The 2022–23 FC Schalke 04 season was the 119th season in the football club's history and first consecutive and 54th overall season in the topflight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2022. In addition to the domestic league, Schalke also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This was the 22nd season for Schalke in the Veltins-Arena, located in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The season covers a period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. Schalke were relegated on the final matchday of the season.
Season summary On 7 June 2022, Schalke appointed Frank Kramer as head coach. As a result of the club's financial problems, most of the players who were essential for the success in the previous season, like Ko Itakura, could not be kept, and Schalke struggled to be competitive at the beginning of the 2022–23 season. Following a series of losses, including a 1–5 against Hoffenheim, Kramer was relieved of his duties on 19 October 2022. At the time, Schalke was 17th in the Bundesliga after ten matchdays. Matthias Kreutzer took over as caretaker manager. A week after Kramer's dismissal, on 26 October 2022, sporting director Rouven Schröder also announced his instant resignation.
On 27 October 2022, Thomas Reis was named as Schalke's new head coach. The first match under Reis, against SC Freiburg, was lost 0–2, marking Schalke's seventh consecutive loss. After the game, commentators like Huub Stevens praised the team for its better organization, compared to previous matches. Schalke finished the first half of the 2022–23 Bundesliga season in 18th and last position in the table, with just nine points to their name. Following a 1–6 loss against RB Leipzig on match day 17, the club noticeably improved, especially in the defense. Between match days 18 and 21, Schalke played 0–0 four times in a row, a new Bundesliga record. The following two matches were won, and on 4 March 2023, Schalke left the last place in the table for the first time since October 2022.
On 19 February 2023, four people were seriously injured when a group of about 100 people, assumed to be supporters of Schalke's rivals Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Dortmund, attacked a group of Schalke supporters with baseball bats and screwdrivers. The incident sparked fears over the upcoming derby against Dortmund. This came less than three weeks after the police had uncovered a possible plot by radical Dortmund supporters, who had tried to hide razor blades behind stickers in the stadium ahead of Dortmund's match against Mainz. In 2014, the police had warned of a similar danger ahead of the derby, after razor blades were found in the stadium hidden behind anti-Schalke stickers. On 11 March 2023, in the 100th derby between the two clubs, Schalke played 2–2 against Borussia Dortmund, who were in second place at the time. This ended Dortmund's streak of eight wins in a row. The police called the match "extremely peaceful", which they attributed to the successful police operation. Media reports noted that several people had been injured by illegal pyrotechnics, with one woman suffering an eye injury. At least one man was taken to the hospital after an intoxicated supporter of the opposing team had bitten off his earlobe. On the final match-day of the 2022–23 season, Schalke lost 4–2 against RB Leipzig. They finished 17th in the league table, and were relegated again to the 2. Bundesliga.
Players Note: Players' appearances and goals only in their Schalke career.
PlayerAgeContractLeagueTotalbeganendsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Goalkeepers12180279013230250280000345050 Defenders2453493370704290310591911510101811011022000025110110272802903539442541350360 Midfielders63223328 (captain)38240210527559210000234014312450753102918020030290310336060 Forwards9623565351165216923192112212091912615015038515140192212
Transfers
In
Player From Type Window Transfer fee Royal Antwerp Loan (option to buy) Winter 2023 — Lorient Loan (option to buy) Winter 2023 — Union Berlin Loan (option to buy) Winter 2023 — Brest Loan (option to buy) Winter 2023 — Club Brugge Loan Winter 2023 — Mainz 05 Loan Winter 2024 — Schalke 04 II Promoted Winter 2025 — Free agent End of contract Season ( 10) 2023 — AZ Transfer Summer 2024 €2,000,000 Eintracht Frankfurt Transfer Summer 2026 €1,800,000 VfL Bochum Transfer Summer 2025 €1,500,000 1. FC Heidenheim Transfer Summer 2025 €1,100,000 Montpellier Transfer Summer 2025 €500,000 SC Freiburg Transfer Summer 2024 €500,000 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Transfer Summer 2025 €180,000 Beşiktaş Transfer Summer 2025 Arminia Bielefeld End of contract Summer 2024 — Gent End of contract Summer 2026 — Rapid Wien End of contract Summer 2025 — Spartak Moscow End of contract Summer 2025 — Sampdoria End of contract Summer 2023 — RB Leipzig Loan (option to buy) Summer 2023 — Spartak Moscow Loan Summer 2023 — Hertha BSC Loan Summer 2023 — Liverpool Loan Summer 2023 — Hansa Rostock Loan return Summer 2023 — — Beşiktaş Loan return Summer 2024 — — Marseille Loan return Summer 2024 — — Norwich City Loan return Summer 2024 — — Cercle Brugge Loan return Summer 2023 — — Gaziantep Loan return Summer 2023 — —
Out
Player To Type Window Transfer fee Nantes Transfer Winter €1,500,000 Copenhagen Loan (option to buy) Winter — SV Sandhausen Loan Winter — 1. FC Nürnberg Loan Winter — AC Milan Transfer Summer €10,000,000 1899 Hoffenheim Transfer Summer €7,000,000 Rangers Transfer Summer €3,000,000 D.C. United Transfer Summer €500,000 Holstein Kiel Transfer Summer €250,000 Fatih Karagümrük Transfer Summer €200,000 OH Leuven Transfer Summer Bodø/Glimt Released Summer — Arminia Bielefeld End of contract Summer — Arminia Bielefeld End of contract Summer — Free agent End of contract Summer — Utrecht Loan (option to buy) Summer — Marseille Loan (option to buy) Summer — Austria Wien Loan (option to buy) Summer — HJK Loan Summer — Jahn Regensburg Loan Summer — SC Paderborn Loan Summer — Ulsan Hyundai End of loan (released) Summer — VfB Stuttgart End of loan Summer — — Manchester City End of loan Summer — Zenit Saint Petersburg End of loan Summer — Sparta Prague End of loan Summer —
Friendly matches
Competitions
Overview
Bundesliga
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
DFB-Pokal
Statistics
Squad statistics
No.PlayerNatPosTotalBundesligaDFB-Pokal112120001212000000001325240102322010220002800000000000000021912010171001022000373020730200000043130040292804022000598120981200000015100001000000000181190201190200000022000000000000000251111050111105000000272929050282805011000359830087200111004123230202222010110103333020330200000063332280323128011000821902020802011000102316230221513011100210000000000000002318300016300020000242917731271643121300292010000188000220003031280302926030220003363030630300000037100001000000000171060208501021010201151109411021000423000030000000009332255032215501100011353011503330115020000192210120211012010000209610096100000002615100201510020000003855110551100000040216230195230210004210000100000000044200001000010000712601011500011010Total363770134326712530
Goalscorers Rank Player Nat Pos Bundesliga DFB-Pokal Total 1 11 0 11 2 4 3 7 3 5 0 5 4 2 1 3 5 2 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 2 8 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 Own goals 3 1 3 Total 35 6 41
Clean sheets Rank Player Nat Bundesliga DFB-Pokal Total 1 5 0 5 2 2 1 3
References