FC Schalke 04 and Mike Büskens have come to a joint decision to part ways

“Both as the CEO, and personally, I would like to thank Mike Büskens for his work over the past years,” said Matthias Tillmann. “Mike played a particularly major role in our promotion in the 2021/22 season, managing a direct return to the Bundesliga after an impressive performance during the season’s run-in.”

The club has offered “Buyo” an official farewell at a home game in view of his last job as assistant first-team coach, but a decision on this is still pending. “Mike Büskens is and will always be a part of Schalke’s successful club history. The Eurofighter and our promotion-winning coach is welcome at Schalke any time!” Tillmann emphasized on behalf of the club management.

Mike Büskens joined Schalke 04 from Düsseldorf as a player in 1992. Interspersed with brief interruptions, the left-footer remained part of the first team until 2002, after which he played for Schalke’s reserves for a further three years. His 306 competitive matches were crowned by victory in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup and two DFB-Pokal successes (2001 and 2002).

Büskens worked as a coach within the Knappenschmiede during his time as a player already, taking up various roles for the club’s U23s and first team until 2009. After stints in Fürth, Düsseldorf and Rapid Vienna, ‘Buyo’ returned to Gelsenkirchen. His first role with the team after his return involved taking care of the club’s loan players, before he once again took up a position as assistant coach of the first team. He helped guide the team back to the Bundesliga in 2022, having been appointed as Schalke’s interim head coach during this time as well.

Mike also wanted to say a few words to the fans:

Glück auf Schalker!

I’ve been a Royal Blue for over half my life. I enjoyed every single day spent at Berger Feld and getting to work with the players. It was a very emotional time, highlighted by our incredible run of eight wins from the last nine games to seal promotion, after it looked to be already out of reach!

How could anyone forget our game against St. Pauli, where we came back from 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2? This amazing time saw us form strong bonds within the team, marked by high levels of mutual respect, trust and loyalty.

But, there were also several setbacks, such as our relegation and the countless changes in staff at all levels. I can count dozens of board members, directors and coaches, all with different leadership styles. Our dressing room also saw countless new arrivals and departures. It wasn’t easy to keep everyone involved and on board. As a result, the last two years were extremely challenging and took a lot of energy. I now want to take the opportunity to process this time.

I spoke to Matthias Tillmann back on 22nd May already and told him that, at this moment, I didn’t feel emotionally prepared to talk about a joint future yet. But, one thing I can say for sure is that this isn’t the end of the road for myself and the Royal Blues!

I would like to say thank you to the many Schalke fans for their appreciation and support, and there will always be a special place in my heart for those who share this love for our club.

All the best,
Buyo