This optimism has rubbed off on Höwedes. He's kept his head up and has worked with dogged determination. It's paid off. He's battled back step by step and he was included in the squad for the Europa League game in Nicosia. The next step came the weekend after: in the 1-0 away win against Stuttgart, he wasn’t just named in the squad; he was on the pitch. The World Cup winner was brought on for Max Meyer a minute before the end.
Starting spot against Frankfurt? "Take it slowly" to start with
Not a lot of playing time, lots of influence, and just one substitution: Höwedes is back. Is he ready for the starting eleven? For the Frankfurt game of all games? Höwedes has a special relationship with Eintracht Frankfurt. The memories are not all positive, but several are. His record with Schalke against Frankfurt is worse than against almost every other team. He has only played against the boys from Hessen seven times, wining two, drawing three, and losing two. One look to the individual stats changes the picture entirely. Höwedes has been quite consistent and played quite well against Eintracht, having made a good number of significant impacts. The defender has two goals and an assist to his name in this fixture. Only against Bayern has Höwedes been more successful.
With regards to a place in the starting line-up, the world champion is experienced enough to know not to get ahead of himself. "We need to take it slowly and we don't want to push anything too soon," said Höwedes. However, after his comeback against Stuttgart, he's hungry for more than just a minute's football. When he was asked how it felt to finally feel the grass under his feet again, Höwedes' response was less than surprising: "It felt very good."
Every now and then, DFB.de takes a look at a first-team player who has something special coming up. Today it is the turn of Schalke captain Benedikt Höwedes, who should today finally bring his four-month injury lay-off to and end when he takes to the field against Eintracht Frankfurt on Bundesliga matchday 6.
Benedikt Höwedes, the footballer, did something pretty special in the summer of 2014, securing the fourth star on Germany's crest in Brazil. A year later, Benedikt Höwedes, the footballer, was taking a break from the game, but the man off the field was again doing something pretty special. In Ratingen, he took to the altar with his childhood sweetheart Lisa to enter a lifelong contract. His heart, his gut, his brain – and when it really mattered, his head – all said, "I do." He spoke to Schalke 04's website about the ceremony and his frame of mind, saying: "It was a perfect weekend for my wife and me. I'm very happy."
Contract extension at Schalke – a matter of the heart
From Höwedes' point of view, the summer of 2015 was just as productive as that of 2014; he now goes through life as a world champion and as someone's better half. All in all, the 27-year-old was a busy bee in the post-World Cup summer. Another childhood love of his is football, and he made a similar commitment to it, albeit not an indefinite one. Regardless, his heart and his gut were also involved in this decision. "They're telling me that I have unfinished business here at Schalke," he told Schalke03.de.
He also cited emotional reasons for this decision when he announced it on his Facebook page: "Dear Schalke fans, I've been lucky enough to wear the Royal Blue shirt for the last 14 years. I'm grateful for the chance to play for a club with so much heart. Right now, as offers are coming in, I asked myself if I would want to say farewell to you after we ended last season the way we did. Definitely not!"
He's not wrong – Schalke made a real mess of the second half of the 2014/15 season. With only 21 points and a goal difference of -5, it was more than just a minor slip-up for the Royal Blues, who threw away the chance to qualify for the Champions League and in doing so missed out on their goal for the season. There was a positive side effect from the misery –in the face of offers from lots of clubs, Höwedes declined all of them. He sent out the message that although it was a tough call, he is remaining a Royal Blue.
Four months out with ankle ligament injury
Therefore, regarding the important issues in his life, Höwedes has put things in order in the last few weeks. He’s had the time to do so, because one matter has been out of order – his body. In the penultimate game of last season, Höwedes picked up an injury against Paderborn which was just as bad as it sounds: two ligaments in his left ankle were almost completely torn.
Above all, the injury has been a long and drawn-out process for him. Contrary to advice, he travelled with his team to their pre-season training camp. The Schalke side stayed at the Schlosshotel by the Wörthersee in Austria, and Höwedes was there, but not to train, not to play and not to follow in the footsteps of Roy Black, but rather to simply be part of the team and fulfil his role as captain. In his own words, "I wanted to be near the team, spend time with the boys and soak up the atmosphere. You can heal better by staying positive."
Höwedes: "It's clear that Breitenreiter is up for the task at Schalke”
Another good reason for it was the André Breitenreiter. Schalke 04 have a new manager, who can prove to be a second upside to the poor finish to the 2014/15 season. This is a view shared by Höwedes himself, who is excited about Roberto di Matteo's successor. He said of his first impressions: "You can see that he's up for the task here and he wants to take the team to the next level. I saw the look in his eyes when we first met. I was convinced from that moment." He continued to sing his praises: "On one hand the manager is relaxed, but on the other hand he leads the team with a great style. Andre Breitenreiter is a perfect fit at FC Schalke 04 and he inspires a lot of optimism."
This optimism has rubbed off on Höwedes. He's kept his head up and has worked with dogged determination. It's paid off. He's battled back step by step and he was included in the squad for the Europa League game in Nicosia. The next step came the weekend after: in the 1-0 away win against Stuttgart, he wasn’t just named in the squad; he was on the pitch. The World Cup winner was brought on for Max Meyer a minute before the end.
Starting spot against Frankfurt? "Take it slowly" to start with
Not a lot of playing time, lots of influence, and just one substitution: Höwedes is back. Is he ready for the starting eleven? For the Frankfurt game of all games? Höwedes has a special relationship with Eintracht Frankfurt. The memories are not all positive, but several are. His record with Schalke against Frankfurt is worse than against almost every other team. He has only played against the boys from Hessen seven times, wining two, drawing three, and losing two. One look to the individual stats changes the picture entirely. Höwedes has been quite consistent and played quite well against Eintracht, having made a good number of significant impacts. The defender has two goals and an assist to his name in this fixture. Only against Bayern has Höwedes been more successful.
With regards to a place in the starting line-up, the world champion is experienced enough to know not to get ahead of himself. "We need to take it slowly and we don't want to push anything too soon," said Höwedes. However, after his comeback against Stuttgart, he's hungry for more than just a minute's football. When he was asked how it felt to finally feel the grass under his feet again, Höwedes' response was less than surprising: "It felt very good."
