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Gelsenkirchen (dpa) - Is he coming or is he not coming?

The possible return of Ralf Rangnick as future sports director has long been superimposed on all other issues at FC Schalke 04.

But believing in a sporting rescue in the Bundesliga has been out of the question at least since the 0: 5 (0: 1) at VfL Wolfsburg, where the effect of the fourth coach change this season already after the second game under Dimitrios Grammozis fizzled out in an almost pitiful way.

So everything now revolves around the question of who should do the sporting rebuilding in the summer and free the club from its never-ending downward spiral.

For most fans the answer is obviously clear: Ralf Rangnick!

A petition was started on the Internet on Friday evening demanding his commitment as a sports director and which found more than 28,000 supporters in the first 30 hours.

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It is possible that this mood at the grassroots level will once again influence the majority in the Supervisory Board.

Because according to information from the "Bild" and the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" there was a heated argument about the possible return of Rangnick.

According to the reports, the head of the supervisory board, Jens Buchta, would prefer to hire Markus Krösche, who, ironically, replaced Rangnick as sports director at RB Leipzig in 2019.

The supervisory board member who introduced the Rangnick plan to the committee is said to have been massively attacked there at times.

“Now the power struggle for Rangnick begins”, was the headline of “Bild am Sonntag”.

According to consistent media reports, the 62-year-old himself should be ready to return to the club he coached in 2004, 2005 and 2011.

Why many followers almost long for him like a savior is also obvious.

Rangnick most recently worked for RB Leipzig and 1899 Hoffenheim and thus for two entities that, from an emotional point of view, represent the maximum possible contrast to a club like Schalke 04.

But he did it with great success, a clear plan and, from the current Schalke point of view, a very tempting lack of compromise.

Rangnick has never made a secret of his affection for this club.

The fact that a man who is currently being traded as the new national coach and almost ended up at AC Milan a year ago can obviously imagine going into the second division with the Schalke team also warms the fan soul.

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Only one person cannot please the current development: the new Schalke trainer Dimitrios Grammozis.

On Saturday in Wolfsburg, he was the only person in charge of the club who was constantly asked about the name Rangnick and of course did not comment on it.

Whether the former Bundesliga professional at the bottom of the table is only a transitional or a future solution is more than ever in question against the background of a possible Rangnick return.

In addition, Grammozis had to watch an appearance in his only second game as Schalke coach, which initially tipped in the wrong direction due to a bizarre own goal by Shkodran Mustafi (31st minute) and after the break with more goals from Wout Weghorst (51st), Ridle Baku (58th), Josip Brekalo (64th) and Maximilian Philipp (79th) went dramatically down the drain.

"You can tell that the past few months have left their mark on the players' heads," said the coach.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210314-99-813554 / 3

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