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It's hard to believe, but Schalke 04 are currently in good shape. The club, which was once considered notoriously excited, is located at the upper end of the mood scale, in contrast to Borussia Dortmund. The fact that the BVB is placed before the rival in the table before the derby on Saturday (15.30 clock, live ticker SPIEGEL), amused almost a bit in view of the black and yellow dislocations.
David Wagner demanded for the blue and white side: "We have to free ourselves as much as possible of euphoria and emotionality." Schalke coach had stoked the euphoria during the week. "I have to be careful that my hair does not stick to my neck, if only I talk about it," Wagner had said with regard to the Derby. Such sets like Schalke fans, such sentences BVB fans wanted by their coach Lucien Favre.
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But the Swiss is alienating in the Ruhr area, because he is always free from emotions. David Wagner, on the other hand, understands what is required there apart from the technical quality. His advantage is that he once played for Schalke. He was a "Eurofighter", won the 1997 Uefa Cup with the Royal Blues. Therefore, he was called "Schalke" at BVB, where he coached the second team between 2011 and 2015.
Wagner understood that the two clubs are also of great importance for those people in the two cities who do not go to the stadium, do not buy jerseys, do not know every player.
Dampen expectations without staggering
Torsten Wieland is a fan of the Royal Blues. His sober view of the club, which he once set out in a much-noticed blog and today in social networks, is also appreciated in the club. "Schalke does not have a perfect team, but at all a team again," wrote Wieland after the 0: 2 in Hoffenheim.
The fans follow the path of the small steps. Wagner takes her.
It dampens expectations without stacking. He names deficits without offending players. He finds a base formation and gives the replacement players the feeling of belonging to the team, although they mostly sit outside only. Both center-backs Matija Nastasic, who has been a regular for many years, and Ozan Kabak, who has lost 15 million euros, are in this group. For players like Amine Harit, Wagner made for a leap in performance, Omar Mascarell is again on the level that made him so valuable at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Boris Streubel / Getty Images
Harit (v.) Was eight times this season in the starting eleven, scoring four goals and two assists
"The guys know very well that we want to tackle the thing as a group, I can not ask everyone to be responsible for everything, but then not try to take everyone with them," Wagner said about his style of teambuilding.
In the long term, only the results count
The abilities of the trainer in communication, also to the outside, should be particularly appreciated by Jochen Schneider. The sports director can act as a strategist mostly in the background, as it is his plan.
Schneider had already said at his presentation that he wanted to increase the staff around the crew to work more thoroughly. The role model is RB Leipzig, his previous employer.
In the club it is said that now actually made much - and well done - will, about which previously only been talked. Massimo Mariotti, for example, is an important factor. The 57-year-old is often described as an integration officer. He takes things from players, advises them, interprets, is also times the Kummerkasten. Mariotti is a puzzle piece, which is important for the good mood.
The club seems so solid compared to the disastrous preseason that even a derby defeat would not change it. However, in the long term, Wagner said, only the hard factors count: "Is there a club in which the mood does not depend on the results?"
