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Sorry Holstein Kiel!

schwatzgelb.de — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:51:35 +0100

Wednesday, December the 21st 2011. Just a few days before Christmas, Borussia had already advanced to the quarter finals of the German DFB cup. The only thing missing is an opponent. After the rest of the cup matches had been played, the drawing took place on national television. Alongside Borussia, Hertha BSC Berlin, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Holstein Kiel, VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, TSG Hoffenheim and SpVgg Greuther Fürth are part of the quarter finals. After it was decided that Holstein Kiel will be the next opponent of Borussia, television cameras present the team from the fourth league celebrating the fact that they will face the Deutscher Meister in February. Everything seems fine, Kiel is happy, Borussia is happy... until we hear the familiar sounds of the popular chant "BVB Hurensöhne" (meaning "BVB sons of bitches"). The players of Holstein Kiel did not think about being on TV and kept singing and the whole situation is of course taken up by the media over the following days. At least it is winter break and journalists need something to write about.

06.02.2012, 18:51

Borussia’s own Groundhog day

schwatzgelb.de — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:08:43 +0100

There isn’t really much to be said about the game itself but so much more about everything around it. It was cold, very cold. It wasn’t pretty but a piece of hard work and at the end of the week, we found ourselves at the top of the table, having repeated once again what we had done for the last three games in a row: beating Nuremberg 2:0.

04.02.2012, 22:08

Twice as good?

schwatzgelb.de — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:45:53 +0100

What a great start into the season it has been. The defeat of Hamburg sent a deafening thunder across the country, announcing our return to the weekly circus of the Bundesliga. The roaring continued last week against pitifully Hoffenheim, though 2 goals short of the Hamburg game but no less impressive. If the explosive start of our Borussia wasn't enough, the neutral observer of Bundesliga football must be excited by the tight race between four teams for the number one spot, only one point apart with three teams tied at 40 points. Then again, the neutral observer isn't likely to read this and we don't really care as long as our young guns gives their all and the unspeakable blue team eventually collapses in turmoil and self-destruction.

02.02.2012, 13:45

Bogey team? My ass!

schwatzgelb.de — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:52:52 +0100

60 minutes of dominant play were enough to banish the bogey 1899 Hoffenheim, which was rumoured by the media to be Dortmunds bogey team after only two victories in the past eight matches since 2008. With 3:1 goals and Kevin Großkreutz and Shinji Kagawa as the most successful ghostbusters in this match, Borussia Dortmund continued his series of meanwhile nine matches without a defeat and strengthened its position beside the "top teams" Sch**ke 04 and Bayern Munich, which go now head to head with 40 points at the top of the championship table.

29.01.2012, 21:52

Time to finally beat Hoffenheim

schwatzgelb.de — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:54:17 +0100

It was the Cup-season 07/08 when we first encountered that team from down south in our beloved Westfalenstadion. The result then? A 3:1 victory for us and the next round in the Cup. Since then Hoffenheim has managed to climb up to the first Bundesliga and made us go mad every once in a while.

28.01.2012, 03:54

BVB 09 America - How Don became a Dortmund supporter

schwatzgelb.de — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:35:42 +0100

Only recently Don from the US of A became a football fan. Whereas his boys decided to go along with the mainstream, Don decided his club would be mighty Borussia Dortmund. He started a blog (check it here - BVB 09 America) to write about being a BVB fan from stateside. He was kind enough to let us publish one of his blog posts on how he became a Borussia Dortmund supporter. Sometimes strange things happen to you. This is what happened to Don.

25.01.2012, 08:35

Ned Zelic - The Man from Down Under

schwatzgelb.de — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:53:28 +0100

On the 4th of July 1971, Nedijeljko “Ned” Zelic was born in Sydney, Australia. As an adolescent the boy with the Croatian roots played for Sydney Olympic, Croatia Sydney and the Australian Institute of Sport. In 1992 his career led him to Borussia Dortmund. Until he left Dortmund in 1995, he absolved 41 matches and scored one time. When he finished his career in 2008, he truly became a globetrotter, since he kicked the ball for Queens Park Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, AJ Auxerre, TSV 1860 Muenchen, Kyoto Sanga, Urawa Red Diamonds, Wacker Tirol, Newcastle United Jets, Helmond Sport and Dinamo Tiflis. Schwatzgelb.com talked with him about Borussia Dortmund, the time after his career, talents Mustafa Amini and Mitch Langerak and the A-League.

