Schalke 04 is a German football club from Gelsenkirchen in Nordrhein-Westfalen and is one of the most popular teams in German football.

They also go under the names Die Königsblauen (the Royal blues) or Die Knappen (the miners).

The home games are played at Veltins (beer brand) Arena with a capacity of 61,500.

Schalke finished in 2nd position in the Bundesliga 2006/07 and are directly qualified for the Champions League.

The club has been German champions seven times, all before the Bundesliga was introduced, and runners-up eight times, three times since 2001. They have won the German Cup four times and made the final seven times. In 1997 Schalke won the UEFA Cup after defeating Inter in the final.