Fritz Walter Stadium is sold out for FCK’s Saturday night match against Schalke 04. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Two legendary German soccer clubs meet on Saturday night, when 1. FC Kaiserslautern hosts Schalke 04 at a sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium.
Both teams once played in the top-tier Bundesliga for years and both have been German champions. Schalke took the title in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940 and 1958, so never in the Bundesliga, which was established in 1963.
The Red Devils won the Bundesliga in 1991 and 1998 and were German champions in 1951 and 1953, with teams that included the man the stadium is named after, Fritz Walter.
There were some changes to this year’s team during the week. Naatan Skyttä, a 23-year-old offensive midfielder, joined the Red Devils from USL Dunkirk in the French second division. He has played with first-division teams in France, Norway and Denmark and has experience with the Finnish under-21 national team.
Jannis Heuer is leaving the Betzenberg and heading to league competitor Preussen Münster, where he is on loan for the season.
For Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. game, coach Torsten Lieberknecht has his choice on who to start, with everyone on board except the injured Frank Ronstadt and Fabian Heck. It is expected that Luca Sirch will move up to midfield so Kim Ji-Soo can get his first start on defense for FCK.
Team and local officials are asking spectators to arrive early Saturday night, because there will be a lot of traffic and congestion around the stadium. Gates open at 6 p.m.
Next up for the Red Devils is the first round of the German cup in Potsdam against RSV Eintracht at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 17. Then they head west down the autobahn A6 on Aug. 22 for a Friday evening game against neighboring Elversberg.
FCK is back on the Betzenberg on Aug. 31, for a match against SV Darmstadt 98.
August 8, 2025 10:48
