Departing Schneider fields Schalke fan questions: "It was a mistake to suspend Vedad"
On the same day it was revealed that he would be relieved of his position after the end of the season, Schalke 04 sporting director Jochen Schneider answered questions from club members on a digital chat.
Schalke fans had an opportunity to ask their departing sporting director direct questions on Tuesday. The outgoing executive fielded several questions on personnel matters transpiring during his two-year-tenure.
Schalke fans had an opportunity to ask their departing sporting director direct questions on Tuesday. The outgoing executive fielded several questions on personnel matters transpiring during his two-year-tenure.
Schalke fans had an opportunity to ask their departing sporting director direct questions on Tuesday. The outgoing executive fielded several questions on personnel matters transpiring during his two-year-tenure.
On the Vedad Ibisevic affair:
Schneider confirmed that the veteran striker fell out with then coach Manuel Baum. He did not verify reports that, after Baum's sacking, the club approached Ibisevic about potentially returning to the club.
Schalke's head-of-sport had already conceded that he made several errors while in office, saying in the afternoon press release that he "made wrong decisions that aggravate me in hindsight. He made clear in the chat that Ibisevic was one of them.
"It was a mistake to suspend Vedad," he wrote, "We certainly felt that when Gonçalo Paciencia went missing. I won't speak badly of Vedad."
The sale of Breel Embolo:
Fans obviously expressed disappointment with the manner in which the club offloaded the Swiss attacker for a paltry €11 million three years after purchasing him for a reported €26.5 million from FC Basel. Schneider addressed the issue calmly and carefully.
"That was his market value," Schneider said of the July 2019 transfer to Borussia Mönchengladbach, "The fact is that his purchase was too expensive."
The Johnjoe Kenny loan:
The inability of the club to begin the season with a natural right-fullback certainly contributed to the team's disastrous start. Schneider explained that the on-loan Everton defender, one of the few bright spots in the 2019/20 campaign, simply couldn't be bought.
"Johnjoe would have liked nothing better than to stay here," he noted, "we just didn't have the financial means."
The Daniel Caligiuri free-transfer:
Pressed about another player the club couldn't retain from the previous season, Schneider gave a more nuanced explanation. The 33-year-old didn't accept the terms offered for his contract extension even before the COVID crisis tightened the club's finances.
"We made him a good offer, an improved offer that he did not accept," he reported, "After corona, we weren't able to maintain the offer and had to withdraw."
On not getting Sead Kolasinac in the summer:
The January loan from Arsenal that eventually brought the new team captain back to the Ruhrgebiet involved complex negotiations with the London club about salary sharing. Perhaps tired of repeatedly answering questions about why the club didn't splurge on talent earlier, Schneider batted away a question about why Kolasinac wasn't brought in sooner with metaphor of the club's sorry financial state.
"I we had struck oil somewhere we would have done," he noted curtly.