THE excellent German football publication 11 Freunde refused to cover the game between Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig as the latter is not a “normal” club. Admittedly, in the traditional German sense, RBL is not like most of the others, but then, what really constitutes normal? Football has never warmed to a club, or player, […]
ASTOUNDING is one way to describe Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. The sheer size and audacity of the building is like something from another universe. You can quite easily compare it to a recently-landed space ship, one that is sitting on the outskirts of one of Europe’s most appealing and civilised cities, observing life forms found […]
THIS coming weekend could be a decisive moment in the Bundesliga title race. Bayern Munich went top of the table after beating Mainz away 3-1 while RB Leipzig, the leaders, drew 2-2 with Mönchengladbach. Bayern, after an eight game run that saw them lose four times between October and December, have seemingly overcome their stuttering […]
THE year 1974 really did belong to West Germany. Bayern Munich won their first European Cup and in the summer, the nation rejoiced as the World Cup was won. Suddenly, it was “cool” to be German and players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeneß were among Europe’s finest. Bayern were also crowned champions […]
IT’S part of popular football culture that Bayern Munich have always been the dominant force in German football. Certainly, Bayern is the country’s most high-profile club and undoubtedly the most successful football institution from the Bundesliga. In recent years, only Borussia Dortmund have challenged Bayern on a sustainable basis, but the first club to grapple […]
A MAN wearing a VFB Leipzig hat and a Lokomotive scarf walked through the centre of town with just a little air of defiance. It was matchday at the Red Bull Arena and the bars and restaurants were gradually filling up with RB Leipzig fans grabbing a pre-match meal or beer. The Lokomotive fan was […]
THANKS to one Matthias Loffler, a Lokomotive Leipzig fan and co-author of a book telling the story of the club’s 50 years of existence, Game of the People was treated to a tour of an iconic stadium, which includes one of the oldest original wooden grandstands in Europe, if not the world. […]
WE hear a lot about the democracy of German football and its user-friendly ticket policies, but not everywhere is it cheap to watch the game in the home of the world champions. I paid no less than EUR 18 to watch a game in Regionalliga Nordost, which is below the three division main structure of […]
They do things properly in Germany, and that includes their national game. German football is on the brink of a new golden age. The national team is once more feared, the Bundesliga is thriving – average attendances 42,000-plus – and the top German clubs are doing well in Europe. Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Shalke are […]