19.01.2012, 09:53

"Kein Zwanni" - everybody listen to the radio

schwatzgelb.de — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:27:04 +0100

The preconditions for the protest of BVB-supporters in front of the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, the follower of the Volksparkstadion, could have been better: Pouring rain, freezing wind, and round about 5 degrees made me expect a maximum of three to ten other protesters who would find their way to the meeting point at the entrance of the visitor block. Marc Quambusch, spokesman of „Kein Zwanni" ("no twenty" - in reference to a twenty Euro bill for a standing room ticket), was later asked about the circumstances of the protest and answered: „I can't even remember when was the last time that my feet were this wet!" In the end, a remarkably number of 600 to 800 supporters in black and yellow met at the stadium, having their radios with them to be able to listen to the game at least. Although the official statement said that the stadium was sold out, it has to be said that this surely wasn't the case. Lots and lots of tickets were still on sale before and during the game.

24.01.2012, 21:27

Great, greater, Borussia Dortmund

schwatzgelb.de — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:15:12 +0100

While I was writing my "looking back onto the year 2011" text, I remembered all the great moments we had during that year.
And I realised that the year 2012 would have a damn hard time to be close to as great as the year 2011 had been. But it looks like the year 2012 is not satisfied to only be maybe one of the greatest years in our history, no, it is trying hard to bring us just as much joy as 2011 did- with an amazing victory against Hamburg IN Hamburg.

23.01.2012, 23:15

Borussia is back!

schwatzgelb.de — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:16:15 +0100

The start of the second half of the Bundesliga season will be a very special one. Borussia plays away at Hamburg but has to make it without a big part of their supporters. Due to the expensive ticket prices in Hamburg, the "Kein Zwanni" campaign called out for a boycott. This is why most of the fans of the Ballspielverein will travel to Hamburg, however, will stay outside the stadium equipped with several radios to only hear what is going on inside of the stadium. Additionally, the ultras of the HSV will remain silent from minutes 46 to 55 to express the feeling of having a football match without any fans due to high ticket prices. Football must remain affordable, for all!

20.01.2012, 15:16

Certificate day!

schwatzgelb.de — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:05:07 +0100

Over the last two years, I have taken a close look on our new players during the winter break. This year, I want to continue this little tradition to evaluate how the newbies advanced in the championship team. Before this season, Ilkay Gündogan, Chris Löwe, Ivan Perisic and Moritz Leitner came to make the Deutscher Meister even better. Additionally, injured Julian Koch came back to Borussia after being on loan in Duisburg, Mustafa Amini announced his transfer to Dortmund (even though he will arrive not until this summer) and Marvin Bakalorz made the step from the reserve to the first team but never played in Bundesliga. This is why I will leave these three names out of my analysis. Let's have a look on the four newbies who really made some appearances on the grounds of Germany.

19.01.2012, 21:05

Kein Zwanni: Everybody to Hamburg! You are needed!

schwatzgelb.de — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:55:34 +0100

We have intensively covered the initiative for affordable football ticket prices “Kein Zwanni” (“no twenty” - in reference to a 20 Euro bill for a standing room ticket). More recently, the initiative and several fan-organizations of our beloved BVB have called for a boycott of the first game of the new year in Hamburg to protest the unfair pricing.

16.01.2012, 22:55

...and what a year it has been... part two

schwatzgelb.de — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:41:48 +0100

"Welcome to matchday number 35 of the season 2010/2012" was the comment of our netradio commentators when we played our first game of this season against Hamburg in January. When we were in the stadium on that fifth of August we could hardly believe what we saw on that pitch. Surely we were at least a bit concerned about how our team would continue without Nuri Sahin. With Gündogan, Perisic, Leitner and Löwe we had gotten some great new players but still, we all knew that Sahin played a big role in our game. It seemed as if our concerns were absolutely unnecessary. We played, as Nobby and Boris had pointed out in the netradio, as if nothing had ever changed. The result was a 3:1 victory at home against Hamburg and we could barely believe that we would continue to be as happy as we were the previous season. 2011 promised to continue being a wonderful year. However, it came differently.

