2.Bundesliga/3.Liga: “Ask Ralle” – the 11FREUNDE curve show
Finally, football is back in the German professional leagues, finally a thrilling atmosphere in the stadiums, and with it: finally, the fans are back! We're back from the summer break and are absolutely ready for business as usual. Just like a certain capital city club from Berlin-Charlottenburg. Because the start of the season for Hertha BSC regularly means a hefty kick in the butt and a damper on their euphoria. For five years now, the blue and whites have suffered a defeat on the first matchday – including on Friday at Schalke 04. Even the unwaveringly uniform and impressively loud performance of the seasoned fans didn't change that.
The Gelsenkirchen fans could also be described as seasoned fans – and they impressively demonstrated why with this choreography. Under the lyric "Many bad days have already passed...", the Schalke fans listed some of the hurdles they had to overcome in the past.
Although "overcoming" is probably the wrong word when it comes to Schalke. Let's say they overcame the obstacles and – as they stated here – always hand in hand.
The Knappen players also worked hand in hand, although new defensive boss Nikola Katić took this a bit too literally before his second yellow card, and beat Hertha 2-1. Finally, a reason to celebrate again in the Veltins Arena.
The whole thing wasn't really a surprise. After all, Schalke fans had predicted the result.
There was also reason to celebrate in Duisburg. After a one-year stint in the Regionalliga, the Zebras were allowed back into the 3rd division on Saturday. Fans eagerly awaited the team bus with blue smoke bombs...
... and the team in the stadium with a choreography that recalled the beginnings of MSV.
At the away game in Ingolstadt, the Regensburgers showed off their menu, highlighting what they'd like to enjoy this season. They're hungry. The only disappointment in the choreography: there's no pun on the Regensburger. After a quick search, we were shocked to discover that there actually isn't a burger joint with that name locally. In Berlin, that would be a chain with 20 branches. Burgermeister, Schöneburger, Kreuzburger, Burgeramt, Burgersteig, and (no joke) Burgerhain send their regards.
Speaking of hunger: The Ingolstadt fans behaved like we do during our lunch break at our local Italian restaurant: they eagerly looked at the menu one last time, only to get the same old thing over and over again. Only, while we get a pizza tonno with extra capers, the Schanzer have had to make do with mediocre third-division football for four years. And yet, with the motto "Greif ma o, Schanzer," the Ingolstadt fans made every effort to avoid a mediocre start to the season. How did the match against Regensburg end? 1-1? Good... A tonno with extra capers, please.
To defend Ingolstadt: The first matchday of the 3. Liga wasn't exactly a feast for the eyes. Seven draws were the final score, three of them goalless. Essen's home game against 1860 Munich also ended 1-1. And that was despite both fans being in more than good spirits. Essen cheered on their team with pyrotechnics and a sea of flags...
... and showed – in their own unique way – sympathy for the Munich Lions and the squabbles surrounding their financier, Hasan Ismaik. He actually wants to sell his shares for good, but hasn't found a buyer. A few weeks ago, the time seemed to have come: A crypto millionaire from Munich was supposed to transfer around 53 million euros, but didn't. Ismaik suspected a conspiracy and demanded of the alleged buyer, Matthias Thoma: "Show yourself! Who are you? An actor?" Questions that people would have liked to ask Neymar at big games during his time at PSG, but which once again show that peace is not coming anytime soon at 1860. And yet, with the return of Kevin Volland and Florian Niederlechner, promotion to the second division is supposed to be achieved.
Speaking of dubious sponsors: The cooperation between Spielvereinigung Fürth and RB Leipzig isn't exactly appealing to the people of Middle Franconia. Another young talent, young goalkeeper Timo Schlieck, has found his way from the trade fair city to Fürth, joining Sidney Raebiger and Elias Abouchabaka as the third signing from the club. Fürth fans are demanding an immediate end to the cooperation.
Fürth is likely to seek closer cooperation with manufacturers of cash register rolls and confetti in the future. Anyone who fires off such a lot on the first match day has certainly secured a volume discount.
The removal of the scraps of paper exuded a bit of tennis ball romance.
In addition to the projectiles, Fürth also offered a strong choreography that was reminiscent of the South German Cup victory from 100 years ago.
Dynamo Dresden is an absolute asset to the second division in terms of fans, most would probably agree. And yet, the choreography at the opening game in Fürth was somewhat reminiscent of Otto Rehhagel at his legendary inaugural press conference at Hertha BSC, when he declared, with a somewhat weary voice, "I can still say: Attack, attack, go," only to then start with a 1:10 goal difference in the first four games. The good news for Dresden: They scored two goals in their first game...
...the bad news: Fürth just got three. But as long as they maintain this goal average and the visual impact of the fans, we say: "Attack! Attack! Go! "
A look back at last season. On May 5th, the Southwest Derby between Karlsruher SC and 1. FC Kaiserslautern took place . What was supposed to be a holiday was overshadowed by a controversial police operation, which KSC still condemns, claiming it was "carried out without any specific reason." Therefore, fans once again took up the issue on a large scale on the first matchday of the current season. With the slogan "What we love, you will never find," the fans were likely referring to the riots that had taken place at the equipment entrance, where police had conducted stricter checks than usual. The Baden fans also demanded "Freedom for the stands"...
... and depicted police officers in front of surveillance screens.
One of these screens read "Gegengerade Karlsruhe against new police laws."
At the beginning of the second half, the Badeners commemorated Gerhard Seiler, who had passed away on July 1, at the Wildpark. The former mayor of Karlsruhe had taken over the club as emergency president in 2002 and, during his nine-month tenure, saved it from financial ruin through his contacts in business and politics.
In Mannheim, they also said goodbye to one of their own: “Pio,” a long-standing and popular security employee.
The FC Energie Cottbus fans kept it simple with their choreography. Less is sometimes more, as they say. However, this motto didn't apply to the opening match against 1. FC Saarbrücken, which ended 3-3.
Fortuna Düsseldorf fans were in for a surprise (in the truest sense of the word) on the first matchday. The promotion hopefuls succumbed 5-1 to league newcomers Arminia Bielefeld. This was despite the creative pre-match choreography. The Bielefeld fans evidently took Regensburg's hunger pangs to heart and thought, "One Düsseldorf red and white, please."
A friendly match can also be a blast: On the anniversary weekend of the club's 125th anniversary, Borussia Mönchengladbach hosted FC Valencia. And the fans put on this impressive choreography.
As we did last season, we always like to end this section with a bang. So, here's a look at Rostock's impressive pyrotechnic display during their away game in Aue. This was the first installment of Kurvenschau after the summer break. We wish you a great rest of the week and see you here again next week.
11freunde
