Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel accepts he will face a strong response from critics if his decision to make Domenico Tedesco the club's new coach does not pay off.
Heidel opted to replace Markus Weinzierl after the team finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season, missing out on European qualification.
Eyebrows were raised when Schalke appointed the 31-year-old to his first Bundesliga role, with Tedesco having only been working as a head coach since March when he helped Erzgebirge Aue avoid relegation from the 2. Bundesliga.
Heidel, who was sporting director at Mainz between 1992 to 2016, compared Tedesco with his previous coaches Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, who both moved to Borussia Dortmund after leaving Mainz.
"If it goes wrong, the outcry from the critics will be great: 'how could you do that and get a young trainer?'" Heidel told Bild. "But I am convinced that Domenico Tedesco is the right choice for Schalke.
"Even in the days at Mainz they tore me apart me because of Jurgen Klopp, then because of Thomas Tuchel and later also because of Martin Schmidt - and with all three it worked. The easiest decision would have been for me to continue with Markus Weinzierl.
"When Domenico talks about football, it reminds me a little of Thomas Tuchel. He does not use platitudes, his sentences are always deep.
"He has a clear plan, his teams were tactically always well adjusted. He is very communicative. And he has shown in Aue that he has made a team without reinforcements much better. In addition, he is highly intelligent and, at the same time, very grounded."
