GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) – Edin Dzeko scored a goal minutes into his Schalke debut against Kaiserslautern in Germany’s second division on Sunday, helping his team to a 2-2 draw.
Dzeko, 39 years old, Joins Schalke in surprise transfer The player, who came on from Italian team Fiorentina on Thursday, appeared to be boosted by another substitute, Ivan Prutazin, who came on in the 61st minute and scored twice for Kaiserslautern. Prutagin got his first touch with a header from a free kick and made it 2-0 on the counter in the 84th minute.
However, Dzeko, who made his long-awaited appearance in the 67th minute, pulled one back with three minutes remaining, and Kenan Karaman equalized in the final minute.
Kaiserslautern coach Torsten Lieberknecht scolded his players on the field for missing the lead. The Red Devils fell to sixth place in the 18-team division.
Schalke suffered a draw for the second consecutive year, but the team remained in first place with a two-point lead over Darmstadt after 19 matches.
More than 1,000 Schalke fans turned out to watch Dzeko train on Friday, where he signed autographs and posed for selfies.
Dzeko, who turns 40 in March, became a star at Wolfsburg and helped the team win the Bundesliga title in 2010. He also won titles with Manchester City (2012, 2014) and Inter Milan (2022, 2023).
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