Jupp Heynckes has added to Bayern Munich's already-bulging trophy cabinet, and will likely add more. But he's not been the league's best coach this term. That honor should go to Domenico Tedesco, says DW's Matt Pearson.
Image: picture alliance /dpa/I. Fassbender
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This has not been a vintage season for the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich won the title in April but had it wrapped up by Christmas, while the cluster of teams below them have been unable to find anything like the consistency needed to even ride their coattails. With one exception.
After their 2-0 win over rivals Dortmund on Sunday, Schalke are on course to pick up 62 points, a mark that would have seen them finish in the top three, and qualify directly for the Champions League group stages, in any of the last five seasons. The teams in third and fourth - Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund - are set for 58 points, not enough to finish third in any of the last five seasons and only enough to finish fourth twice.
With the exception of Leon Goretzka, who he'll soon lose, Tedesco doesn't have the attacking talent available that Levekusen, Dortmund or RB Leipzig possess. The 32-year-old has had to be smart with the tools he's got. That's meant building the second meanest defense in the league and squeezing the most from a crop of promising youngsters and a few underperforming pros.
Naldo stole the headlines for his goalscoring exploits once again on Sunday but he also stands as an example of how Tedesco has managed his resources so well. The 35-year-old had a decent debut campaign for the Royal Blues under Markus Weinzierl but has been an inspirational leader and organizer this term, playing every minute of the league season.
DW's Matt Pearson
Tedesco's use of a three-man backline with Naldo at its heart has compensated for the Brazilian's aging legs and allowed him to use his dominant aerial ability without fear of being caught out. The system has also wrung the best out of Daniel Caligiuri and Bastian Oczipka, a well-traveled pair both enjoying perhaps the finest campaigns of decade-long careers.
It was Caligiuri whose driving run set up Yevhen Konoplyanka's opener on Sunday. As well as Schalke executed that counterattack, it was a goal they would not have conceded themselves. Marcel Schmelzer dwelling on the ball was a mistake, Tedesco's men also make those. But it was Dortmund's response that was most telling. The retreating men in yellow and black all flocked to the ball, completely failing to communicate and leaving Konoplyanka with acres of space to fire home. It's the kind of basic organizational error Tedesco's team rarely makes, and certainly not with the regularity that Peter Stöger's men do.
While Bayern-bound Niko Kovac has also overachieved, Eintracht Frankfurt's season looks increasingly likely to be rewarded only with a Europa League qualifying round spot. While that and Heynckes' impact at Bayern deserves respect, Tedesco took over a club in chaos. Schalke finished last season just six points from the relegation playoff spot and a whopping 19 points away from Hoffenheim in fourth. At their current rate, they'll pick up 20 more points than last season.
Tedesco and Naldo have enjoyed a fruitful relationshipImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Revierfoto/
Tedesco's predecessor Markus Weinzierl was heralded as the man, along with sporting director Christian Heidel, to bring stability back to one of the country's biggest clubs. But he never really got to grips with the demands of the job, failing to win round the fans or inspire his players.
The club's current coach has nailed both of those relationships. The 32-year-old took to the terraces after the derby win and led the fans in song. His team may not be the most attractive but they have enormous reserves of discipline, work-rate, organization and just enough magic to get them through. The additional burden of European competition will add a new challenge next season, one that Tedesco'sformer classmate Julian Nagelsmann found difficult to cope with at first.
But, for now, one win from the remaning four games is likely to be enough to return Champions League football to Gelsenkirchen. Secure that and Tedesco should follow in Nagelsmann's footsteps and be named German Coach of the Year.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Dortmund host Schalke behind closed doors on Saturday in the latest, and strangest, edition of the Revierderby in the Bundesliga. Here we look back at some of the most memorable moments in Germany's fiercest rivalry.
Image: picture-alliance/Fotostand/Wundrig
Legendary Naldo!
In April, Schalke scored their first derby win since 2014. Naldo proved the hero once more, scoring an incredible free kick to end the contest and write his name into the Royal Blues' history book. In doing so, the 35-year-old Brazilian went one better than his late, great equalizer that marked an incredible comeback from a four-goal deficit in the first fixture of the 2017-18 season.
