić can grind out results even when it doesn’t look promising, and I think he has managed to stop the rot. Schalke are back for good.
1 - Bayern München
2 - Borussia Dortmund
3 - Bayer Leverkusen
4 - Eintracht Frankfurt
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 - Union Berlin
9 -
10 - Schalke
11 - Mainz
12 -
13 -
14 - Augsburg
15 - Borussia Mönchengladbach
16 -
17 - Köln
18 -
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.