week 33 - match preview
Slomka vows not to make a gift of Mainz clash
It would be utopian to believe Schalke can still finish higher than fourth this season. But going into the match at Mainz 05 this Saturday Mirko Slomka can think of a host of reasons why his team are taking the game seriously.
One of them is decency. "It simply wouldn't be right if we were to bring about a decision in the relegation battle with a display of passiveness*, stressed the 38-year-old coach, who categorically denied wanting to lend anyone a helping hand. "The teams below Mainz in the table are entitled to expect us not to make a gift of the game."
Especially as Slomka knows a good reason why his side are extremely motivated ahead of the match at the Bruchweg Stadium. "We were unlucky to lose there last year", he explained. Which means he is out to turn the tables on Saturday.
The game is a special occasion for one player, in particular. Mimoun Azaouagh wore a Mainz shirt until December 2004 and could make his first appearance at his former stomping ground. But Slomka cast doubt over whether Azaouagh would start. It was not a question of doing someone "a friendly turn", but rather of fielding his best team. Though Azaouagh had been very good in training and he had already put in some good performances this season, the team's display against Arminia Bielefeld meant there were "no dramatic reasons for making any changes on Saturday", said Slomka. "The performance at home was a good one."
Nevertheless the team is likely to feature three changes compared with Wednesday. Ebbe Sand strained a muscle in his left thigh against Bielefeld and is doubtful, while Kevin Kuranyi is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card. Mladen Krstajic, however, has recovered from an ankle injury and is available for selection. Yet Slomka was unwilling and unable to say what effect this would have on his team's tactics and formation until he had spoken to chief scout Uwe Scherr, who saw Mainz win 3-0 in Wolfsburg on Wednesday evening.
Slomka also recalled Mainz's performance against Bayern Munich a fortnight ago. Jürgen Klopp's side were 2-0 up after 13 minutes and eventually held on to claim a well deserved point. "That was a very good display by Mainz. We'll have to keep our shape there and be very, very careful."
His conclusion: "We'll be keeping things much tighter than we did against Arminia Bielefeld." The Schalke boss left out Christian Poulsen on Wednesday, for example. "That had nothing to do with the fact that Christian might be leaving us in summer. He remains a much respected player in Schalke. We were simply responding to the fact that Arminia chose to operate without a genuine number ten." In view of this Slomka decided against the tough-tackling Dane, preferring instead the "strategist" Fabian Ernst for the holding position in front of the defence.
Slomka may well revert to a 4-3-3 again for Saturday's game, but according to him there was something much more important: "It's not about starting to prepare for next season. We have to play to our potential and we don't intend to drop any more points."
