FC Schalke 04 Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!

Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04, is a professional German football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, the top flight of German football.

FC Schalke 04 Youth Development System

FC Schalke 04 Academy

Over 110 years of tradition, almost 160,000 club members, numerous unforgettable sporting successes, well-known players who were and are active for the club – all of this obliges the club as a whole to meet the highest demands on itself. Player. The goal is a large, public-friendly association, embedded in society and with social standards. The Knappenschmiede with its players, employees and teams takes this goal into account and makes a significant contribution to the best possible identification of fans and members with FC Schalke 04.

Development comes first

In all measures of the trainer, the young player and his optimal development always come first and at the center of all considerations and decisions. The main goal of the Knappenschmiede is to train as many talents as possible to become players who meet the highest standards (League 1). The junior division acts as an internal service provider for the licensed player department and ensures that young players are constantly strengthening the senior division. The concept of holistic training is to be pursued in order to combine competitive sport, school and professional training and personal development. At the same time, the individual advancement of the highly talented player is further promoted. The S04 has permanently professionalized and modernized the conditions in the junior segment in recent years. This is reflected in the improved level of training, both in terms of top and breadth. It is important to raise the level conceptually and athletically.

Individual promotion concept

Highly talented players are increasingly drawn up into the next age group earlier, firstly to avoid being under-challenged and secondly to lead them to ever new, higher hurdles. This regulation applies after consultation with the trainer, both by the sports management and the chief scout as well as by the licensed players department. As a result, talented players should be able to prove themselves at the latest when they are older A-Juniors in the Regionalliga / U23. This is the only way to train talents up to the Bundesliga.

Target groups

In the basic and advanced area, FC Schalke 04 relies on a wide selection of players, especially from the U8 to the U11, who are recruited from the immediate vicinity of Gelsenkirchen. The aim is to avoid high fluctuation in these age ranges in order to train the players in the S04 over the long term and sustainably. Competitive sport and thus a detailed selection only begin in the U15 area. From this point onwards only external players should be recruited who belong to the state selection Westphalia or, with some reservations, Lower Rhine. For the most part, however, the team should be composed of their own.

In the U17 and U19, only DFB selected players should be signed as possible. If optimal and sensible accommodation is guaranteed, players from neighboring countries are included.

All trainers at the Knappenschmiede should meet the requirement profile of the age range they are responsible for. Therefore, they should have the best possible qualifications and also be willing to continue their education in addition to their work and to deal with new methods and approaches.

In the performance area, in which the focus is on introducing the players to the senior level, FC Schalke 04 relies on football teachers who are ideally also ex-professionals. The highest possible qualification for soccer coaches provides the foundation for professional and intensive support for talents. Former professionals can also act as role models that the team would like to emulate. They have a wealth of experience in all facets of competitive sport that they can impart to their players.

In order to create the optimal conditions for smooth processes in the sporting area, the Knappenschmiede demands the best possible qualifications and a high affinity for football from all employees in the administrative area. Here, too, there should be a willingness to continue to train and to continuously expand one’s knowledge in exchange with colleagues.

FC Schalke 04 Academy Training Structure

Basic Area Teams

In the basic area of ​​the Knappenschmiede, the three L’s (laugh-learn-achieve) are the quality criteria of all common moments on and next to the square. We focus on the individual player and their personal development. The natural joy and enthusiasm for playing football should be promoted and increased with an initial performance-oriented thought.In terms of method, we also orientate ourselves closely to the game in training, because “only through playing football do children learn to play football”. We have further developed our training structures and principles accordingly. In addition to the free game, which makes up a large part of the training, ball control and basic techniques including coordination are important contents of the exercise units. A positive personality development of the children is very important to us. With personal responsibility, freedom is created for one’s own experiences in order to enable real self-confidence. Teamwork and fairness education create a positive learning atmosphere in order to use the fun of the team sport soccer as a learning turbo for the learning progress of all children.

Construction Area Teams

The transition from the basic to the advanced area means the step from the small to the large field. The training measures must be adapted accordingly. The child and youth training is not a reduced adult training. The development-based training has its own independent, methodical training principles with constantly increasing performance requirements. In terms of content, our players are trained in a variety of ways and at the highest level. The focus of training in the age groups U12 to U14 is not only technical training and individual and group tactical basics, but also free play. The aim is to ensure that our teams are permeable regardless of age group and to develop the player as best as possible to the level of the next year level. For us, one of the central building blocks in the development area is the individual advancement of our players in the sporting, but also in the personal area. The starting point is the individual footballing and biological development level of the player.

