From Coke to Rakitic - Six players who have played for both Schalke and Sevilla

FC Schalke 04 and Sevilla have not only been linked by a fan friendship since their two matches in the 2006 UEFA Cup semi-finals. Half a dozen players have played for both clubs. Schalke04.de has a look over the six players.

Coke

Jorge Andujar Moreno, commonly known as Coke, became a fan favourite after his two goals in the 2016 Europa League final 3-1 victory over Liverpool for FC Sevilla. The right-footed player, before moving to Schalke from Sevilla, captained the Spanish team and played a total of 173 games between 2011 and 2016 for the Spanish outfit, scoring 15 goals. The Spaniards start at Schalke however, did not go to plan. In his first game for the club in a friendly against FC Bologna, he suffered a severe cruciate ligament injury to his right knee. His competitive debut for the club then came nine months later in a 1-1 home draw with Borussia Dortmund. He played a further eight games for the club and scored one goal. In January 2018, Coke moved on loan to Levante before singing for them permanently later that summer.

Sergio Escudero

Sergio Escudero played 22 games for the Royal Blues between 2010 and 2013. In this time, the Spaniard won the DFB-Pokal, known as the Supercup with Schalke 04. However, the left-back found it hard to cement his place in the team due to injuries and therefore moved to FC Getafe on loan for six months, which then became a permanent transfer. Following two years at the club, he then moved to Sevilla at the beginning of the 2015/16 season where he then played 135 games for the club and scored five goals. His biggest success was winning the Europa League in his debut season.

Johannes Geis

Schalke 04 signed the former Germany U21s midfielder Johannes Geis from Mainz 05 at the start of the 2015/16 season. At the start of his career at Schalke, the midfielder had a starring role but after a while he lost his place in the midfield. Therefore, the German decided to move away temporarily to get more game time. On the 1st September 2017, Geis moved on loan to Sevilla and played a total of 20 games in the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. He returned to Schalke 04 in the summer of 2018. He played a total of 46 games for Schalke, scoring two goals before he moved away permanently. Since the winter break, the 25-year-old has been playing for 2. Bundesliga leaders FC Köln.

Yevhen Konoplyanka

Since the start of the 2016/17 season, Yevhen Konoplyanka has been a Royal Blue. The Ukraine international initially singed on loan from Sevilla but then signed permanently. His current stats so far: 75 games, 13 goals, runners up in the Bundesliga in the 2017/18 season. For Sevilla, Konoplyanka played 54 games and scored nine goals. He was a part of the team that won the Europa League. A few years before he was part of the FC Dnipro team that got to the finals of the Europa League but were knocked out by Sevilla.

Christian Poulsen

Christian Poulsen was a regular in the Schalke 04 team between 2002 and 2006. In his four years at the club, the defensive midfielder played a total of 161 games and scored five goals. In the 2004/05 season the Dane and Schalke were runners up in the Bundesliga and got to the semi finals of the Europa League with Schalke 04 before being knocked out by Sevilla. In the second leg in Spain, Schalke 04 were beaten 1-0 in extra time. Poulsen then signed for Sevilla and spent two years there; playing 92 games and scoring five. He won the UEFA cup and the Spanish cup. In the 2008/09 season, Poulsen then moved to Italian record champions Juventus. He has now retired.

Ivan Rakitic

In the summer of 2007, Schalke 04 signed the 19-year-old Ivan Rakitić from FC Basel and the Croat made a quick start to life in Germany. In his first Bundesliga game, he scored against VfB Stuttgart and became a first team regular. After 97 games and 12 goals at the club, he transferred to Sevilla. At the Spanish outfit, he quickly became an integral part of the team and also became captain, winning the Europa League in 2013/14. His strong performances were not unseen and after 149 games and 32 goals, FC Barcelona bought him and he has been a regular for them ever since.