From the ruins of war and the margins of European football, two Bosnian exiles have helped resurrect one of Germany's most beloved clubs. Schalke 04 returns to the Bundesliga after three seasons in the second division, guided by coach Miron Muslic — who fled Bosnia as a child and built his career in football's quieter corners — and bolstered by 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, who sacrificed wages rather than retire. Their story is less about tactics than about what displaced people carry with them: hunger, loyalty, and the long memory of home.
Schalke's Bosnian Blueprint: Muslic Leads Revival Back to Bundesliga
I'm still hungry. And I want to help our team in the Bundesliga, too.
Mark
When Muslic arrived from Plymouth Argyle, did anyone actually know his story—that he'd fled Bosnia as a child?
Mimi
Not really. Most supporters had to look him up. That's the thing about lower-league football; you can build something real there and still be invisible to the wider world. His background only mattered once he started winning.
Mark
And Dzeko taking a pay cut at 39, heading to the second division—that's not typical for a player of his stature.
Mimi
No, it isn't. But he'd been benched at Fiorentina, and he wanted to play. Schalke offered him that. The money mattered less than the chance to be useful again. He scored six goals in the promotion run-in. That's not nothing at 40.
Mark
Does Muslic actually believe he can keep Dzeko sharp enough to contribute in the Bundesliga?
Mimi
He pushed hard to bring him back, so yes. But he's also realistic—Dzeko won't start every match. He's there for moments that matter, for experience, for the dressing room. Sometimes that's enough.
Mark
What's the real pressure on Muslic now?
Mimi
Establishing Schalke in the Bundesliga, not just surviving one season. Three years in the second division is a long fall. The supporters want proof it wasn't a fluke. And Muslic knows that if he succeeds here, he'll have options. His dream is the Bosnia national team job.
Mark
Does that ambition complicate his focus on Schalke?
Mimi
He says it doesn't, and maybe he means it. But he's also honest about it. He knows he won't be in Gelsenkirchen forever. That's the reality of coaching. You build something, you move on. The question is whether Schalke can sustain what he's built once he leaves.
O Pulso
- Schalke's appointment of an unknown Austrian-Bosnian coach from lower-league English football triggered immediate skepticism among a fanbase already bruised by three years in the second division.
- By midseason, the squad sat top of the table but lacked the attacking firepower to guarantee automatic promotion — a gap that threatened to derail the entire project.
- Edin Dzeko, 39 and benched at Fiorentina, took a significant pay cut to join the push, scoring six crucial goals before turning 40 and defying expectations of retirement.
- A Bosnian triangle — Muslic, Dzeko, and defender Nikola Katic — now anchors the club's ambitions, bound by shared national identity and a collective determination to make the return stick.
- Schalke's opening Bundesliga test against Augsburg follows a labored cup win over fourth-tier opposition, signaling that survival, not comfort, will define their first season back.
From the ruins of war and the margins of European football, two Bosnian exiles have helped resurrect one of Germany's most beloved clubs. Schalke 04 returns to the Bundesliga after three seasons in the second division, guided by coach Miron Muslic — who fled Bosnia as a child and built his career in football's quieter corners — and bolstered by 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, who sacrificed wages rather than retire. Their story is less about tactics than about what displaced people carry with them: hunger, loyalty, and the long memory of home.
Schalke is back in the Bundesliga after three seasons in Germany's second division — and almost nobody predicted it when Miron Muslic arrived in the summer of 2025. The Austrian coach with a Bosnian accent had come from Plymouth Argyle, a lower-league English club, and supporters were skeptical. What they didn't yet know was that Muslic had fled the Bosnian War with his parents at the age of nine, and had spent decades quietly building a career in football's margins before being handed the task of reviving one of Germany's most storied clubs.
He told his squad to shift up two gears. They did. By October, Schalke led the second-division standings. But as winter approached, the team still lacked the firepower to guarantee a top-two finish. The answer came in January: Edin Dzeko, Bosnia's captain, freshly returned from the World Cup and warming the bench at Fiorentina. At 39, he was expected to retire. Instead, he took a substantial pay cut to join Schalke's promotion push, scored six goals in the run-in, and turned 40 before the season ended.