Performance Area Teams

The jump from the U15 regional league to the U17 Bundesliga is a big one, because this transition marks the step into competitive football. Since the 2012/2013 season there has been a U16 at FC Schalke 04 again, so that the step into the performance area is a little easier. In terms of content, the focus is shifted from the technical to the tactical area. The aim is an optimal training of all players within the two years in the B-youth, so that as many of them as possible succeed in the step into the next age group.

Transition Area Teams

In the U19 Bundesliga, the focus is on introducing the players to senior football from a technical and, above all, tactical point of view. Instead of group tactical elements, complex team tactical issues come to the fore. Together with the U23 team, the U19s represent the last stage of football training. Both act as a link between the junior division and the professional squad and are therefore referred to as the “transition area”. Players who play in these teams should, if possible, be trained for the professional team. At least training and play in these teams should serve as a stepping stone for the players into paid football. The transition area represents a prominent point in the training of young players. This is where it is decided where the path leads: into paid football or into a “normal” professional life. In this age range, it is all the more important to have optimal support and advice for the players. Orientation talks support this process.

Above-average players from the U19 age group are used after internal consultation with the U23 or with the professionals in training and match operations. U23 players are also tested in the training of the licensed team. If necessary, the U23 also serves to give the players of the licensed squad playing practice. In order to guarantee a smooth process and to coordinate load parameters, the exchange of all those involved is extremely important. This process is supported by the database in which all of the players’ training data are entered.

FC Schalke 04 Academy Boarding School

Every season, foreign players take advantage of the opportunity to live in one of the club’s own boarding schools. Both buildings are only a stone’s throw away from the Schalke club area.

The possibility of living at Schalke is basically aimed at players between the ages of 16 and 19 who are too far away from Gelsenkirchen to travel to training every day.

In the club’s own boarding school, they receive all the help from experienced supervisors that young people of that age need to survive the separation from their families unscathed and thus receive optimal support in their personal and sporting development in a difficult phase of their life.

Pedagogical and psychological support in school age is guaranteed by the DFB elite school “Comprehensive School Berger Feld” and the experienced teachers working there.

FC Schalke 04 Academy Recruitment & Trials

Young Talent Day

Many young footballers dream of one day playing for FC Schalke 04 in the colors blue and white. That is why the club launched the Young Talent Days a few years ago.

These are held on the training grounds of the cooperation partners of the Knappenschmiede and offer the young players in the age groups U7 to U12 a unique opportunity to prove their skills under the eyes of the scouts and young trainers.

For all other ages, please contact FC Shalke 04 directly in regards to boarding school information or scouting.

FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 eV
Knappenschmiede
Ernst-Kuzorra-Weg 1
45891 Gelsenkirchen

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: 0209 | 3618-3160 Fax
: 0209 | 3618-149
Email: nachwuchs@schalke04.de

FC Schalke 04 Academy News

Please come back to this page while we monitor this club or click here to visit their academy news for up-to-date information.

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FC Schalke 04 History

Schalke is a German football club that was established in 1904 and has gone on to win seven German titles, five DFB-Pokals, one DFL-Supercup, and one UEFA Cup. In 1937, Schalke was also successful in becoming the first German club to win both the Bundesliga and the Cup. Since 2001, Schalke’s stadium has been the Veltins-Arena.

The term “Revierderby” is used to refer to matches between Schalke and Borussia Dortmund, who are both based in the Ruhr region of Germany. This rivalry has been going on for a very long time and is considered to be among the most widespread and well-known rivalries in German football. In the UEFA club rankings for the year 2020, Schalke was ranked as the 31st-best football team in Europe. In the UEFA club rankings for the year 2015, Schalke was ranked as the 7th-best team.

As of the month of August 2014, Schalke had an operational income of $64.4 million, which is equivalent to £38.2 million (or €48 million), making it the seventh-highest of any football club. Additionally, the club had 0% debt. In addition, Schalke has the 14th-highest annual revenue of any football club, coming in at “$265.6 million” or “£157.8 million” (€198 million). Schalke 04 were named by Forbes magazine as the 14th-most valuable football club in May of 2014. Their value was estimated to be “£355 million or $599 million (€446 million)”, which represented a rise of 16 percent from the previous year.

Stadium

Arena AufSchalke is an indoor football stadium that is currently known as Veltins-Arena due to sponsorship reasons. It is located in Gelsenkirchen, which is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

It was inaugurated on August 13, 2001, and it served as the new stadium for the Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04.

It was the site of the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2004, as well as five matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including one of the quarterfinals. During league matches, it can accommodate a total of 62,271 people (standing and seated), whereas for international matches, it can only accommodate 54,740 people (seated). The roof of the stadium may be retracted, and the playing surface can also be lowered. Veltins, a brewery in Germany, purchased the rights to use their name in connection with the stadium on July 1, 2005.