Schalke 04 return to the Bundesliga: How a fallen giant rebuilt itself

Schalke are back in the Bundesliga, and Gelsenkirchen is celebrating it like the return of something far bigger than a football team. After three years in the second tier and a period marked by sporting and financial turbulence, the Royal Blues start the new season with a lean project, a coach who has won over the stands and a fanbase that has once again filled the Veltins-Arena with belief.

• Schalke return to the Bundesliga after three seasons in the second division.
• Former Plymouth Argyle manager Miron Muslic has restored faith among supporters.
• Edin Dzeko and Loris Karius lead a squad rebuilt with financial realism.
• The club has experienced two promotions and two relegations in the last six years.
• Avoiding relegation is the main goal of a season that opens against Bayern Munich.

The religious feeling of Schalke in Gelsenkirchen

On matchday, even for friendlies, the city comes to a standstill. Thousands of fans in blue and white arrive by tram, on foot or by car, turning every game into a ritual. In the first match back in the top flight, 6,000 away supporters stayed after the final whistle despite a 3-0 defeat in Augsburg, simply to back the players.

Professor Frank Eckardt, who grew up in the Schalke-Nord area, describes that connection as an almost religious feeling towards the club. For many locals, Schalke is all they have, and they defend it with absolute conviction. That identity can even be seen in cemeteries, where many gravestones carry references to the team. The belief in the city is unmistakable: you can take everything away from Gelsenkirchen, but never its Schalke.

The dark years: debts, relegations and a lost sporting identity

The first drop to Bundesliga 2 in 21 years pushed the club to the brink of insolvency. Reckless spending, the absence of European revenue for several seasons and the impact of the pandemic left enormous debts that threatened the very existence of the institution. Yet the fans never abandoned ship, and the team responded with immediate promotion in 2022.

The joy did not last. A year later, Schalke went down again and settled into the second tier for three seasons. The first two campaigns were particularly hard: a tenth-place finish followed by fourteenth, which left the team just two spots above the relegation playoff. German football sympathized with the club, but also recognized that Schalke had been its own worst enemy by chasing targets beyond its real means.

They had been living beyond their means for many seasons. When you suffer relegation something has to give, and they have not been able to buy their way out.

Miron Muslic, the coach who restored belief at Schalke

After that fourteenth-place finish, the board made a radical change by bringing in Miron Muslic, formerly of Plymouth Argyle. The Austrian, largely unknown to the wider public, arrived in Gelsenkirchen with the mission of rebuilding a deflated dressing room and reconnecting with a fanbase tired of empty promises.

His high-press style and his commitment to hard work and effort fit perfectly with the working-class character of the city. Local media describe him as the face of the promotion, the hero who gave people their confidence back. Nobody knew him before he arrived, and some even doubted him when they learned he had been relegated to League One with Plymouth. In Gelsenkirchen, however, he has earned a level of affection that few coaches ever reach.

Frank Baumann and Edin Dzeko, the pillars of the new project

Behind the sporting success stands the discreet figure of Frank Baumann, former Werder Bremen sporting director and Germany international. He arrived in June 2025 with the club in a critical state and with very little money to spend. His work has consisted of rebuilding intelligently, without lavish expenditure and betting on players hungry for redemption.

Baumann's most eye-catching signing was Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian striker, formerly of Manchester City, landed in January 2025 after a difficult spell at Fiorentina. Since then he has scored eight goals in his first 13 appearances, including two in the club's DFB Pokal victory. For Muslic, who grew up in Austria but is of Bosnian origin, Dzeko is a legend comparable to Gary Lineker, Johan Cruyff or Franz Beckenbauer, and his professionalism at 40 makes him a role model for the entire squad.

He is 40 years old and still performing. That means he has been super professional over the last 25 years.

Loris Karius and the new resilience of Schalke

Alongside Dzeko, another name that symbolizes the rebuild is Loris Karius. The goalkeeper, who at one point considered retiring, has regained the starting spot and become an essential part of Muslic's system. His story mirrors that of many Schalke players who have found a place to start from scratch in Gelsenkirchen.

Muslic defines Karius as the face of this new Schalke, of its resilience and renewed mindset. The German keeper has found a home and a trust that seemed lost, and his development reflects the spirit of a dressing room that has learned to row in the same direction.

What Schalke are playing for in their Bundesliga return

The season will not be decided in the first home game, which arrives this Saturday against Bayern Munich, nor even in the fierce rivalry matches with Borussia Dortmund. The real test will come every matchday at the Veltins-Arena, with 62,000 souls pushing every ball. Defender Christian Fuchs says Dortmund miss Schalke, even if they do not admit it, and that this club belongs in the Bundesliga.

Most supporters are not setting ambitious goals: simply avoiding relegation is enough. Muslic sums up the new direction with a phrase that captures the moment: they know the glory of the past, but they also know the present and the future. They are humble but ambitious, and right now everything is about securing one more year in the top flight.