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FC Schalke 04 have appointed Marc Wilmots as their new sporting director, as part of a restructuring of the club’s sporting management team. The 54-year-old Belgian put pen to paper on a long-term deal on Wednesday; January 3. André Hechelmann will take up the newly-created role of technical director.
“We — the supervisory board, my fellow board member Christina Rühl-Hamers and I — have been thinking about what would be the ideal structure given the current situation at Schalke. We arrived at the decision to strengthen our sporting management team at the director-level. This has been achieved through the addition of new responsibilities for the sporting director, as well as the newly-created position of technical director,” said Matthias Tillmann, CEO of S04. “In Marc Wilmots, we have been able to bring someone on board that is intimately acquainted with the business of football from several different perspectives and who knows what a successful dressing room looks like.”
As sporting director, Wilmots who won the UEFA Cup with the Royal Blues in 1997, will be responsible for squad planning, the coaching set-up and backroom staff. “As head coach of the Belgium national team, Marc took on several managerial responsibilities and helped sustainably grow and develop all departments associated with the team. That’s exactly what we expect from him at Schalke. Due to his proximity to the head coach and the team, he will also be able to see certain trends and dynamics within the first-team squad early on. This is the only way for us to be able to identify any negative developments and to be able to correct them as needed,” explained Tillmann.
Wilmots also listed working closely with the team and coaching staff, as well as helping to develop players and staff as a key part of his work. “I’m very much looking forward to this new endeavour. Schalke 04 are a very special club to me, as I was able to celebrate several major honours as a player for the club. Now, I want to be at the forefront of helping direct growth, giving Schalke new strength and building a successful future. We will only be able to achieve this if every single person is focused and professional in their work each and every day. Then, we will be able to excite our fans with intense, good and successful football,” said Wilmots.
In order to identify those areas in need of fine-tuning, Wilmots will take the time needed to get things right. “I will look at all our processes and routines and hold several discussions. During my time with the Belgium national team, I learned how important all of this is for the success of the team. We will embark on this process without losing sight of our short-term challenges as well — namely, the second half of the 2. Bundesliga season. In the mid- and long-term, we need to develop our squad and return to the Bundesliga. I will obviously not tackle this on my own, but will work together with Karel Geraerts, André Hechelmann and the rest of our staff.”
In order to allow the club to not only focus on the ongoing season, but also pursue strategic developments and other overarching objectives, the sporting management team will see the addition of a technical director. “This includes topics like digitalisation and football-specific data analysis,” explained Tillmann. The two directors will work closely together on a daily basis as well, with Tillmann adding, “The key intersection of responsibilities between the two positions are transfers. The technical director is fully involved in squad planning and is responsible for making transfers. He’s responsible for scouting, checking on our loan players and is the key link to the Knappenschmiede, meaning the role is focused on winning players both in and outside of the club. The odds of our actions being successful are significantly heightened if both directors work closely together.”
