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Philadelphia Union to face Schalke 04 on May 9th at PPL Park

JonesKlassSchalke (Getty)

Just a day after announcing that Chelsea would be facing the MLS All-Stars in this summer's MLS All-Star Game at PPL Park, the Philadelphia Union revealed that another European club would be making a visit to the Union's stadium.

Philadelphia will face German Bundesliga side Schalke 04 in a friendly on May 9th, the Union announced on Thursday.

Schalke features such standouts as Spanish legend Raul, Dutch goal-scoring sensation Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Peruvian national team star Jefferson Farfan and U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones.

Schalke is the second European club scheduled to play the Union so far this season. Philly has also secured a friendly against Aston Villa on July 18th.

Comments

  1. As a Schalke 04 fan, I cannot tell you what joy I had at hearing this news. I’m flying in from Missouri for this game. That is the pull of the Bundesliga for some of us. Glad to see a team finally here. That it is my beloved Die Knappen…I’m beyond words.

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  2. I don’t buy the congested schedule argument. Teams are looking at these friendlies as training for their squads. 1st team player may go 45 minutes, then they throw out their young players. Comrade Nowak did this against Everton last year subbing in 3 teenagers in the 2nd half, one of whom hit the game winner.

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  3. This news is interesting indeed, coming after the news stories yesterday that Schalke is a contender to sign Clint Dempsey (which I would love to see). I checked out the Schalke Web site

    http://www.schalke04.com/

    and two weeks ago they opened an English language version of their Club Shop web site, meaning they want to broaden their international appeal. In addition to the game in Philly, the Schalke press release says “The team will be in New York from 8 to 14 May, during which time they will take on Major League Soccer outfit Philadelphia Union.”

    Anyone care to guess how many Schalke jerseys would be sold in the USA if they happened to have the name Dempsey on back?

    In addition to the players mentioned above, Schalke has Julian Draxler, who at 18 already is very good with potential to be the next big thing. And here is a link to a goal by Jefferson Farfan, one of the best goals this season.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ8F8WCcjSc

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  4. It’s good to see more big European clubs hosting matches across the USA. But why not during the winter? Some head to Spain or Italy with their clubs for rest or training. why not head to the South or Southwest? Quite warm for the weather. they could train in peace

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  5. since when is Chester PA such a international spot? I guess this gives the Union something to look forward to this summer, cuz they aren’t looking forward to many MLS season victories.

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  6. 1- Glad to see ANY team with a USMNT player come for a friendly.
    2- All the Pro’s of these games have been mentioned…MLS already has an odd schedule…with some planning it seems like the team could help find slots for some of these games for different teams. There might not be a big gap between games, but if they plan a patch for a few teams with a few home games or very short travel it should be fine. Players complain it can be hard just from going back and forth between coasts. If they have a few home or near home matches in a row it should be easier on the team to also work in a good friendly.

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  7. Jim – If you want to save some dough, don’t pay the exorbitant prices to go to the All Star Game. That’s a true exhibition.

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  8. I wonder what Schalke is getting out of this match other than brand awareness. Their regular season ends on May 5, so it is a short turnaround time to fly all the way to Philadelphia to play one game. I wonder if they have more set up with teams in NA that haven’t been announced yet.

    As a Union fan, I don’t mind seeing the friendlies, but my wallet does. Any other year I wouldn’t mind seeing a German squad, but this year with having the All Star Game and Aston Villa friendly, I am going to spend my money on other things besides exhibition matches with European squads.

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  9. In the case of the Union, we really need these friendlies and reserve team matches so we can figure out our line-up… Nowak certainly didn’t sort that out during the preseason.

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  10. I’d like to point out that these friendlies (along with the reserve league) allow teams to get squad players some real game action. As a Union supporter, it’s great to see some of their younger guys getting a run out versus top competition.

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  11. I will raise my standard objection to these in-season friendlies. Any benefit they provide MLS in terms of exposure and dollars is far outweighed by the damage they do in terms of schedule congestion, drawing attention away from real regular-season matches, and sending the unspoken message that MLS has so little self-respect that it will do anything to get on the pitch with big clubs — including disrupting its own season.

    There.

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  12. If everyone cared a lot of MLS regular season, we wouldn’t have these games that reaffirm MLS’ “mickey mouse” status. What league would break regular season for club friendles?

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  13. Personally, I would have rather seen Schalke as the opponent for the All-Star game instead of Chelsea. Watching Raul, Jermaine Jones and the rest against the All-Star team would have been cool to see.

    Oh well…

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