Few clubs in German football carry the weight of history that Schalke do. Seven top-flight titles and a UEFA Cup triumph sit proudly in their cabinet, while the Arena AufSchalke — a colossus of modern stadium architecture — has hosted matches at the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League final. Yet for a club of such stature, the past several years have been a painful chapter.

Schalke, from the former mining city of Gelsenkirchen, spent four of the last five seasons toiling in German football's second tier. Now, at last, they are back in the Bundesliga — and their fans are daring to hope once more.

A club rediscovering itself

The BBC's More than the Score podcast explored what this return means for the club, its supporters, and German football as a whole. Presenter Mani Djazmi spoke with former Schalke player Christian Fuchs and BBC Sport's Nathan Edwards to trace the arc of the club's storied past and uncertain present.

Central to the conversation was Schalke's fierce rivalry with Borussia Dortmund — one of football's most charged local derbies — and what it will realistically take for the club to reclaim a place among Germany's elite.

Muslic and the Dzeko effect

Head coach Miron Muslic also features in the episode, having spoken to the BBC's Euro Leagues podcast about the impact of legendary Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko at the club. Muslic's insights paint a picture of a dressing room with renewed ambition — and a totemic figure helping to set the tone.

Dzeko, whose career has spanned top clubs across Europe, brings not only goals but also the kind of experience and mentality that a club working its way back to relevance needs above all else.

Beyond the scoreline

Schalke's story — of decline, endurance, and cautious renaissance — is exactly the kind of narrative that More than the Score was built to tell. The podcast ranges across the sporting world, from Formula One to netball, MMA to figure skating, and Grand Slam tennis to Diamond League athletics, always seeking the human story behind the result.

With Schalke back under the Bundesliga's bright lights, the question is no longer whether they belong — it is how far they can go.