Source: Daily_Mail
Schalke dare to dream of Champions League glory
Looking out from behind the Sudkurve section of the magnificent Veltins-Arena, you can see the flames burst forth from Germany's tallest chimneys at the Veba power plant in Scholven and the cranes perched above the drab industrial city of Gelsenkirchen beyond.[LNB]Make your way around the stadium concourse and you will find posters advertising an 'Oldie Marathon' headlined by a special one-off appearance from Shakin' Stevens on May 14. This is not the kind of place where you would expect dreams to come true.[LNB]And yet the people of this downtrodden region of north-west Germany and their beloved Schalke 04 find themselves just two games away from an unlikely place in next month's Champions League final at Wembley. Two games against Manchester United, who land in Germany as favourites to heap more disappointment on a club who have grown accustomed to it.[LNB] Intimidating: 54,000 fans will pack into the Veltins-Arena on Tuesday night[LNB]'Champions of Pain' is just one of the phrases used to describe Schalke, who have not won the Bundesliga title for 53 years and missed out in 2001 on the last kick of the season. They were runners-up again last year and victory in next month's German Cup final against second division Duisburg will be only partial consolation if bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund are crowned champions.[LNB]'Bayer Leverkusen are even worse than us when it comes to bottling it,' protests one insider before adding ruefully: 'We're even second when it comes to finishing second!'[LNB]Pointing the way: Ralf Rangnick has impressed since being appointed Schalke boss[LNB]Coach Ralf Rangnick descends on an escalator towards the dressing rooms, alone. He gazes up at the framed black-and-white photos of Schalke's stars of yesteryear but does not seem like a man who would allow sentiment or nostalgia to cloud his thoughts.[LNB]Rangnick has only been in charge for six weeks but has soon brought stability to Die Konigsblauen Royal Blues after the turbulent reign of Felix Magath. Four Bundesliga victories have followed, as well as that stunning 7-3 aggregate win over Champions League holders Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.[LNB]A pullout poster in Saturday's match programme is simply a big photo of the scoreboard from the San Siro recording Schalke's 5-2 upset win. Not bad for a club who had never advanced beyond the group stage until three years ago. [LNB]Rangnick was about to suffer his first setback, a 1-0 defeat by Kaiserslautern that left Schalke 10th in the table. [LNB]Amuch-changed line-up shows his priorities lie with the first leg against United. Centre back Benedikt Howedes is nursing a stomach musclestrain, and holding midfielder Kyriakos Papadopoulos is rested. [LNB]Rightback Atsuto Uchida stays on the bench, while playmaker Jurado and winger Alexander Baumjohann are held back until the second half, when powerful Brazilian striker Edu and Jefferson Farfan, the explosive Peru winger, are given a break. Surprisingly, Raul plays the full 90 minutes.[LNB] 'United did the same today,' says Rangnick afterwards. 'We had a scout at Old Trafford and they had one here, too. This Schalke team played together for the first time and will never play together again. [LNB]'With the first XI we will hopefully be able to field on Tuesday, it will be a different ball game.'[LNB]Rangnick expresses amazement at the support shown to his captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer by Schalke fans. [LNB]Despite the prospect of Champions League glory, Neuer refuses to believe in the S04 dream anymore and last week announced he will leave the club where he has spent 20 years since the age of four. Bayern Munich, not United, is his likely destination. [LNB]Germany's top goalkeeper was probably unaware that leaflets were being distributed outside the stadium on Saturday that read: 'As a goalkeeper Neuer is No 1, but as a human beinghe is zero'.[LNB] Main man: Schalke's Raul celebrates scoring against Inter Milan[LNB]But, aside from some sporadic whistling, his reception was far better than expected. After all, Schalke fans are a loyal lot. They remain Germany's second-best supported club behind Bayern with four million fans and 90,000 members. Since moving into the 61,000-capacity Veltins-Arena in 2001, the average attendance has not dropped below 60,000. It will be limited to 54,000 against United.[LNB] When an ?80million sponsorship deal with Russian oil company Gazprom failed to prevent Schalke slipping ?120m into debt last year, the community bailed them out by backing a ?25m loan from public-owned energy supplier GEW. [LNB]Strangely for someone who seems so well prepared, Rangnick claims he is unaware of his opponents' poor record here. Ten-man United's exit to Bayern last season was the fourth time in a row they have lost to Bundesliga teams in two-legged ties.[LNB]Ottmar Hitzfeld, who beat United with Dortmund and Bayern on his way to two Champions League crowns, believes his old rival could be in for another surprise. [LNB]'Ferguson knows how difficult this task is,' said Hitzfeld. 'The danger is his players think subconsciously, 'Raul plays for Schalke but who else have they got?' United are favourites, but in a semi-final there is always a 50-50 chance. Schalke can also create a fairy-tale.' [LNB]And what a fairy-tale it would be.[LNB] We are not scared of United! Schalke issue battle cry ahead of Champions League clashThe man they call The Professor can stop Ferguson's European dreamRaul: Europe's leading marksman hasn't been to Wembley... yet!Ignore these stars at your peril! Schalke have the players to beat United, says Moller[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Felix Magath Places: Germany, Peru
