Overview
- On May 19, 2001 Schalke thought it had won the Bundesliga after a 5-3 home win, but Bayern’s Patrik Andersson scored an indirect free‑kick equaliser in stoppage time to hand Bayern the title.
- The decisive restart followed an indirect free kick awarded by referee Markus Merk for a handball by loanee Mathias Schober, a sequence that turned pitchside celebration into collective shock.
- Schalke’s first Champions League game on September 11, 2001 drew 52,333 fans to the new Arena AufSchalke but was played in near silence as news of the attacks in the United States spread.
- UEFA initially ordered the matches to go ahead for reasons of sporting neutrality, then cancelled the following day; Schalke officials led by Rudi Assauer had tried to postpone their fixture but the club still played and lost 0-2 to Panathinaikos.
- Contemporary pieces in 2026 treat both episodes as defining moments for Schalke — the ‘Meister der Herzen’ label from May 2001 and the muted Champions League debut from September 2001 continue to shape how fans and the club remember that era.