5 clubs that have surprised everyone in Europe this season

#2 Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)

Domenico Tedesco: Schalke's man for the long term?

Schalke give the impression of being in a perpetual search for their managerial lodestar. Each of their previous three head coaches have lasted just a single season, while over the last decade, 12 different coaches have led them in one form or another.

After Andre Breitenreiter and Markus Weinzierl, Domenico Tedesco became the latest managerial upstart to take the reigns when he left second division side Erzgebirge Aue to take charge at the Veltins-Arena this summer.

The upswing has been immediate. A side who finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season now find themselves second at the halfway stage of the new campaign. The race for the top four is tight but Schalke are better positioned than they have been at this stage of the season in six years to qualify for the Champions League.

If Tedesco and his side can maintain their form until the end of the campaign, it might just produce the biggest shock of all: Schalke keeping a coach on board for a second season.