Column Buchheister's observations on the Champions League and Arminia Bielefeld

During the week, in a pub in Bielefeld's old town, I was able to see and hear how two football worlds collided.

On the television, the second leg of the Champions League semifinal was playing, with Paris Saint-Germain versus Arsenal, two of Europe's best teams battling for a place in continental football's most important final. But the conversations in the room centered on another, more important event for the local audience: the DFB Cup final on May 24 in Berlin, which, sensationally, will feature third-division side Arminia Bielefeld. Their opponents are VfB Stuttgart.

I was in Bielefeld to talk to various people about what reaching the final means for the city, and what they told me independently of each other was verified that evening in the pub – namely, that practically no conversation in Bielefeld these days is complete without the following questions: Do you have tickets for Berlin? How much did you pay for them? And: Do you have any to give away?

So, while PSG was playing Arsenal on the screen, the conversations were about someone here being offered tickets for €500 to Arminia's final appearance, and a friend there having bought a ticket at the original price, even though she wasn't even interested in football. And so on.

The pub visit was a nice reminder that not all football is created equal. There's Champions League football, which has become a competition between international corporations, some with dubious sponsors. And there's football where participating in the DFB Cup final is a once-in-a-lifetime event, in the truest sense of the word.

The two worlds have little to do with each other, but sometimes someone strayes from one into the other: If Bielefeld wins the cup, the club would enter international business.