Griden. "Kharkiv" - "Schalke 04". Match #8. Summer training camp 2026

July 22 at 17:00 (Kyiv time). Austria, "Silberstadt Arena". Friendly match #8. Summer training camp 2026.

Watch the match broadcast on the YouTube channel "Kharkiv" and on the TV channel and UPL.TV.

"Kharkiv" is finishing its summer training camp in Austria with a series of friendly matches, which already includes seven games, and the upcoming match will be the eighth and final at this stage of preparation. Mladen Bartulovich's team has one victory - 6:2 against "Karabakh", two draws - 3:3 with "Wolfsberger" and 3:3 with "Gräditz-Kralove", and suffered three defeats - against "Young Boys" (0:2), "Salzburg" (0:4), and "Jablonec" (0:1). Additionally, "Kharkiv" recently lost to Japanese "Fagiano Okayama" with a score of 1:2, providing more material for analysis to the coaching staff before the end of the training camp. The team's overall goal difference is currently 13:17, with Carlos Parako being the top scorer with four goals. The final friendly match will be the ultimate test before returning to Ukraine, where "Kharkiv" will continue preparations directly for the start of the official season.

"Schalke" is one of the most prestigious clubs in German football. However, in recent seasons, the club has been going through challenging times in its history. Although this year "Schalke" is returning to the Bundesliga after a 3-season hiatus. Last season, the "Miners" (as the club is called) confidently won the 2. Bundesliga, but in the German Cup, the team was eliminated in the round of 16.

The Germans started their season preparations much later than "Kharkiv" - on July 5. Interestingly, the team began training at home and only three days ago went to the training camp in Austria. At home, "Schalke" managed to play two friendlies against opponents from the German Regional League: first, the team lost to "Gutersloh" - 1:2, and then defeated "Aue" - 4:2.

Achievements: "Schalke" is one of the most successful clubs in Germany with a rich history of success. The team has been the national champion seven times (most recently in 1958) and has won the German Cup five times. The club's main international achievement is winning the UEFA Cup in the 1996/97 season, as well as two Intertoto Cups and the German Super Cup. In the 2010/11 season, the club reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Additionally, "Schalke" has won the 2. Bundesliga four times, allowing them to return to the top tier.

Geography: "Schalke" represents the city of Gelsenkirchen - an industrial center in the North Rhine-Westphalia state in western Germany. The city is part of the densely populated Ruhr region and is located between Dortmund and Essen. Gelsenkirchen emerged as a center of coal and metallurgical industries (hence the club's nickname), although today it is actively transforming into a modern service city. The population is approximately 262,000 people. Interestingly, the shortest road distance from Kharkiv to Gelsenkirchen is 2,316 kilometers.

Head coach: Miron Muslich - a 44-year-old Austrian specialist. He started his football career as a striker, playing for several Austrian clubs, including "Reid", "Gmunden", and others, before transitioning to coaching. Muslich began his coaching career in the "Reid" system, later led "Floridsdorfer", worked again with "Reid". He made the most progress at Belgian "Cercle Brugge", where he led the team to European competitions. In 2025, he worked with English "Plymouth" and then took over "Schalke" in May 2025.

Transfermarkt: According to the portal, the total value of the team's players is 59.7 million euros. The most expensive player in the team is Moroccan midfielder Soufian El-Fauzi - 9 million euros. Overall, a significant portion of the team's squad consists of foreign players, as the team includes players from Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Australia, Czech Republic, Cameroon, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Japan, Uruguay, Morocco, Algeria, Togo, Mali, Senegal, France, and Denmark.

In the summer break, the club exclusively strengthens for the Bundesliga, and if players are let go, it is only on loan or those whose contracts have expired. The acquisitions include experienced German goalkeeper Kevin Muller, forward Junor Adamu, and defensive midfielder Satoshi Tanaka, with the club paying around 2 million euros for the three players.