Btw,
In the book, it is not Schalke which lost, but FC Herta BSC Berlin (Herta hat verloren).
Schalke was very unlikely to lose often in the 1940s, as the club simply won every trophy every time.
I suppose they changed it to Schalke because in the 1980s the (West) Berlin club Hertha was rather a obscure third league club (today they are back in the Bundesliga).
But Schalke is simply THE prewar german football team and if anyone thinks of prewar german football, the first team he thinks of is Schalke.
Today, they're just the eternal second.
But in the 1930s-late 1940s, Schalke was what Bayern Munich is today, at least regarding their successes.
On the other hand, Schalke accomplished that by using innovative new (at the time) playing styles and tactics inspired by Brazil where one of the coaches had lived, while Bayern today just throws around lots of money.
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