Tag: Santo

SCHALKE BEAT DYNAMO IN GERMAN CUP

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With the new Bundesliga season yet to commence, German top flight teams got the chance to test just how well they might be prepared for the new season’s curtain raisers as they slugged it out with the rest of the clubs from the lower divisions in the third round of the German Cup.


Dynamo Berlin hosted Schalke 04 at Sportpark and made sure to give The Royal Blues a run for their money even if Domenico Tedesco’s side ran out 2-0 winners as they advanced to the next stage.

It is however still a sorry sight, seeing Dynamo reduced to a fourth tier tiny club as against to when they dominated the East German Championship prior to the historic albeit figurative fall of the Berlin Wall leading to the unification of East and West Germany under its current name.

Now playing in front of a 14,000 capacity Park right there in the city of Berlin, The Wine Redsfrustrated Schalke for long spells before they got bailed out by two late goals from Ukrainian YevhenKonoplyanka. Continue reading “SCHALKE BEAT DYNAMO IN GERMAN CUP”

Even outside of the Premier League, Franco di Santo continues to struggle

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In the early stages of Franco di Santo’s career, he was labeled as the new ‘’Maradona’’ as he was making waves with his childhood club AudaxItaliano where di Santo was able to score 12 in 17 appearances in 2007 and the Argentinean player continued scoring goals as well as making impressive appearances in the following year.


It was because of these memorable performances that Chelsea decided to sign Franco di Santo on January of 2008 for a price tag of £3.4 million for a player who at that point in time was 19 years old.

Franco di Santo spent 2 seasons in Stamford Bridge but could never really make an impact with Chelsea as he had to settle with a space on the sidelines as a substitute player for a significantly long period of time.

The Argentinean player would later be offloaded to Blackburn Rovers and his performances did not get any better as he continued to struggle with a lack of goals or appearances that would be worth remembering. Continue reading “Even outside of the Premier League, Franco di Santo continues to struggle”

NALDO SET TO MISS SEASON REMAINDER

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Schalke 04 star Naldo is reportedly set to miss the rest of the games for this season after his groin injury was confirmed.


The German side played the return leg of their Europa League match in the round of 16 but the Brazilian defender could not finish the game with the rest of the team.

The 34-year old is set to undergo a surgery within the next few days. MRI Scan reveal a partial tendon tear in the adductors.

“Naldo has partially torn a tendon in the adductors and will be sidelined until the end of the season, the head coach of the club Markus Weinzierl said.

The team would have to play the 22nd match this season against fourth place Hoffenheim this weekend. The team is in the upper part of the table so they would be hoping to frustrate their opponents. Continue reading “NALDO SET TO MISS SEASON REMAINDER”

Franco Di Santo Starts Making an Impression in Schalke Team

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Franco di Santo is in danger of being a forgotten man in the Bundesliga after his move to Schalke did not provide him with enough first-team opportunities.


However, this has changed in recent weeks with the player getting substantial amount of action. Incredibly, he is still waiting for his first goals of the season despite having appeared in five games. His contribution primarily has been in other areas of the pitch like bringing others into play. After having played regularly in the last few weeks, Di Santo showed a lot of promise by coming up with two assists in the last game against Mainz.

It was always going to be difficult for the former Chelsea striker to feature ahead of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar when it comes to games. The Dutch international is clearly the first choice when it comes to leading the line-up. However, Di Santo has been appearing in a mixture of roles over the last few weeks. Even though he has been picking up some yellow cards with a fair amount of consistency, his two assists against Mainz very important in achieving the 3-0 win. Schalke are going through a difficult moment after having managed only one win prior to the victory against Mainz. Continue reading “Franco Di Santo Starts Making an Impression in Schalke Team”

Franco Continues Second Season With Schalke

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At the training camp that Schalke had Leon Goretzka along with Franco di Santo stood out in the opening match.


The game was against the first division of China. Franco di Santo was a scorer in the training camp. Both the teams had much to say about the state of the grounds before the game started off between Schalke and R&F. The game was, however, a lively one; there were frequent drink breaks as the humidity levels were too great. The match was broadcasted live and was a major match watching among the Chinese audience.

Goretzka received a large cup as he and the others, including Franco, put in their contributions to the game. There were goals scored by Franco di Santo along with others. The match that was played by Schalke with R&F saw the former team start off with an advantage. Schalke team played on the defensive most of the time in the game. Franco has decided to continue for a second season with the club. Indeed, with his participation in Bundesliga the Argentine definitely came under pressure. Continue reading “Franco Continues Second Season With Schalke”

Analyzing the possible football destinations of Franco di Santo

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Franco Di Santo had a prolific season with Werder Bremen as he scored 13 goals in 26 appearances during his last season performing with the German club.

It was because of this impressive campaign that Schalke 04 opted to sign Franco Di Santo for a transfer fee of €6 million.


Unfortunately for Schalke 04, Franco Di Santo has not been able to replicate his performances and the Argentine player is being linked away with a move away from the club that he joined back on July of 2015.

The 27 year old forward is a on and off player as he consistently gets playing time with Schalke 04 but most of that playing time is as a substitute player as Franco Di Santo is mostly being used as a backup option more than anything else.

When Franco Di Santo joined Schalke 04 on July 25 of 2015, the Argentine attacker penned a 4 year contract with the Bundesliga club and even though his debut season with Schalke 04 has not been impressive, there is a chance that he continues with the club for another season, taking into consideration that his deal still continues rolling on for a few more years.

However, it does seem like the head coach of Schalke 04, Andre Breitenreiter has lost faith in Franco Di Santo and it’s why the Argentine player is being used mostly as a backup option instead of being a first team player. Continue reading “Analyzing the possible football destinations of Franco di Santo”