Netzer hails "magnificent, yet difficult" conditions at Schalke
12.02.2009
Günter Netzer never made an appearance in Schalke colours. But when Josef Schnusenberg presented the football legend with a number ten Schalke shirt at the end of the inaugural "Goals and profits" event at the VELTINS Arena on Tuesday evening, Netzer had long since demonstrated that he had plenty of good things to say about the Royal Blues.
In launching the new event series Schalke wish to discuss prominent trends in the professional game along with experts and guests from the world of business, academia and sport. Netzer set the ball rolling, speaking to more than 300 invited guests not only as a former player but also in his capacity of general manager of Infront Sport & Media AG, a company that marketed the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, for example, and is also active on behalf of Schalke.
In his opening remarks Schalke president Josef Schnusenberg carved open the defence for his star guest when he said: "If I have to explain to someone from England, for example, who Schalke belongs to, they're left nonplussed. Schalke doesn't belong to an Arab sheik, a Russian billionaire or any other rich person. Schalke belongs to its members", he stressed. "I can only congratulate you on your standpoint", responded Netzer, accepting the assist. "There's no place for a foreign investor here", he said. "It would completely distort Schalke's identity. Investors always want to earn money, and the club would lose some important things as a result."
Master of ceremonies Ulli Potofski asked the marketing expert whether a football club brand was a contradiction in terms. Netzer felt not: "You have to uphold the business idea. Because clubs are always striving to strengthen their squads, they are always searching for additional revenue streams. And if you look at the passion that has always existed here, I don't see any contradiction with regard to Schalke."
Netzer, 64, feels the Royal Blues are in a good position on the pitch, too. "Fred Rutten is a very good coach", he pointed out. "He reminds me a lot of the time when I was general manager at SV Hamburg and the great Ernst Happel was appointed coach. I was convinced he was the right man – but I was on my own, and it was a genuine challenge. He never wanted to attend a press conference and I protected him in a way that is no longer possible today. But I have to say he was the best coach I've ever experienced." He went on to compare Happel with the current Schalke boss, saying: "Whenever I listen to Rutten speak, I know he's right. Everything he says makes sense."
The Royal Blues are not seriously threatened by the financial crisis, argued Netzer, who says he has felt attached to the club ever since the 1990s when he worked on a draft for a new stadium with the then president Günter Eichberg. "Schalke are the most sensitive club in Germany. That's something you can be really proud of. On the other hand, however, it means the conditions here are as magnificent as they are difficult. Everything's in place in effect for Schalke to finally win the championship title again for the first time since 1958." In this connection the former Germany playmaker revealed that he still regretted the way the season ended in 2001, when the Royal Blues lost out to Bayern Munich in the dying seconds on the final day. "It was a terrible tragedy", he said.
The next event in the series will be held on 24 March, when adidas chairman Herbert Hainer will be the guest at the VELTINS Arena.
