Another summer, another new head coach for Schalke to unveil. Domenico Tedesco has spoken to the media for the first time since having been appointed as the Gelesenkirchen club’s new bench boss.Exactly a year to the day after Schalke unveiled Markus Weinzierl, a newer, even younger head coach was on the stage in the Veltins Arena’s press conference room. Domenico Tedesco, 31, is the latest man that the Gelsenkirchen club have turned to in the hope that he can provide them with the answers that Schalke have long been searching for.
The Italian-born German (picture above, left) was hired after just 11 games in charge of second-division side Erzgebirge Aue and made all the right noises in his first public outing as Schalke boss.
“It won’t be a one-man-show. We need to work together to achieve great things,” Tedesco said. “Schalke is an exceptional club, something huge, emotional. What’s clear is that I will take on this job with humility. An incredible number of people love this club. I want to give back.”
Before Schalke’s German Cup first-round trip to Berlin to play BFC Dynamo, Tedesco will take Schalke to China for a preseason tour that includes a game against Inter Milan in Changzhou.
Christian Heidel, Schalke’s sporting director, believes Tedesco “embodies what Schalke needs”, citing his ability to tactically develop a team as key. Reading between the lines, these also appear to among the reasons that Markus Weinzierl, who Heidel was quick to thank, is no longer head coach at the club.
“We didn’t manage to find a playing style and that is one of the reasons why we made a change,” Heidel said.
The decision to appoint a young head coach is all the rage in the Bundesliga at the moment, and the other young coach making the most headlines is Julian Nagelsmann, a man Tedesco knows well from their time together at Hoffenheim.
“The comparison [with Nagelsmann] doesn’t bother me. We got our coaching badges together. I tip my hat to his work.”
Heidel was keen to draw on this comparison, stating: “I’ve always kept my eye on young coaches and alongside the name Julian Nagelsmann, the name Tedesco often cropped up.”
Perhaps Heidel (above, right) was keen to praise his new head coach because he is aware of how great an impact this decision promises to have on his own future at Schalke.
“I could have made life easier for myself,” Heidel said. “Changing head coaches has increased pressure on myself, but it’s about the club, not me.”
By the time Schalke’s preseason training starts on July 3, Heidel wants any transfer targets secured so that Tedesco can fully concentrate on the task at hand. And, if there was any doubt about Schalke’s ambitions for the upcoming season, Heidel reiterrated this at Wednesday’s press conference.
“There’s no doubt our focus is on securing a European spot,” he said.
With his appointment, Tedesco has become the latest in a long string of coaches to try his hand at returning Schalke to their former glory. If he is successful, he’ll make Heidel look like a genius. If not…
