Ten things you should know about Arsenal’s Champions League opponents
FC Schalke 04
1. The club was founded on 4 May 1904 as Westfalia Schalke by a group of high school students and first wore the colors red and yellow.
2.In 1912, after years of failed attempts to join the official league, they merged with the gymnastic club Schalker Turnverein 1877 in order to facilitate their entry.
3. Schalke won its first major European trophy in 1997 by defeating Inter Milan on penalty kicks in the final of the UEFA Cup.
4. Schalke hold a long-standing rivalry with Borussia Dortmund, and matches between the two teams are referred to as the Revierderby.
5. In 1924, they took the name FC Schalke 04 and adopted the now familiar blue and white strip from which their second nickname would derive – Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues).
6. They won their first West German championship in 1929, but the following year were sanctioned for exceeding salary levels set by the league.
7. A number of the team's players and officials were accused of accepting bribes as part of the widespread Bundesliga scandal of 1971.
8. In 1973, the club moved to the Parkstadion, newly built for the 1974 World Cup and having a capacity of 70,000 spectators.
9. During the 1990s and early 2000, the club underwent a successful transformation into a modern, commercial sports organisation and established itself as one of the dominant teams of the Bundesliga.
10. On 9 October 2006, Russian oil company Gazprom became the club's new sponsor. The company stated it expects to invest as much as €125 million in the club over a 5½ year period.
Source: DSG
