2024-03-21 01:13:25
As a player, Benedikt Höwedes had legendary status among Schalke fans. Nevertheless, his time in royal blue ended abruptly. Höwedes sacrificed himself for the club.
Benedikt Höwedes was the most influential figure at FC Schalke 04 for years. The central defender and 2014 world champion played for the “Knappen” professionals for ten years and played 333 games in royal blue. But his last months in Gelsenkirchen were disappointing. Höwedes barely got a chance under former coach Domenico Tedesco and ultimately had to leave the club abruptly.
A process that was not well received by Schalke fans. Höwedes himself was also disappointed, as he said in the “90 minutes – an evening among Schalke” discussion group. He found the manner “disrespectful,” the “WAZ” quoted him as saying. “It was a ‘please go’ – without the ‘please’,” said Höwedes.
The 44-time national player was also offended by the external communication of those responsible at the time: “For me, it was about dealing with things. Untruths were put out into the world and I couldn’t cope with that.”
According to his own statement, Höwedes risked his own health for a long time for the well-being of the club: “The truth is: I always played in pain for the last six months, with three injections per match day, because the club asked me to do so. They said I “I’m such an important player and needed.” He even postponed an important operation on his hip so that he wouldn’t miss Schalke for months.
“I had to cry like a castle dog”
The pain of saying goodbye was great. “It took a few years,” admitted Höwedes. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with Schalke anymore. I unfollowed all the players on social media, unfollowed the club, it really took me a long time to process that.”
But the fans touched the now 36-year-old again and again, for example celebrating him at a Schalke game in the European Cup against Lokomotiv Moscow, where Höwedes played until the end of his career. Last year he was named the club’s honorary captain. An emotional moment at the general meeting. “I had tears in my eyes and had to fight with myself. Afterwards I sat in the car and had to cry like a castle dog. Something like that doesn’t leave me indifferent. Especially because I was left at the time. There were so many great moments and stuff like that a stupid ending.”