Schalke 'miracle man' Roberto di Matteo has turned things around ahead of Champions League clash with Real Madrid
Wednesday 18 February 2015 10:48, UK
Roberto di Matteo will be eyeing a shock Champions League win over Real Madrid on Wednesday, but it's in the Bundesliga that he has won over the Schalke fans. Adam Bate talks to the club's sporting director to find out why Di Matteo is now being called a 'miracle man' in Germany...
"I don't think anyone's been able to calm things down at this club in 100 years."
When the unflappable figure of Roberto di Matteo breezed into Gelsenkirchen, he'd heard all the stories. Schalke. Only happy when in permacrisis. This is the club that German football writer Raphael Honigstein once called a "basket case". It's not an obvious fit for the suave and sophisticated Di Matteo and, despite being fluent in German, he soon discovered there was much to learn.
Speak to Sky Deutschland reporter David Marcour and the picture becomes clearer. "He said in his first press conference that he knew what kind of club Schalke is," Marcour told Sky Sports. "But he didn't. He'd seen the stadium and he'd seen the 60,000 people cheering but he didn't know what was in store for him. At Schalke, you really need someone who is committed to the club.
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"It's a special region of Germany, the western part of the country. It's hard-working people. You don't need a suit-up guy, which Di Matteo actually is, but he changed after a few games. He changed from a suit to a tracksuit as a sign to the fans. He was saying, 'I am one of your guys and I am committed'. So he developed."
Clearly, Di Matteo has had to think on his feet. Expectations will always be high at Schalke but this is a team that had picked up only eight points from seven games under his predecessor Jens Keller. Rivals Borussia Dortmund provided the story that resonated beyond the Ruhr but even they were only a point behind Schalke at that stage.
However, while Jurgen Klopp's men have stuck to their principles and saw the problems mount, the more malleable Di Matteo made the necessary changes. As well as getting through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Schalke have since picked up 26 points from 14 Bundesliga games to force their way up to fourth in the table.
Most obviously, Di Matteo has succeeded in getting the team organised and compact. Although there was a 5-0 home defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League, a result that Schalke general manager Horst Heldt called "embarrassing", not least for Di Matteo against his former employers, the improvement in the Bundesliga has been marked.
After conceding 12 goals in the first seven games, Schalke have let in just 11 in the last 14 under Di Matteo. Prior to Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, Arjen Robben's opener in the draw at Bayern Munich was the only goal they had conceded in seven hours of football. They go into Wednesday's tie against Real Madrid having kept three consecutive clean sheets on home turf.
Cautious
Not everyone has been sure about this cautious approach. In fact, it's a risky strategy in front of a demanding crowd and within an opinionated dressing room. "We have to show more willingness to go forward," Klaas-Jan Huntelaar told Kicker in November, while skipper Benedikt Howedes admitted Schalke "could have been braver" against 10-man Bayern earlier this month.
But Di Matteo has maintained his principles and enjoyed some vindication against Borussia Monchengladbach last time out at the Veltins-Arena. Having lost 4-1 away in September, in a game Huntelaar admitted could have seen Gladbach score 10, Schalke produced a more composed performance to win 1-0 and briefly move third. Now Heldt is calling Di Matteo the "miracle man".
It's a particularly encouraging turnaround, given the issues the new coach has had to deal with since taking over. Injuries have been a major problem, with star player Julian Draxler unavailable for much of the season and Di Matteo even having to call upon third-choice goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther in the draw at the Allianz Arena. He has found a way to make it work.
Gerhard Zuber, Schalke's sporting director, is a man clearly satisfied by the progress. He acknowledges the unusual fit of the cosmopolitan Di Matteo and the blue-collar club but does not see it as an issue. "Of course, we're a working-class club and the spectators are a little bit different to other clubs in Europe but when you're successful, everybody loves you," Zuber told Sky Sports.
"Things are going well. We have a lot of injury problems but we are fighting hard and he has impressed me lot. We'd been in contact in the past since he left Chelsea and I think he's a very intelligent coach who is tactically flexible. And as a human being, he's a very nice guy. I love him and it's a lot of fun working together.
"He has changed a lot of things. First of all, he has changed our system. We are tactically variable at the moment and trying a new system. We are playing a 3-5-2. He changed, of course, because of our massive injury problems and he was thinking of how to get the best system with the best players. When you have the players for that system, then you have to play it.
"We are more confident in our defence and we don't concede so many goals. That's the biggest reason for our form right now, because our defence is doing so well." The ultimate test of that defence comes when Real visit this week. Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest will look to run riot as they did on their previous visit to Germany back in April when Bayern were humbled 4-0 in Munich.
But regardless of what happens over two legs against the Champions League holders, that's not what Di Matteo will be judged on. "It would be a gift if we could make the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season," added Zuber. "But against Real Madrid, that's going to be very hard because they are one of the best teams right now.
"The main target is very simple. We have to be in the top four at the end of the season. We have to qualify for the Champions League. We are on a good run now and since Robbie came in, we've averaged two points per game so if we can stay on this course, then we will reach this goal."
It remains to be seen whether that form can be maintained and while Di Matteo will surely be aware of the priorities, he also knows strange things can happen once you reach the Champions League knockout stages. His Chelsea team saw off holders Barcelona in unlikely circumstances in 2012 and there are some signs football's 'miracle man' might just have another shock in store.
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