FC Schalke 04 goes down in the cup at TSG Hoffenheim, the performance of the promoted team is just as devastating as the result. Coach Frank Kramer says, “It doesn’t get any worse than that.” Now the future of the wobbling coach is being discussed even more intensively.
Schalke’s sports director Rouven Schröder avoided clear statements about the sporting future of coach Frank Kramer after the desolate performance in the DFB Cup at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. “I don’t want to talk about personal details at all,” said Schröder after the 1: 5 on Tuesday evening in the second round of the cup in Sinsheim. “Frank Kramer is a poor dog. Who wants to trade places with him right now.” In the hotel, both would now “give each other their opinion”.
Kramer said he didn’t feel let down. “That’s always the question. I’m part of the team. I’m just assuming that the players have been run over for whatever reason. The most important thing is FC Schalke 04,” said Kramer after the 1: 5 on Tuesday evening in the second round of the cup in Sinsheim. “It was indisputably the worst performance of the season, it doesn’t get any worse than that.”
Immediately after the fifth competitive defeat in a row, it was unclear whether Kramer would still be on the bench for the Royal Blues in Sunday’s game at Hertha BSC. When asked if he believed there was a chance of playing against the Berliners, Kramer replied: “To everyone’s surprise, there wasn’t an exchange yet.”
It was only at the weekend after a 3-0 loss in the Bundesliga duel with TSG Hoffenheim that Kramer’s replacement was discussed intensively. In a first reaction after the game, Schröder did not want to give “any guarantees”. “We will do our analysis. And we will act out of conviction,” Schröder continued. Somewhat surprising was the result of the analysis, initially wanting to continue with the hapless Kramer. With six points from ten games, Schalke 04 is 17th in the table, two points ahead of VfL Bochum and two points behind Hertha BSC in the top non-relegation zone.
With Thomas Reis, who was recently dismissed from VfL Bochum, there is already a trainer on hold who had probably already been traded as a hot candidate for Kramer’s job. Club legend Mike Büskens secured the climb as interim coach in a brilliant final sprint. However, after the successful completion of its mission, the former “Eurofighter” resigned to the second rank as agreed.
