Sockers Play Host to Germany’s Schalke 04 Soccer Team Tonight

As the Dallas Cowboys like to call themselves America’s Team, Schalke 04 is Germany’s Team.

“They many not be the best soccer team in Germany, but they are the most popular team,” said former Socker and Schalke 04 goalkeeper Volkmar Gross. “They are an old, traditional team that come from a coal-mining, industrial area that is like the German Pittsburgh.”

Schalke 04, a team that has made its mark playing the outdoor game, will play the Sockers in an International Challenge indoor exhibition match at 6:05 tonight at the Sports Arena.

In addition to winning seven Bundesliga (First Division) titles, Schalke 04 has won the coveted DFB (Football Assn.) Cup twice.

Schalke is a suburb of Gelsenkirchen, which is in the North Rhine area of West Germany and is about 75 miles southeast of Amsterdam.

“Schalke is not a rich suburb,” Gross said, “but it is a clean, middle-class area. Workers live there in flats. You used to be able to see the big wheels of the coal mines. I don’t think the mines operate that much anymore.”

The 04 in the team name means the club was founded in 1904.

“They have a big, big tradition,” said Gross, who played outdoor for Schalke 04 from 1977-79 and indoor for the Sockers from 1980-83. “Schalke used to play in an old stadium that seated around 45,000 people. The stands were close to the field, and there was singing in the stadium. It was an incredible atmosphere.”