Former German national soccer player Benedikt Höwedes has been elected FC Schalke 04’s tenth honorary captain.
The 35-year-old was honored with a laudation and much applause at the general meeting of the traditional Gelsenkirchen club. “To be elected to the ranks of honorary captains is a huge honor for me,” said the 2014 world champion on stage in the Schalke Arena.
The former defender captained Schalke from 2011 to 2017. According to the club, this is the longest tenure as Schalke captain since the Bundesliga was introduced in the 1963/64 season. In the 2010/11 season he won the DFB Cup with the Revierklub.
Höwedes played 44 international matches for the national team. At the successful World Cup in Brazil nine years ago, he was in all seven games for the DFB team for the entire season.
In addition, former goalscorer Ernst Poertgen and coach Ivica Horvat were included in the cabin of honor of the Bundesliga relegated team on Saturday.