Jochen Schneider to become new Head of Sport at Schalke 04

Chairman of the supervisory board, Clemens Tönnies, recommended Schneider to the board of directors today and this was approved. The 48-year-old (born September 13th, 1970), will sign a contract with Schalke until June 30th, 2022. The new Head of Sport will face the media for the first time next Tuesday (5/3) at the VELTINS-Arena (13:30 CET).

“Our new Head of Sport had to be the following things: an experienced footballing expert, who has a first-class network in national and international football, as well as somehow who has enjoyed success in the past few years. Jochen Schneider fulfilled all of those requirements,” explained Clemens Tönnies.

“To take this role at FC Schalke 04 is a huge honour, but also a massive challenge. There’s something special about Schalke, which can be seen in the Ruhr area and the rest of Germany too,” said an excited Jochen Schneider on his new job. “It’s clear that there is a lot of work to be done because of the current situation. Nevertheless, I’m still excited to be working with this club in the future.”

Jochen Schneider’s career – aside doing an apprenticeship in banking and studying business management – has been shaped by his time at VfB Stuttgart. He started working there in 1999 as an assistant to former Head of Sport Rolf Rüssmann. In 2004, he was then promoted to sporting director and worked together with Horst Heldt and Fredi Bobic, winning the Bundesliga in 2007. In 2015, he moved to Red Bull GmBH, where he took on the role as Leader of Global Soccer, meaning he was responsible for the worldwide footballing engagement of the company. In June 2017, he then moved to RasenBallsport Leipzig to work as the Head of Sport & Internationalisation.

His first task at FC Schalke 04 will be to appoint a new sporting director.