FC Schalke 04 announced on Wednesday that Manuel Baum will be the new coach of their first team, immersed in one of its biggest sporting crises and sunk to the last place in the German Bundesliga.
Baum, 41 years old and until now the national coach of the U18s, succeeds in the Cobalt Blue bench to David wagner, who left the team this Sunday. “Schalke 04 is a great club with a tremendous tradition and sporting potential,” Baum said when introduced.
In his opinion, the “most urgent task” of the team at the moment is “achieve success as quickly as possible, both in training and in games“, a balloon of emotional oxygen for a club that opened the season two weekends ago losing 8-0 against the Bayern. Baum, who has signed for two seasons with Schalke, stressed that he is “convinced” of the quality of the squad and hopes to achieve results soon.
The president of Schalke, Jochen Schneider, said in a statement that with Baum they have obtained the services of a “true professional” who can provide a “clear structure” and “development in the field” to the team. “In our current situation this is an important factor,” he stressed.
Brazilian Naldo will act as second coach, former Schalke defender between 2016 and 2019 and an icon during those years of the team, who changed the field for the bench. The club has trusted him for his locker room knowledge and experience.
“Naldo is with his experience of more than 500 matches a great addition to our new team of coaches. He is the one who knows Schalke best. For us, the combination of human and sporting capabilities has been decisive. Naldo will bring a lot of positive energy to the dressing room“Schneider said.
The coaches nevertheless inherit a team in low hours that chained 18 games without knowing the victory in the Bundesliga, something unprecedented in the history of the historic club Gelsenkirchen.