After a disastrous 2018/19 season, Schalke will be looking to the future under David Wagner with a certain degree of optimism. Die Königsblauen finished in a disappointing 14th place last season and at times were embroiled in a relegation battle as well. Domenico Tedesco was unable to turn results around and was sacked after a 7-0 defeat to Manchester City. He was replaced by Huub Stevens who managed to keep the side in the Bundesliga. Schalke’s new boss David Wagner had a difficult season himself, being sacked as Huddersfield’s coach and the Terriers being relegated. Wagner is still considered a tactically astute coach and is regarded by the Schalke hierarchy as the man to build a side and take the club forward. This tactical analysis aims to identify the issues they faced last season, how these can be corrected and what to expect from Wagner at Schalke.
Issues faced last season
Defensive problems
The majority of Schalke’s issues revolved around the use of a three-man defence. The most commonly utilized formation was a 3-5-2 while we also saw the use of a 3-4-3. This season preview aims to highlight the issues of the same.
A noticeable issue was the tendency of the wing-backs to over-commit themselves and leave the defence exposed. The constant change of personnel meant that Schalke lacked chemistry and cohesion, especially between the midfielders and defenders. In a defence which utilizes wing-backs, the role of midfielders in assisting the wing-backs defensively is very important. Schalke’s most frequently utilized wing-backs were Daniel Caligiuri and Bastian Oczipka, both of whom enjoy remaining higher up the pitch.
Schalke could have accommodated this had the midfielders been more proactive in their movement around the pitch. Schalke usually had players like Nabil Bentaleb, Sebastian Rudy and Omar Mascarell playing in midfield. All three are generally static central midfielders and when they formed the double-pivot in midfield, failed to provide the off-the-ball movement that such a formation would require. As a result, both the wing-backs were forced to overcompensate for the lack of support and leave the defence exposed. Schalke conceded, on average, 1.62 goals per game, a poor defensive record for a side looking to finish in a top-four spot. Schalke’s home record was disappointing as they won just 41% of their home matches and failed to score in 53% of their games played in the Veltins Arena.
