Instead of leaving at the end of the season: Schalke fires coach van Wonderen immediately after embarrassing defeat

Instead of leaving Schalke at the end of the season, Kees van Wonderen's time is over. The club has released its coach immediately following Friday's 2-0 defeat to Paderborn. The club announced this on Saturday. Assistant coach Robert Molenaar also has to leave. The duo were originally scheduled to leave at the end of the season .

"The behavior and development over the past two weeks in particular are cause for concern," Youri Mulder, director of professional football, is quoted as saying in the club's statement. "We are only six points away from the relegation zone, and the trend is negative. That's why we have decided to react now. We have a responsibility to the club."

In the match on Friday, Schalke presented themselves poorly and were lucky that Paderborn missed numerous good opportunities and only won 2-0 in the end.

Nevertheless, he didn't forget the achievements of Van Wonderen and Molenaar. "We thank Kees and Robert for their work and wish them all the best for the future."

"We are very grateful to Jakob for taking on this role, which is of great importance to the club," Mulder said. "No matter who you talk to, the tone is the same: Jakob made an all-around positive impression on the players this fall. He will reach the team emotionally with his approach, provide them with clear structures for training and matches, and demand a high level of commitment from each individual."