Schalke 04 have decided to appoint Ghanaian-born former German international Gerald Asamoah as the club's new youth team coach.

 The 38-year-old and former player of the Royal Blues has taken charge of the U-23 side.

“The U23s are very important to us,“ said Schalke general manager Christian Heidel.

"The U23 side is the last stage of development in our academy. We want to support the U23s more than we have in the past and I think it’s really important for me to be in regular contact with Gerald Asamoah.

"It’s really important to have someone who focuses solely on this team.” Heidel is convinced that Asamoah is the right man for the job. “This job needs someone who fully identifies with the club and the task, therefore Gerald fits perfectly. We are really pleased that he is continuing to work at Schalke.”

For Asamoah, he is pleased with the confidence reposed in him and is also looking forward to his new task “After I finished my playing career, I completed my Sport Management studies at the University of St Gallen so that I had the necessary qualifications to begin my ‘second’ career,”

“I am therefore really pleased to be able to work for my club and with the U23s side, who I finished my career with. I'm looking forward to going down a new path in my career.”

Gerald Asamoah made 279 Bundesliga appearances between 1999 and 2010 for Schalke, scoring 44 times.

In the UEFA Cup. Asamoah scored five times in his 51 appearances. The striker won the DFB Cup with Schalke in both 2001 and 2002. He has also made the most number of appearances of any Schalke player for the Germany national team, picking up 43 caps and scoring six times.

He was a World Cup runner up in 2002 and also part of the squad that finished third at the 2006 World Cup.

In 2012, Club members voted Asamoah into Schalke’s hall of fame.