06.01.2012, 08:41

...and what a year it has been....part one

schwatzgelb.de — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:00:39 +0100

It was those six minutes in January, six minutes that changed everything. We had whitnessed the probably most astonishing first half of a season there had ever been. But Bayern wouldn't have been Bayern if they hadn't declared that the second half would be their half now and that us people from Dortmund should watch out and realize that there can only be one team in Germany dominant, successful and in the end: Championship winner.

31.12.2011, 04:00

Football Factory at Legends, New York-The heart of football in the heart of the city

schwatzgelb.de — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:55:18 +0100

Maybe, some of you remember my report about New York having been published on schwatzgelb.com one year ago, regarding the football bar Nevada Smith’s.
A visit of this football bar last year was really worthwhile, because we (my wife Cornelia, my brother-in-law Wolfgang and me) had the opportunity to watch the 2:0 win of BVB against Nuremberg live. Furthermore we met a Japanese girl, named Chikako, a BVB supporter as well as a great Shinji Kagawa Fan.

29.12.2011, 00:55

Merry Christmas

schwatzgelb.de — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:59:33 +0100

A whole year Christmas. Ok, instead of under the Christmas tree, Christmas was decided on the pitch, but it gave plenty of presents and festive atmosphere. What a year for Borussia Dortmund supporters it was, that comes to an end soon. No one could have been better summarized it than Roman Weidenfeller with his English masterpiece: "We have a grandios Saison gespielt". The year of 2011 was special. A year, for which the word "legendary" was invented.

23.12.2011, 16:59

What a way to finish off 2011!

schwatzgelb.de — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:45:38 +0100

2011 was a hell of a year. Not only that Borussia Dortmund won the championship in May and celebrated it big time, but even in the first half of the season that followed, the Deutscher Meister underlined his great performance of season 2010/2011 by going into the break on the second rank. The trip to Champions League grounds was a wild run which ended early, but since Tuesday, we got several lasting impressions for the rest of the year. One: Borussia can score penalties. Two: Borussia can win in cup competitions. Three: Even with several personal problems, the team is still able to play a good ball. Four (not a new one): We have one of the most awesome teams in Borussia's history.

22.12.2011, 13:45

Hibernation in the Cup- that would be nice!

schwatzgelb.de — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:09:40 +0100

And of course our Dortmunder Jungs will do everything to make this wish come true. It's gonna be a difficult task for sure, after all it has been a long year with little downs and many, many ups. But there comes a time when everyone needs a rest and after this amazing first half of the Bundesliga season, and a difficult time in the Championsleague, our boys have the chance to qualify for the next round in the German Cup and then have their well deserved break. The task? Miss Fortuna from Düsseldorf- a short trip into the capital of our state NRW. After we had beaten Dresden at home, and hence stayed in the Cup a little while longer than we usually do, our next task isn't any less attractive for us fans from Dortmund.

19.12.2011, 23:09

It's a 34!

schwatzgelb.de — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:27:50 +0100

29, 30, 30, 27, 43, 32, 34. What sounds like yesterday's lottery numbers, is Borussia Dortmund's points at the end of each half of the season since Jürgen Klopp became head coach in 2008. This year's two points on average is a proof of extreme stability -- and a bit surprising given the problems we had in the beginning of this round. Remember: After a bitter 1-2 in Hanover on game day six, Borussia was in the middle of nowhere on the boards, having only seven points but three losses already. A series of eleven undefeated games in a row including Saturday's win in Freiburg makes the team finish second, trailing three points behind Bayern Munich. A more than satisfying end of the Bundesliga in 2011. 18.12.2011, 15:27

Forlorn Freiburg

schwatzgelb.de — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:41:30 +0100

The year turns old and the weather turns bad. Oh, as if this was not enough, Freiburg is ahead! If you will ever have the chance to visit Freiburg, there is no time to lose! A beautiful inner-city with small streams reminds you of an Mediterranean town and an evening with a good bottle of wine. But if you will ever have the chance to visit a match of SC Freiburg – STAY AWAY!

16.12.2011, 12:41