By Alessandro Schiavone in Gelsenkirchen
Schalke 04 0-3 Real Madrid
**Goals**: Mbappé, Huijsen, Espi (RM)
Achievements in football might have a short memory. But football supporters certainly don’t.
And football took a backseat when Marc Cucurella was introduced after the hour mark.
The ex-Chelsea left-back, making his Real Madrid debut in Germany against Schalke 04 yesterday afternoon, replaced Álvaro Carreras and was met by a chorus of whistles.
The freshly crowned World Cup winner is still a figure of hate in Germany after he blocked Jamal Musiala’s goal-bound effort with his hand at Euro 2024.
Back then, Germans were denied a blatant penalty in the 106th minute of extra time in the quarter-finals of their home Euros, paving the way for Mikel Merino to head home the winner. The result was still locked at 1-1 and who knows how that one might have panned out.
And for many people, his deceitful act led to Germany’s downfall at Euro 2024.
Yet it was no surprise that the boo boys were out in full force each time he had the ball, even in the split-second moments when he... HEADED it. Talk about leaving no stone unturned.
Those whistles were accompanied by the stick Vini Jr. was on the receiving end of from one of Germany’s most passionate fanbases.
Schalke 04, one of Germany’s sleeping giants, sealed a return to the Bundesliga last season and looked well organised against the record Champions League winners despite losing 3-0.
Kylian Mbappé got the visitors off the mark when he slotted past Loris Karius after going through on goal. Dean Huijsen’s fine header doubled the lead, and Espí nodded home Real Madrid’s third in the second period.
But Schalke occasionally threatened and can take heart from their spirited performance. Besides, losing to José Mourinho’s Real Madrid is no shame, and doing so in a friendly bears no repercussions.
The club from Gelsenkirchen were one of Germany’s main forces a few decades ago, winning the 1997 UEFA Cup, regularly challenging for the Bundesliga crown and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2011. Before financial problems hit, a number of big-name players left, and the club dropped down to the 2. Bundesliga twice. And without sensible reinvestment, it has been difficult to get back to the upper echelons of German football.
Asked what the club’s goals were for next term, manager Miron Muslić laid emphasis on “stabilisation” first.
Because the club are still operating on a shoestring financially. Yet the fans couldn’t care less as they not only had a taste of a superclub returning to Gelsenkirchen (the norm back in the day) but also settled the score with two of football’s most loathed footballers.
And with the togetherness, talent and work ethic in the team they can look forward to what the future holds.
As for Cucurella, he's now gotten used to the animosity which will eventually settle down and turn to indifference. And if anything, he's used it as fuel to take his game to the next level.