Few expected him to continue. But weeks before the new campaign began, Dzeko signed a bonus-heavy one-year deal to return to the Bundesliga — a league he hadn't played in since his time at Wolfsburg, fifteen years earlier. He had other offers, he said, but Schalke was the only place worth staying for. Completing the Bosnian core is central defender Nikola Katic, a former Plymouth player under Muslic who already knew Dzeko from the national team.
Muslic's contract runs through 2028, and he speaks of Schalke with deep loyalty — but he is also candid about a longer ambition: to one day manage the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team. For now, though, the focus is on survival. Their first Bundesliga test comes against Augsburg, preceded by a labored cup win over fourth-tier opposition that Muslic read as a reminder of how much they will need Dzeko's experience. He shifted Schalke up two gears once. The harder shift is just beginning.
Schalke is back. After three seasons grinding through Germany's second division, the Royal Blues have climbed back into the Bundesliga—and almost nobody saw it coming a year ago, least of all the supporters who had to Google their new coach's name.
Miron Muslic arrived at Schalke in the summer of 2025 from Plymouth Argyle, a lower-league English club, and the appointment raised eyebrows. Who was this Austrian with a Bosnian accent? The coach himself knew what people were thinking. "Many were wondering: 'Who is this guy, where did he come from?'" he said later. What they didn't know was that Muslic had fled the Bosnian War with his parents when he was nine years old. He had spent decades building a career in the margins of European football, and now he was being asked to resurrect one of Germany's most storied clubs.
He told his squad they needed to shift up two gears. They did. By October, Schalke sat atop the second-division standings for the first time that season. But as winter approached, Muslic and sporting director Frank Baumann remained uncertain whether the squad had the firepower to guarantee a top-two finish and automatic promotion. Then, in January, the final piece arrived: Edin Dzeko, the Bosnia captain and a striker who had been rotting on the bench at Fiorentina. Dzeko was 39 years old, had just represented his country at the World Cup, and was widely expected to retire. Instead, he agreed to take a substantial pay cut to join Schalke's promotion push. He scored six goals in the run-in. By the time Schalke secured promotion, he had turned 40.
Few expected Dzeko to continue playing. But a few weeks before the new season began, he signed a one-year, bonus-heavy contract to return to the Bundesliga—a league he hadn't played in for 15 years, when he was at Wolfsburg. He had other offers, he said, but if he was going to keep playing, it would only be at Schalke. "I'm still hungry," he told the club's website. "And I want to help our team in the Bundesliga, too." Muslic, who had pushed hard to bring his countryman back, believes Dzeko can still make a difference in key moments, though the striker is unlikely to be a regular starter.
The third member of Schalke's Bosnian triumvirate is central defender Nikola Katic, who worked with Muslic years ago at Plymouth and already knew Dzeko from the national team. All three are now committed to ensuring that Schalke's return to the top flight is not a one-season affair. Muslic's contract runs through the end of the 2027-28 season, and he has said he will "remain a member of Schalke 04 forever." But he is also realistic. He knows that as a coach, he won't stay in Gelsenkirchen indefinitely. His real ambition, he has said, is to one day manage the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team. "The fundamental prerequisites are simply a perfect fit," he explained. "My background, my connection, and the love for my home country."
For now, though, the focus is on survival and establishment in the Bundesliga. Schalke's first real test came in their opening match against Augsburg. Before that, they had scraped through a German Cup first-round tie against fourth-tier Halle, winning 5-2 after extra time—a result that Muslic framed as proof of their resilience and a sign that they would need Dzeko's experience in the season ahead. The challenge is not simply to avoid relegation in year one, but to build something that lasts. Muslic has already shifted up two gears once. Now he needs to do it again.
Citações Notáveis
Many were wondering: 'Who is this guy, where did he come from?'— Miron Muslic, on his appointment as Schalke coach
I would like to be the national team coach of Bosnia-Herzegovina one day. And I believe it will happen.— Miron Muslic, on his long-term ambitions
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