In his first full season in charge, Domenico Tedesco guided his Schalke side to a fabulous second in the league. After years of under achieving under an assortment of head coaches, Tedesco was the main reason for the club’s incredible success this season.
Although the club’s football can hardly be considered exciting, it was certainly effective. Schalke conceded the third fewest goals in the league with the team playing a highly disciplined brand of football. After a rough start some incredible results followed and second in the table was secured with 2 games to spare.
After just 6 months in charge of second division Erzgebirge Aue, Tedesco arrived at Schalke with little reputation and he was under siege from the very start. Loaning out club captain and talisman Benedickt Höwedes to Juventus looked like a questionable move, but it stamped the coach’s authority on the team.
Without Höwedes, Naldo became the main man at the back and led the defence famously. Although the only notable result in the first half of the season was a win over Leipzig, the second half led to far greater things. Wins against eventual third, fourth and fifth placed sides Hoffenheim, Dortmund and Leverkusen set the team up for an excellent finish. But for a refereeing mistake Schalke should even have been in the cup final.
Tedesco changed the squad very little before the start of the campaign and focused on trying to get the most out his existing squad. Guido Burgstaller ended as top scorer with 11 goals in a defensive minded side. Defensive unit Naldo, Matija Nastasic and Thilo Kehrer all put in excellent performances throughout.
The jewel in the crown Leon Goretzka continued his development even after signing for giants Bayern midway through the season. However the most effective was midfielder Daniel Caliguiri who scored 6, four of which were winning goals and added 10 assists. Strong at the back and effective going forward he epitomised Schalke’s season.
Tedesco will now have the challenge of Champions League football alongside the league, but he has shown himself highly competent and will relish next season.
