So near, so far for Schalke
Friday, April 28, 2006
Article summary
FC Schalke 04 are today thinking of what might have been after falling just short in their pursuit of a second UEFA Cup triumph after first tasting glory in 1996/97.
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Past glory
Before last night's semi-final return at Sevilla FC, much of the talk had been of the German club's success in the 1996/97 final when Jens Lehmann's heroics in goal had given them a penalty shoot-out victory against FC Internazionale Milano. After a 0-0 draw at the Arena AufSchalke last week, nothing could separate the sides at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium yesterday until home substitute Antonio Puerta finally settled the tie in extra time.
'Big fight'
The German press were united in their disappointment. Kicker wrote how Schalke's final dream had "burst", despite "a big fight" from Mirko Slomka’s men. However, it added that "the Spanish side deserved to go to the final on 10 May in Eindhoven", claiming that the "Spanish defence stood firm brilliantly". It was a similar story in Bild, with the paper commenting on the "bitter" feeling, after the Schalke "defence failed to pay attention once in extra time".
'Huge disappointment'
Such sentiments were echoed by the players and coaching staff, with the achievement of getting so far, while maintaining a strong push at home next season's UEFA Champions League, little consolation. Team manager Andreas Müller said: "The disappointment is huge and it will certainly take a few days until the team is over it because it is hard when you are so close." Germany striker Gerald Asamoah agreed: "The frustration is big, especially when you get this far. We were compact in defence but could not create chances in attack. We had no luck. Sevilla had it all."
Last hurrah
The defeat was particularly tough on veteran forward Ebbe Sand, who is retiring in the summer and will not get a chance to sign off on his career with a UEFA Cup final against Middlesbrough FC. "Maybe we did not gamble enough," he said. "We had almost no chances in 90 minutes. In the end, we tried everything." German interest in Europe is over for another season, except of course for Lehmann. The former Schalke star, hero of that 1996/97 triumph, will carry home hopes in the UEFA Champions League final, when his Arsenal FC side meet FC Barcelona.
