Schalke

FC Schalke 04 are a professional football club in Germany who have played in the Bundesliga, the top flight of Germany football, for the majority of their history.

They were founded in 1904 and have gone on to win the German Championship on seven different occasions. Success has also come in Cup competitions as their roll of honour includes five DFB-Pokas, a DFL-Supercup and a UEFA Cup.

In 2001 they moved into the Veltins-Arena, which is their current home and has the capacity to hold 61,973 fans. It was one of the stadiums used during the 2006 World Cup.
The football team is the second largest sports clubs in Germany with 119,040 members. The club also offers basketball, handball and track and field as other activities.

Schalke's biggest rivals in the game are Borussia Dortmund and this is considered to be one of the strongest rivalries in the country. When the Ruhr neighbours meet, it is referred to as the Revierderby.

When the club was first formed in 1904, it was known as Westfalia Schalke. Eight years later they merged with the gymnastic club Schalker Turnvere to help them gain entry into an official league. It wasn't until 1924 that they adopted their current name.

The Gelsenkirchen-based club dominated the early stages of the national championship by winning the title in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940 and 1942. They then had to wait until 1958 for their next Championship win, which is also their last to date.

Schalke were one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963, the new professional league in Germany. In the early stages of that competition they struggled near the bottom of the standings and were relegated in 1981. They did not spend long outside the top flight, though, as they returned the year later. 

In 1997 they won their first UEFA European competition. It came in the UEFA Cup where they beat Inter Milan on penalties in the final.

They qualified for the UEFA Cup in 2003 and 2004 as winners of the Intertoto Cup, a competition that no longer exists.

Their best run in the Champions League came in 2011 when they reached the semi-final. Wins over Valencia and Inter in the knockout stages put them through to the last four. Unfortunately for the German club, they were beaten by Manchester United 6-1 on aggregate over the two legs.

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