Schalke came into the season hoping to improve on their fourth place finish from last campaign and they eventually managed to do just that but it was not any easy for the team from Gelsenkirchen. A fairly quiet summer transfer window saw them bring in a few squad players including Tim Hoogland and Adam Szalai from other Bundesliga sides but youngster Leon Goretzka was also signed up from second division Bochum and he was added to a squad filled with talented home grown youngsters. But the start of the season was not plain sailing for Die Königblauen as they had to wait until round four for their first win, which came at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Aside from struggling early in the league, they made a meal of qualifying for the Champions League with PAOK Saloniki, who were managed by former Schalke coach Huub Stevens, going close to putting them out in the playoff. Head coach Jens Keller was close to losing his job but a rear guard performance in Greece, led by Julian Draxler, saw them go through and the young winger had another excellent season for the club as he continued to grow as a player and he was their star performer over the course of the campaign. Their league form steadily improved without being spectacular and they lost the first Revier Derby in the Arena AufSchalke which was not popular with fans though their form in Champions League was also decent as they made it through to the knockout stages in the final round of matches as well as the round of 16 in the DFB Pokal. At the turn of the year though they were only in seventh place and again rumours of Keller being removed from his job were rife, Draxler was also a transfer target of teams in the Premier League but Schalke managed to stave off interest for another transfer window. However on the resumption of the season in Januray Schalke went on an excellent run of form in the league as they picked up key wins against the likes of Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen among others which saw them move up in the table. Although they were humbled by Real Madrid in the Champions League, their second half of the season was excellent: something which was typified by a battling performance in Dortmund against their bitter rivals even when the squad was severely reduced due to injuries. In fact the second half of the season was marked by injuries and players coming back from them. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who missed most of the matches until Christmas, returned and he was one of the catalysts for success ending the season as their top scorer with twelve goals. But their number of injured players (ten at one point of the season) forced Keller to use some younger players meaning the likes of Max Meyer and Kaan Ayhan were able to gain experience and excelled under the pressure with both looking to have bright futures for the club. Schalke eventually overtook Leverkusen to take third spot which was unthinkable at the half way stage of the season and Keller and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround. Direct qualification to the Champions League group stage was always the target for the club but rumours of departure for a Keller and Draxler moving away from Schalke will not go away so it will be another intriguing close season for the club, if they can keep their squad together and fit they could have another excellent campaign next year.
