Vitalie Becker: I had no idea what to do!

The past few months seem to have flown by for Vitalie Becker. “It feels like that game against Hertha BSC was just two or three weeks ago,” gushed the youngster after the win in Düsseldorf. Becker has started 14 of the 15 2. Bundesliga matchdays thus far, with only a yellow-card suspension in Münster breaking an otherwise perfect record. The 20-year-old already has half a season of magical moments behind him this year, although the victory at Fortuna Düsseldorf will definitely be an easy one to remember for years to come.

“We had a difficult start to the game, but after Kenan opened the scoring, we were able to implement our game plan much better. We started to get stuck in more, winning more duels and so,” said Becker on the first-half performance. After the break, it was time for a huge moment in his career so far: Set up by Christian Gomis in the 81st minute, Becker rifled home a beautiful left-footed finish for the 2-0. “I had no idea what to do, how I should celebrate! My first goal – I’m just speechless,” he grinned. “It was so loud! Scoring a goal in front of more than 20,000 Schalke supporters – there are no words for how happy I am!”

Becker had a twinkle in his eye as he described the feeling of playing away in front of so many Schalke fans: “The stadium was rocking, especially when I scored. We’re so grateful to the fans for showing such strong support.” The minutes after the final whistle have been beautifully etched into the memory of the Knappenschmiede graduate.

Yet another milestone

The goal is yet another key milestone for Vitalie Becker in a real breakout season. After a difficult campaign in 2023/24, when the youngster spent a prolonged period out on the sidelines, the Bottrop native worked step by step during the summer’s pre-season preparations to earn himself a chance in the first team. Despite the bedlam in Düsseldorf after his debut goal found the back of the net, Becker was clear on whom he wanted to celebrate with right away: head coach Miron Muslic. “I’m so grateful to our coach. Practically no-one had me in mind before this season, but he gave me a chance to prove myself, he gives me such a sense of confidence,” emphasised Becker. “I wanted to show him how grateful I am through the celebration.”

Just this week, a video of the pair went viral on social media. It showed Muslic working closely with Becker to practice defending against long balls, working on positioning and behaviour in those situations. Despite all the success achieved so far this season, Becker remains incredibly humble. “The coach has been so helpful. He knows that I have the potential to come on even further, and he’s been showing me exactly what I need to do to take the next step.”

The core principles of the new Schalke ethos can be summed up as follows: work hard and keep going. Becker lives out this motto each and every day, as Muslic was keen to impress after the game: “It’s a really nice story for the club. The boy was clearly written off as ‘not having enough quality’, just like so many other Schalke players. But he’s put everything into his football from day one. We’re really pleased with how he’s developed and the good track that he’s helped put us on as a side.”

Real trust

Everyone is in agreement that the coach has had an indispensable role in this. Muslic makes it clear to the team every single day that he’s right behind them, as Becker continued: “He places real trust in us, he’s always got our backs, and that’s really helpful to have in those more difficult situations. Nobody’s perfect, mistakes are just part of the game, but we get right back on task afterwards, we don’t get stuck on them. That’s what it’s all about. We give everything, week in, week out. You can see that on the pitch. We’re never satisfied, and we’re not about to let up.”

At the end of his first media frenzy, Becker summed up the secret to Schalke’s success in three sentences: “We’re really strong as a team, see out each game and keep our feet on the ground. That’s the path to success. We’ll keep going like this.”