Friends Reunited
German football season gets underway | Palace in Europe | Whyteleafe in the Trophy
The Bundesliga is back and I’m moderately excited
As someone who has been a Bundesliga guy for so many years I usually see the start of my football season as being the weekend of DFB Pokal Round 1 which is always the week before the Bundesliga season starts.
However, last weekend I was was hosting my sainted mother who, despite her sweet and generous nature was not likely to be up for watching a stream of Sportfreunde Lotte v Freiburg*.
But there’s more to it. In recent years my passions of the German game has waned. I’m not minded to dive too deeply into the whys and wherefores but it’s a combination of not having travelled to Germany since before COVID and an ongoing sense of ennui driven by the almost eternal inevitability of Bayern Munich. I also suspect that Dortmund’s last day heartbreak when they failed to win the league in 2023 has left an emotional scar.
All of this has left me feeling a bit flat when it comes to German football. It’s possible that my football focus is switching. We’ll see.
I was however, able to muster the energy to watch Borussia Dortmund squeeze past Rot Weiss Essen 1-0 in the Pokal in front of a pack house in Essen last Monday and I’m really glad I did.
Rot Weiss and Dortmund enjoy a fan friendship despite being neighbours, The rarely play competitive fixtures because Essen have spent very little of their history in the Bundesliga. But they are a traditional club that won the old German Championship back in 1955. After years of decline they were promoted from the Regionalliga to the national third division (3-Liga). Theirs is a proud support who were out in full force at a packed Stadion an der Hafenstraße. It took a very late intervention from Serhou Guirassy to stop the home side and Borussia proceed the the next round.
Before the game there was a moment of reflection was observed for the great Frankie Mill who passed at just 67. Mill played over 100 games for both clubs, scoring 74 times for Essen and 47 for Dortmund.
The occasion showed us that RWE really deserve a place in the Bundesliga. They would struggle to be sure but with the right management and investment they could carve out an existent in the Bundesliga middle class. I would certainly take them over Leipzig or Heidenheim (sorry Heidenheim).
The Bundesliga season kicked off last weekend with Bayern Munich hammering Leipzig 6-0. In the UK the match was streamed live in the BBC iPlayer which is comfortably the most popular platform in Britain. The rights to the German League in the UK are being spread out across the iPlayer on Fridays, Sky Sports on Saturday and Amazon PPV on Sundays. Rights have also been awarded to one of Mark Goldbridge’s YouTube channel plus The Overlap. I might have more to say on this move to include YouTubers in future newsletters. However, what the new deal also brings is increased coverage of the 2. Bundesliga on the Bundesliga YouTube channel.
There is a strong argument that Germany’s second tier is better value than the top. The league is beloved by it’s fans for chaotic, fast paced football with plenty of drama and some big clubs looking to return to the top division such as Schalke, Kaiserlautern and Hertha BSC. If you are looking for entertaining high stakes football, played in front of mostly packed houses and you don’t fancy paying for it, add 2. Bundesliga to your schedule.
Last season, Hamburg SV were finally promoted to the Bundesliga after seven seasons in the second division. Their first home game back in the big time is against their city rivals St Pauli. For years St Pauli were the smaller club occupying the lower leagues while Hamburg were a tip club, playing in Europe and competing for trophies. The two teams rarely played in derby games because they were separated by at least one division. Hostilities were renewed after HSV’s relegation but the season before last, it was St Pauli who ascended to the Bundesliga and successfully maintained their status last season. They go into this game probably as favourites which is probably a first for a Bundesliga fixture. The match is being played this Friday and again it’s on YouTube and the iPlayer. It has to be one of the biggest games in Europe this weekend.
The Bundesliga title race is pretty much a forgone conclusion. Bayern will almost certainly win. But there is still plenty of interest from clubs such that HSV, St Pauli and more. Don’t let my dwindling enthusiasm put you off.
Palace make their UEFA Bow
Last Thursday, Crystal Palace’s first ever proper UEFA match was in the Conference League. They played Fredrikstad in a two legged play-off and took a 1-0 lead. I was able to get a ticket and it was a great moment. I know that Palace should be in the Europa League and the indignation of the Palace fans (who sung the “Fuck UEFA” song periodically throughout the match) is fully justified. However, I hope that if they protect their 1-0 win on Thursday and qualify for the group stage then I hope that Palace fans come to enjoy their European adventure and not allow their indignation to poison the experience.
There was an underlying sadness to the match as we never got the chance to say farewell to Eberechi Eze who left Palace for Arsenal the following day. Coach Oliver Glasner had planned on playing Eze but with the deal close to being completed it was decided to rest him. The mercurial attacker was sorely missed during the game as he was in the subsequent 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest earlier today. Successfully finding a way to win without Eze will be a key metric in Palace’s season.
Hope and Glory
On Saturday I travelled to Carshalton on the outskirts of Greater London to watch an FA Trophy game between AFC Croydon Athletic and AFC Whyteleafe. Both are Phoenix clubs with the former having celebrity owners in Stormzy and Wilf Zaha. In their previous incarnations they enjoyed a healthy local rivalry but in recent years have been separated by leagues. A sort of HSV v St Pauli equivalent for the south London non-League.
Whyteleafe were formed in 2021 and were promoted into Isthmian League which is the level that that the club were at when they went under. Their journey is down to the owner, Kelly Waters whose local contacts and investment has taken them on this journey. Last season they made it to the final of the FA Vase where they lost to Whitstable in extra time.
They have started the league season brightly. They are still in the FA Cup and made a winning debut in the Trophy after beating Croydon 3-1.
If you ever fancy making a trip to Carshalton’s ground (which was used for this game because Croydon’s stadium was unavailable due to a fire) then make sure you stop by The Hope Pub, around the corner for a wide array of high quality beers and real ales. I’m not saying that the only reason I made the trip from the south coast where I live was because I got to stop by The Hope but I’m not saying I’m not.
Thanks for reading.
Now that the season is underway I’m looking to post once a week in this generalist format that reflects my football watching habits. If you enjoyed this and don’t subscribe then hit the button below and sign up for free.
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*Freiburg won 2-0