By Andy Wales
For those of you who are unaware, I spent many of my formative years in Germany, growing up with the British Army, where I was lovingly known as a ‘Pad Brat’. It was during my time there that I formed a soft spot for two Bundesliga clubs: Hamburger SV and Borussia Dortmund.
The interest with Hamburg came from them being the opponents for the first time I ever went to a Liverpool match. It was a pre-season friendly in 1986 at Hamburg’s Volkspark Stadion and Liverpool lost 1-0. Despite them beating my beloved and all-conquering Liverpool team, I kept an eye on Hamburg from that point on and still retain a place in my heart for the club. My affinity with Borussia Dortmund stretches back over a similar time frame. My entire secondary schooling took place in Dortmund and my school even had a sports day at Rote Erde stadium, which is Borussia Dortmund’s former home, situated next to the Westfahlenstadion. Myself and a few of my mates snuck out of our sports day and into Westfahlenstadion, where a Borussia Dortmund team, that included Michael Zorc, Wolfgang de Beer and World Cup winner Andy Möller, were having a light training session. It was mesmerising and exciting for the short period we were there, until we were spotted and evicted. I was fortunate enough to see Dortmund play at home a handful of times in the early to mid-nineties. It may not have been an 80,000 plus capacity back then, but it was still an incredible atmosphere and a club that had a special feel to it.
Greater access to viewing more Bundesliga matches in recent years has allowed me to indulge the Borussia Dortmund bug that I had caught in Germany, whilst also enabling me to watch Bundesliga on a regular basis again.
One thing that is very apparent when you watch German football is the relationship between the club and its fans. It’s a relationship that is close and not just down to the much famed 50+1 ownership rule. Affordable ticket prices and considerable fan input on the running of the club help maintain their bond; one that is plain to see after matches, with players and coaches celebrating and talking with fans. It’s something that seems a million miles away from many Premier League clubs and players, who seem largely unobtainable and removed from the everyday fan.
Probably no set of owners made fans feel as removed from their club as Hicks and Gillett did at Liverpool. The forced removal of them (followed by the sacking of Roy Hodgson and appointment of Kenny Dalglish by new owners Fenway Sports Group) helped restore some of the damage to this once famous relationship forged so uniquely by the messiah-like Bill Shankly. Fast forward a few years and a title challenge spear-headed by Luis Suarez evoked memories of past glories. Anfield was rocking. Even the roads leading up to it were paved with thousands of flag-waving fans sharing their passion and excitement for their club.
The key phrase being “their club”. It’s the fans club, shared by millions and passed down through generations.
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