Who will be the new sports director at Schalke 04 – such as Horst Heldt? The head of sports at 1. FC Köln responded evasively to a question on Friday.
The descent into the 2. Bundesliga is for the FC Schalke 04 after the 0-0 in the cellar thriller against the FSV Mainz 05 has become even more likely – internal planning has been going exclusively towards the second division for weeks anyway. An important question has already been answered: Dimitrios Grammozis (42) should Schalke as a trainer lead to recovery. But who, as head of sport, puts together the team?
Is current Peter Knäbel (54) provisionally responsible for the sporting area of Schalke. But for now. The supervisory board is looking for a suitable candidate – and has also considered one. One who is currently under contract with another club.
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Is it Schalke’s former sports director Horst Heldt (51)? Heldt has been the sports director of the 1. FC Cologne, stands by FC under contract until June 2023. When asked how he rumored a Schalke-Return, Heldt replied evasively: “I can say that I basically feel very, very comfortable here. That we have a lot of tasks that have to be mastered and that are very challenging – in the short and long term. We all have the big goal in which Bundesliga to stay. And that’s the focus. It makes no sense to participate in speculation. “Heldt could also have said:” There’s nothing to it. “One thing is clear: With this answer, Heldt keeps a back door open 1. FC Cologne dismount, he would be very distressed.
As Heldt always emphasized in interviews with the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), his heart is still very attached Schalke 04. The former international worked for the Royal Blues from July 2010 to June 2016. Initially responsible for marketing, in March 2011 he took over the role of sports director as the successor to Felix Magath. Won under Heldt’s direction Schalke the DFB-Pokal (2011), moved to the Champions League (2012, 2013, 2014) and three times in the Europa League (2011, 2015, 2016) a. When Schalke missed the Champions League for the second time in a row in the 2015/2016 season, Heldt had to leave. He was replaced by Christian Heidel. Heldt still maintains excellent contacts in Gelsenkirchen, and he still has a few friends at the office.
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After his time on Schalke Heldt worked for Hannover 96 from March 2017 to April 2019. First, he led the team back into the Bundesliga. When the club was in danger of relegation there, Heldt had to go again. Just seven months after being kicked out, he then signed a contract in Cologne – his second club next to his heart Schalke 04. At FC Heldt began his professional career as a player.
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