If you are a Schalke fan or sympathiser, you may want to watch tonight’s Champions League group match against Chelsea through your fingers.
The Bundesliga side go into the encounter contending with injuries and poor form that has left them in the bottom three – albeit three games into the new German season.
Then again they were also dumped out of the German Cup by third division Dynamo Dresden.
Schalke have always had talented players to choose from but as we found out on Euro Footy Focus this is a club which sees itself on a par with local derby rivals Borussia Dortmund but ends up almost revelling in its ability to become mired in instability.
That said, like many Bundesliga clubs, Schalke are clearly superior when it comes to the work and fruits of their academies – especially compared to the likes of Chelsea who rarely give their own youth products a chance to shine at first team level despite the excellent facilities at their disposal.
Just look at the players Schalke have produced in recent years. Indeed, three of the Germany side who started the 2014 World Cup final spent their formative years in Gelsenkirchen – and there is more talent ready to take the globe by storm…
Mesut Ozil
He may be enduring an indifferent spell of form and mounting criticism at Arsenal, but there is no doubt that the Germany playmaker is one of the elite attacking midfielders on the planet on his day.
Ozil is a native of Gelsenkirchen and played for a number of clubs around the city – as well as Rot-Weiss Essen - before linking up with his hometown’s main club Schalke in 2005.
After a season in the underage setup, he made the step up to the seniors and although he would be moved on to Werder Bremen in January 2008 after falling out with the hierarchy, it must be remembered that it was Schalke who introduced him to the professional game.
Neuer and Ozil played football together and attended the same school in 1993,teammates at Schalke in 2007. pic.twitter.com/cCkmTKAbL0
— Champions Arsenal (@tomgunner14) February 21, 2014
Manuel Neuer
The best goalkeeper in the world at present, the Bayern Munich stopper attended the same school as his friend Ozil, although he had been at his hometown club since the tender age of six.
In all the 28-year-old spent the best part of 20 years at Schalke before Bayern came calling in 2011 (much to the fury of the Schalke fans), having made his senior debut towards the end of the 2006/07 season.
It was also during Neuer’s time at Schalke that he made his Germany debut and he also went on to win the German Cup in his final season for the club.
Benedikt Howedes
The third Schalke product to start for Germany in this summer’s World Cup final was versatile defender Benedikt Howedes.
The current club captain – a role he has filled since 2011 - can play at centre-back and full-back and has been at Schalke since the age of 13.
The 26-year-old, who has been linked with Arsenal in the past, looks set to continue his association with the club until 2017 when his current contract runs out.
Julian Draxler
The 20-year-old has also been linked with Arsenal. Then again, he has been put in the same sentence as most of the world’s top clubs.
The attacking midfielder was part of Germany’s World Cup squad, making a substitute appearance in the 7 – 1 thrashing of Brazil and is seen as the jewel of the club at present.
While it seems unlikely that Schalke will be unable to hold onto a prodigy they have nurtured since the age of 8, they can take consolation in the fact that they have developed yet another outstanding talent.
Max Meyer
Great things are also expected of Max Meyer (18) who you can read about in the Newstalk Scouting Report.
While the attacking midfielder and Germany cap may have started his youth career at Rot-Weiss Oberhausen and MSV Duisburg, Meyer has been at Schalke since 2009 when he was 14.
Joel Matip
The Cameroon international is one of the current first-teamers at Schalke. The son of a Cameroonian father and German mother, Matip was scouted by Schalke before being eventually signed up in 2000 at the age of 9.
The defensive player has gone on to make almost 150 appearances for the senior team since making his debut in 2009.
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