Kees van Wonderen to leave the club at the end of the season

In a lengthy conversation on Tuesday (22/4), Frank Baumann, who officially starts his role as board member for sport on 1st June, and Youri Mulder, director for professional football, informed Van Wonderen of the decision, which comes as a result of a two-week process regarding changes to the first-team setup, carried out by Baumann and the other board members. Assistant coach Robert Molenaar was also told that he would not be a part of the coaching team next season.

“Since Frank Baumann’s unofficial start two weeks ago, we have spoken at great length about the kind of profile we want a Schalke head coach to have. We also asked ourselves if the current setup would match our long-term ambitions. It was – also for me personally – not an easy decision to make, but we all agreed that Kees van Wonderen should leave at the end of the season,” explained Youri Mulder on behalf of the sporting management. The Dutchman added: “Kees has done a really good job during a difficult time. We wish him nothing but the best for his future.”

Matthias Tillmann, the club’s CEO, added on behalf of fellow board members Christian Rühl-Hamers and Frank Baumann (from 1st June): “On behalf of the whole board and the club, I’d like to thank Kees van Wonderen for his work over the past few months. When he arrived at Schalke last autumn, we were on the verge of slipping into a very dangerous downward spiral that would have been extremely difficult to get out of. Kees then managed to prevent that. We will achieve our minimum target of avoiding relegation, but there’s no doubt that Schalke 04 should be aspiring for more and that the season has been disappointing overall.”

Van Wonderen thanked the club for the trusting conversations over the past few days: “It was important for everyone involved that we had clarity during a complicated situation. That was my intention after I talked about my thoughts on the situation after the HSV game. I am aware that, in hindsight, the timing and setting were not ideal. Above all, I regret that the public criticism afterwards focused on Matthias Tillmann – that was never my intention. I should have responded differently to the question, and that’s why I apologised to him, which he accepted.”

At the same time, van Wonderen stands by the core message of his statement: “A club like Schalke needs a clear direction and must follow that consistently. It has to fully support the people leading that path to make long-term success possible. Matthias and Frank understand that. I wish them and the entire club the greatest success, especially a return to the Bundesliga. I’m very grateful to have been the coach of such a great club and I wish all the staff and fans all the best for the future. My focus with the team now is on the final four matches. We have some exciting games left and we want to give our fans as much joy as possible. We’d definitely like to climb a few more places in the table as well.”

With the decision, the club’s management team will now have to undertake additional planning ahead of the 2025/26 season. “Since announcing that Frank would be joining us, we have invested a lot of time into preparing to make key decisions this summer,” Mulder explained on behalf of the club’s sporting management. “We are well aware of how important the position of head coach is. Kees is correct in saying that the club needs a clear direction to guide it through the highs and lows in order to be successful in the long term. The feeling of clarity that we have now been able to achieve for everyone involved is the result of a lengthy process.”

When looking to the future, the club’s management team have committed to ensuring sustainable success by establishing continuity and a clear direction. For the position of head coach in particular, it is of utmost importance to find a long-term solution that works for FC Schalke 04.

The club would like to make clear that it has not yet reached out to any potential candidates. “Frank is heading up this process and his plan prior to the HSV game was to meet with Kees once again, before making a decision. That meeting took place on Tuesday and all those involved found it to be a very open, honest and constructive dialogue – even if the results of this meeting are understandably not positive from Kees’ point of view,” Mulder continued.

Schalke’s sporting management will soon begin reaching out to potential successors. “Our new head coach should have an easily identifiable style that fits to Schalke 04’s playing philosophy. To briefly summarise, this consists of wanting to actively seek opportunities in attack, while also defending with intensity and passion – especially at our VELTINS-Arena. Needless to say, other qualities such as management style will also play an important role,” Tillmann said about the characteristics that the management team are looking for. “We want to make a swift but carefully considered decision. We will take the time needed in order to make the best possible decision.”