Wednesday, 16th March, 2011
Schalke have sacked manager Felix Magath despite the former Bayern Munich coach leading the side to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and tempting some of the biggest names in the game in Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to the Ruhr giants.
Magath’s side endured a horrific start to the Bundesliga season and looked set to be battling relegation rather than fighting for honours. But a gradual improvement saw the side move up the table and the club also reached the German Cup final, putting Bayern Munich out of the competition.
Yet while cup displays were exceptional, Schalke’s Bundesliga form was clearly unacceptable for the club’s management and a weekend win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt was not enough to save Magath. There were also apparently behind the scenes issues that could yet result in a court case between the club and their former coach which were key to his dismissal.
"From the point of view of FC Schalke 04 there are very good reasons for this parting of the ways. We will not be making them public because legal proceedings are set to follow. We go into these proceedings very relaxed", said Schalke’s supervisory board chairman Clemens Tonnies.
"The substance of what we have decided is a good outcome for FC Schalke 04."
Former manager Ralf Rangnick, who bossed the club between 2004 and 2005 and left Hoffenheim last year, has been installed as the early favourite for the post.
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