The royal blue without which the Bundesliga is not the same

There is something special about Gelsenkirchen, a city that is far from the size of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg or nearby Cologne, but where the love for football and Schalke is probably greater than anywhere else in Germany.

The city of mines and a thousand fires has around 260.000 inhabitants and 210.000 registered fans (third in number in Germany, sixth in the world), so all of this perhaps best speaks to why the royal blue club is special.

This fact, as well as the fact that Schalke is a historical football giant, are the best confirmation that the Bundesliga is not the same without the "miners" from the Ruhr. For three long seasons, the strongest league in Germany lacked the charm of this club, the roar from the "Feltins Arena"...

This May, that finally changed - Schalke won the "Zweit" and next season will once again compete against their biggest rivals Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, far from the "hell" they have fallen into in recent years.

After two seasons in the second tier, during which they risked relegation to the Third League, one move by the club's management changed everything.

HE KNOCKED OUT CHAMPIONSHIP LIVERPOOL, AND WAKE UP THE SHALKS

That move was to bring Mirona Muslića for the coach, the man who, a little over a year ago, with Plymouth eliminated Liverpool from the FA Cup - at that moment, the future champions of England and a team that was probably in the best form in Europe.

Plymouth were the last-placed team in the Championship at the time and failed to maintain their second-division status until the end, and the club said they were not very willing to let Muslić join Šalka.

However, the expert who had to leave his hometown of Bihać as a child due to the war and move with his family to Innsbruck could not refuse the invitation of a great man from nearby Germany.

It was clear from the beginning that the coach from Bosnia and Herzegovina "clicked" in the right way with Schalke, the victories began, and everything became easier when a legend from his homeland arrived at the club in January of this year - Edin džeko.

Dijamant's goals came immediately, and when he had to take a break due to injury in the epic match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy, the experienced and best player was there. Kenan KaramanHis goal at the weekend knocked out Fortuna and the party in front of more than 60.000 people at the "Feltins Arena" could begin.

Šalke is where it belongs.

THE RETURN OF THE BIG DERBY: WE ALMOST MISSED YOU

The return of Schalke also means the return of one of the world's greatest derbies - known as the "Revier derby" or "Ruhr derby", a clash of neighbours between Schalke and Borussia Dortmund.

Borussia administrators jokingly commented on social media that the Bundesliga wouldn't be the same without this derby.

The moment Schalke secured a return, the Dortmund team congratulated their great rival with a photo of a plane carrying the message: We almost missed you.

And for this derby to be played in the coming years, Schalke will have to learn from the mistakes of the recent past. It was practically unthinkable for the Gelsenkirchen team to be relegated from the Bundesliga, and then it sensationally happened in 2021.

He returned to Schalke the following season, and then he obviously made mistakes that he will not be allowed to make now, so he quickly returned to "Zweit".

Now the seven-time German champion is on a new start - this is a chance he must seize to make the "royal blue" color one of the most important in the country again.