Image: Reuters/L. Kuegeler
Four-goal comeback
The first Revierderby of 2017-18 was without a doubt one of the most exciting. Dortmund dominated from the kickoff, going up by four goals in the first half hour. Schalke staged a comeback in the second half. Central defender Naldo (bottom left) scored with a header four minutes into time added on to give Schalke a 4-4 draw in Dortmund.
Image: picture-alliance/Fotostand/Wundrig
BVB win in the fog
The fog was so thick in Dortmund in November 1966, that some referees might have declined to go ahead with the match. Not Gerd Henning: "Every time somebody kicked the ball into the fog, I chased after it," he said afterwards. "It was strenuous, but it was okay. BVB dealt better with the conditions, winning 6-2. Lothar Emmerich's hat trick is the only one ever scored in a Ruhr derby.
Image: Imago/Horstmüller
Fido bites Friedel
One of the strangest things to happen during a Revierderby came in Dortmund in September 1969. After a Schalke goal, some of the spectators invaded the pitch, so the stewards used dogs to drive them back. One of the dogs bit Schalke defender Friedel Rausch in the backside. Despite his pain, Rausch was able to play on.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A goal against his future club
In December 1997, Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (fourth from left) scored a last-minute goal to earn team a 2-2 draw in Dortmund. Among the players who have been on both sides of the Ruhr derby, Lehmann is the record holder, having made 11 appearances for for Schalke and nine for Dortmund.
Image: ullstein bild - Firo
Penalty spoiler
Frank Rost was the man of the match in Dortmund in January 2004. The Schalke goalkeeper saved two penalties, first from Jan Koller, then from Torsten Frings. Rost would go on to keep a clean sheet and Ebbe Sand's goal shortly before the final whistle gave Schalke a 1-0 win.
Image: picture-alliance /dpa/F.-P. Tschauner
Longest undefeated streak
The derby in Dortmund was also decided by a single Schalke goal. This time it was the Brazilian Ailton (right) who got the winner. This extended Schalke's undefeated streak in the derby to 12 matches — the longest in the long history of encounters between Schalke and BVB.
Image: picture-alliance/Ulmer/B. Hacke
Royal Blue hopes dashed
One of the most bitter derby encounters for Schalke. In Dortmund in May of 2007, Schalke's hopes of winning the Bundesliga title ebbed away. In the penultimate match of the season Alexander Frei and Ebi Smolarek (second from right) both scored in a Dortmund win. Schalke players Christian Pander (left) and Fabian Ernst are not impressed.
Image: picture-alliance/Ulmer/L. Coch
Back from the dead
After an hour of play in Dortmund in September 2008, Schalke were up 3-0 and looked to have all but won the match. After BVB pulled one back, though, Schalke had two players sent off in the space of five minutes. Dortmund got two more to earn a 3-3 draw. The last one was this Alexander Frei penalty in the 89th minute.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Scheidemann
Fan trouble
So intense is the rivalry that there can be trouble between groups of supporters. Brawls broke out in October 2012 in Dortmund, as well as a year later in Gelsenkirchen. Both clubs went as far as to threaten to play future derbies behind closed doors — but clearly it hasn't come to that.
Image: picture alliance/Sven Simon
Batman and Robin
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) scored the goal that put Dortmund up 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park in February of 2015. He and teammate Marco Reus celebrated by donning previously hidden Batman and Robin masks. "We like to have a bit of fun," Reus explained afterwards. Dortmund went on to win 3-0.
Image: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
A red card for the ref
In the most recent derby, in Gelsenkirchen in April 2017, Schalke's mascot, Erwin, showed referee Felix Zwayer the red card. Zwayer had denied the Royal Blues a penalty in time added on. Schalke's coach, Markus Weinzierl (third from right) protested a little too vigorously and was sent to the stands. The match ended 1-1 and a warning issued by the DFB (German FA) to Erwin.