More recently, VfL Bochum were threatened with a negative record after six early losses. Now FC Schalke are working on getting into the history books.
Saturday is the most important match of the Bundesliga Werder Bremen versus Schalke 04. From 6:30 pm it passes to S04 not just to make contact with the safe shore. It is also about avoiding a negative record that Karlsruher SC has held so far.
It concerns the series of away games not won in the Bundesliga. And here KSC managed not to win 35 consecutive Bundesliga games away from home between 21 February 1976 (3-1 at 1. FC Köln) and 21 February 1981 (2-1 in Düsseldorf). It took five years (1826 days) for the Karlsruher to be demoted in the middle as well.
And now, more than 41 years later, Schalke could reach the level this weekend. Miners failed to score three times abroad 34 times. Curious before the match on the Weser. The latest victory came in Bremen of all places.
Bremen: Pavlenka – Veljkovic, Sahin (54. Pizarro), Langkamp (85. Goller) – Gebre Selassie, Bargfrede (72. J. Eggestein), Augustinsson, M. Eggestein, Klaassen – Osako, Rashica – Coach Florian Kohfeldt
Schalke 04: Nübel – Kabak, Mascarell, Nastasic – Kenny, S. Serdar, Oczipka, Caligiuri, Uth (73rd McKennie), Harit (87th Burgstaller) – Raman (80th Matondo) – Coach David Wagner
Injustice: 0: 1 Harit (43.), 0: 2 Raman (53.), 1: 2 Osako (80.)
If that doesn’t bode well, then there aren’t any more. On 23 November 2019, S04 won 2-1 in Bremen – at that time with goals from Benito Raman and Amine Harit, the only Schalke player still officially employed by the Royal Blues.
Now – 1078 days later – Schalke must deliver, otherwise the only negative record threatens the new year. Because the next one, therefore the 36th away match, will be on 21 January 2023 (15:30) at Eintracht Frankfurt.
But even before the Bremen game, the signs are not the best. SVW striker Niclas Füllkrug alone has already collected as many scorers (nine goals, two assists) as all Schalke goals together (eleven). In addition, Schalke have to replace almost their entire defense, as well as long-time injured center-backs Marcin Kaminski, Leo Greiml, Sepp van den Berg and Ibrahima Cissé, left-back Thomas Ouwejan is now out as well. Timothée Kolodziejczak, who has just been signed, also had to jump against Freiburg due to muscle problems.
The players who gave Schalke their last away win in 2019 play here
Alexander Nübel (AS Monaco), Ozan Kabak (TSG Hoffenheim), Omar Mascarell (FC Elche), Matija Nastasic (RCD Mallorca), Jonjoe Kenny (Hertha BSC), Suat Serdar (Hertha BSC), Bastian Oczipka (Arminia Bielefeld), Daniel Caligiuri (FC Augsburg), Mark Uth (1. FC Köln), Amine Harit (Schalke / loaned to Olympique Marseille), Benito Raman (RSC Anderlecht), Rabbi Matondo (Glasgow Rangers), Guido Burgstaller (SK Rapid Wien) , Weston McKennie (Juventus Turin)
