THE VITALS:

Team: Schalke 04

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2012-14 (Used for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 Bundesliga season’s)

Name/Number: Farfan #17

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

While the Adidas embroidery, club crest and the name and numbering are all still in fine order, there are some pulls and very small holes, in addition to the worn sponsor that cannot hide this shirt’s battle wounds. Still, it is a very wearable shirt with a lot of the wear to the shirt only visible at close range.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Extra Large (XL)

Pit to Pit Measurement: 23 inches

Shirt Length: 30 inches 

Made by Adidas in their ‘ClimaCool’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2012; based on other shirts of the same size, the dimensions suggest that this shirt could also fit a size XXL.

DESCRIPTION:

The Schalke home shirt made by Adidas for the 2012-14 season cycle would be clearly distinguished from its predecessor with the standout features being the embossed diagonal stripes and the use of a thick, whit v-neck collar; a first for the club since the 1989-90 season, and thick white bands around the sleeves. This would be the home shirt worn as ‘Die Knappen’ finished 4^th in 2012-13 and then 3^rd in 2013-14; with Huub Stevens and Jens Keller sharing the reins over the two seasons. This home shirt would also welcome the likes of: Michel Bastos, Saed Kolasinac, Tranquillo Barnetta, Ibrahim Afellay, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Dennis Aogo, Leon Goretzka and Felipe Santana, while Leroy Sane also made his debut in the 2013-14 season and this was shirt was also used in classic victories over: Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in 2012 as well as completing the double over Borussia Dortmund in the 2012-13 season during what was a very exciting time for the club!

THE SEASON(S):

Schalke continued to do great things in 2011-12 where after their incredible run to Champions League semi-final and DFB-Pokal capture in 2010-11; they would add a Europa League quarter final berth, another 3^rd place finish and the DFL-Supercup to their trophy cabinet as Huub Stevens had a full season to work his magic.

Although Raul would end his stay in Germany at the end of the 2011-12 season; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar would net an incredible 48 goals to take on the scoring burden! S04 would enjoy a fine start to the 2012-13 season as they won 6 of their first 9 games, however, the 2012 portion of the season would nosedive in the winter months and ultimately cost Huub Stevens his job as he was replaced in the dugout by Jens Keller. A win on their return to the Bundesliga after the winter break when they beat Hannover 5-4 on 18^th January proved a false dawn as they went winless in their next 4 games, however, form would pick up under the new coach with Schalke winning 8 of their remaining 12 games of the season to rally to a 4^th place finish.

In the UEFA Champions League, they were drawn in Group B alongside – Montpellier, Olympiacos and Arsenal and the 2010-11 semi-finalists were the standout team in the group as they won 3 and drew 3 to finish in 1^st place ahead of Arsenal. They would be drawn against Galatasaray in the Last 16 and appeared to have the upper hand after securing a 1-1 in Turkey in the 1^st Leg; however, they would be beaten 3-2 at home in the 2^nd Leg to end their European journey in the Round of 16.

Jens Keller would hope to become the first Schalke manager to complete an entire season from start to finish since Felix Magath did in 2009-10, and he €18 million was spent on bringing in Kevin Prince-Boateng and Adam Szalai from AC Milan and Mainz respectively. It would be a tale of two halves for Schalke in the Bundesliga, as 2013 was entirely inconsistent as they ended the year having won 8, drawn 4 and lost 5 as they sat in 7^th place with 28 points ahead of the winter break.

In 2014 however, a new reinvigorated S04 were unleashed as they carried their better form from November and December into the New Year and would each of their first four games of 2014. After failing to defeat Mainz and the Bayern, Keller’s side would enjoy 5 wins in their next 7 outings and find themselves just 3 points behind Borussia Dortmund in 2^nd place. Back to back defeats in their next two games would end their hopes of finishing runners-up, however, they would secure 3^rd place ahead of Bayer Leverkusen by 3 points!

After seeing off PAOK in the Champions League play-off, they took their place in Group E alongside Steaua Bucharest and two of the 2012-13 Europa League semi-finalists in FC Basel and Chelsea. While it wasn’t the swashbuckling group stage performance of 2012-13; Schalke would still qualify from the group in 2^nd place, before meeting eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-final in a tie that showcased the famed BBC trio at their frightening best.

The notable players that season(s) were:

Klaas-jan Huntelaar, Jefferson Farfan, Edu, Ciprian Marica, Julian Draxler, Gerald Asamoah, Chinedu Obasi, Teemu Pukki, Leroy Sane, Adam Szalai, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Ibrahim Afellay, Roman Neustädter, Max Meyer, Christoph Moritz, Tranquillo Barnetta, Raffael, Jermaine Jones, Marco Hoger, Lewis Holtby, Michel Bastos, Jan Kirchhoff, Leon Goretzka, Christian Clemens, Dennis Aogo, Joel Matip, Kaan Ayhan, Christian Fuchs, Atsuto Achida, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Saed Kolasinac, Felipe Santana, Benedikt Howedes, Tim Hoogland, Sergio Escudero, Christoph Metzelder, Ralf Fahrmann, Timo Hilderbrand, Lars Unnerstall