Matthias Tillmann: We will to bring success back to Schalke

The 40-year-old’s first day at the office was 1st January according to work documents – but his work began weeks and months before then. “Before the end of the year I wanted to take the time to speak with lots of people here and gain a clear understanding of the structures and processes so that I could hit the ground running in the New Year,” Tillmann explained. He also outlined his agenda for the first 90 days in advance, which he explained to the media in more detail.

The focus is on three major topics: sport, the club’s profitability and cooperation in the office. The sporting side of things was initially prioritised. “We wanted to determine a structure that is best for Schalke 04 at the moment,” the CEO said. “This resulted in the decision not to bring in another board member for sport in the same role, but to instead strengthen things at the director’s level and work with a sporting director and a newly-appointed technical director.” As a result, the governing body, consisting of Matthias Tillmann and Christina Rühl-Hamers, defined the general framework, with operative responsibility lying with the directors.

Therefore, the appointment of Marc Wilmots as the new sporting director right at the start of the year was a groundbreaking decision: “We are glad to have secured our preferred candidate’s service as he fulfils all our criteria.” These criteria included experience as a player, coach and manager with assertiveness and clear opinions.  “It wasn’t a must that Marc additionally has a past with S04, but it helps enormously since he already knows the club. André Hechelmann will work alongside him as technical director. “Both of them will bring success back to Schalke alongside our head coach Karel Geraerts.” With a view to winter transfers, the CEO doesn’t expect promotion this season: “We need to give ourselves further breathing space in the short term. Due to sustainability reasons, we won’t make transfers which are only geared towards possible promotion.”

In-depth discussions with sponsors

On the subject of profitability, Tillmann explained that he wants to move away from the club’s legacy issues and pave a way towards more room for manoeuvre. The 40-year-old pointed out that, “we currently have the largest budget in the 2. Bundesliga, which we want to maintain and perhaps even increase to achieve our goal of getting promoted within the next two years.” After already unveiling two new sponsors in Leckerbock GmbH and BKK24 at the start of the year, Tillmann explained that the club have recruited an external marketer in order to try and find the best possible answer in the Royal Blues’ search for a main sponsor. In-depth discussions with candidates are due to commence soon and Tillmann has clear ideas about what he wants to hear: “It’s not simply a case of offering a platform, rather it’s about finding common ground, telling stories and starting something new.”

Tillmann then came to his third point, co-operation across the board, and spoke about optimisation. “One area of concern that I’m dealing with is whether we’re set up like a modern company, where different departments work towards the same goal.” He noted that, at Schalke, people are used to doing everything themselves, but “perhaps a couple of jobs can be outsourced.” In order to achieve this, he wants to work together with all the departments in order to get a clear idea of the club’s income and expenses. “We want to strengthen our core business and invest in sport.”

Costs that haven’t been handed on yet are also a point of discussion. “We, like all other football clubs, aren’t immune to the current levels of inflation and price rises. That being said, we obviously want to make things as fan-friendly as possible, while also acting in a way that protects Schalke 04’s future.”