German League to resume... | Page 2 | Vital Football

German League to resume...

Well, an interesting link is Peter Hobday, who left Gills youth team in 1979 to join TuS Schloss Neuhaus, which later merged into Paderborn 07.

His dad, who owned the wool shop up at the Kestrel in Lordswood, trained our team as kids and told us his son had gone to Germany. It was only years later when I was in Germany and saw Peter on a Panini sticker that I realised that he'd actually made it. He carried on playing until he was 40 and had a decent career in the second and third divisions. I once went and stood in the away end in Berlin with a Bielefeld-supporting mate of mine to cheer on Peter Hobday.
 
Alderman Barnes said:
Right you lot, don't say I never do anything for you:

Alderman Barnes’s totally objective guide to the Bundesliga.

FC Bayern München
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 29 times
Cup winners: 19 times
The biggest, baddest team in the Bundesliga. Weren’t all that good until a young Franz Beckenbauer was punched in the face when playing Munich’s dominant team TSV 1860, so decided to sign for their rivals Bayern, who then put together a locally raised team that went on to dominate Europe. After that, they no longer relied on local players but developed the tactic of promoting club legends to senior positions in the firm and buying up all their closest rivals’ best players. Champions for 9 out of the past 10 seasons.
Niceness factor: 1
English equivalent: Manchester United squared

Borussia Dortmund
Colours: Yellow and black
Champions: 8 times
Cup winners: 4 times
The favourite for romantics who can’t bring themselves to support a proper underdog. The legendary Yellow Wall, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, Jürgen Klopp. You can see where I’m going here.
Niceness factor: 4
English equivalent: Liverpool

RB (that’s Rasenballsport, not Red Bull, oh no, certainly not) Leipzig
Colours: White and red
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Franchise outfit of a disgusting Austrian energy drink that pounced on the moribund football scene in Leipzig like a parasitic wasp, bought a village team, built a huge stadium in town and bought its way all the way up to the top. Inevitably praised by establishment pundits as the sensible way forward in an attempt to normalise that sort of behaviour.
Niceness factor: -10
English equivalent: MK Dons to the power of a million

Bayer Leverkusen
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 1 time
Used to get moaned at as a chemical factory team pumped up with company money. Now seem positively attractive compared with what’s come along since.
Niceness factor: 2
English equivalent: Middlesbrough

Borussia Mönchengladbach
Colours: White, green and black
Champions: 5 times
Cup winners: 3 times
A proper club from a town that’s not all that big but that has held its own over the years, but were really good in the early 70s.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Leeds United without having to throw all their medals into the bin.

VfL Wolfsburg
Colours: Green and white
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 1 time
Like Leverkusen, but for cars instead of chemicals.
Niceness factor: 2
English equivalent: Coventry

Eintracht Frankfurt
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 5 times
Perennial exciting underachievers. Occasionally have really good squads that tragically come second.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Tottenham

Werder Bremen
Colours: Green and white
Champions: 4 times
Cup winners: 6 times
Another provincial club who have always done well, especially under long-serving, charismatic managers like Otto Rehhagel.
Niceness factor: 8
English equivalent: Nottingham Forest (I know)

TSG Hoffenheim
Colours: Blue
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Another test-tube village club, but at least their sugar-daddy actually used to play for them, rather than picking them for optimum demographic suitability.
Niceness factor: 1
English equivalent: Fleetwood Town cubed

Fortuna Düsseldorf
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 2 times
Perennial yo-yo club who’ve been through hard times, nice to see them back up.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Hertha Berlin
Colours: Blue and white
Champions: 2 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Perennial capital-city underachievers, prone to comedy fuck-ups wherever possible.
Niceness factor: 5
English equivalent: West Ham United

Mainz 05
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Agreeable provincial triers.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Southampton

SC Freiburg
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Agreeable provincial triers, but from a university town.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Oxford United in the 1980s

Schalke 04
Colours: Blue and white
Champions: 7 times
Cup winners: 8 times
Coal-mining, massive tradition, huge support, haven’t won anything since the thirties despite regular hilariously heart-breaking near-misses.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: obviously Newcastle United

FC Augsburg
Colours: Red, green and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Here we go again. More agreeable provincial triers.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Ipswich?

1.FC Köln
Colours: White and red
Champions: 3 times
Cup winners: 4 times
The people of Cologne are delighted by their own sense of humour and never stop going on about it.
Niceness factor: 5
English equivalent: Everton

SC Paderborn
Colours: Blue and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Small-town club completely out of their depth.
Niceness factor: 9
English equivalent: because of the black and blue stripes, Hess-era Gills

1. FC Union Berlin
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times (GDR cup 1968)
Berlin’s alternative team, focus of East German opposition, fans built their own stadium.
Niceness factor: 8
English equivalent: unfortunately Charlton, but not such wankers
Click to expand...
Fabulous. Thanks. However, how are Bayern Munich niceness 1 when they are Manure?
What I did hear about Bayern Munich was that they were a team founded by Jews and victimised pre war which did mean I warmed to them somewhat. Is that true?
 
Gills 58 said:
Fabulous. Thanks. However, how are Bayern Munich niceness 1 when they are Manure?
What I did hear about Bayern Munich was that they were a team founded by Jews and victimised pre war which did mean I warmed to them somewhat. Is that true?
Click to expand...

There's something in that, but I honesty don't know how much. Tor! by Ulli Hesse-Lichtenberger is very good.
 
Leipzig niceness factor 10?????

Can't stand them after they beat my beloved Hertha 4-3 to stop us going into the Europa league (and i was there 😪)
 
FC Union for me , many years ago stayed in former East Berlin hotel , and the reception guy was a big fan. I think I managed to convince him concerning the Gills , but I will never know for sure.
 
Alderman Barnes said:
Well, an interesting link is Peter Hobday, who left Gills youth team in 1979 to join TuS Schloss Neuhaus, which later merged into Paderborn 07.

His dad, who owned the wool shop up at the Kestrel in Lordswood, trained our team as kids and told us his son had gone to Germany. It was only years later when I was in Germany and saw Peter on a Panini sticker that I realised that he'd actually made it. He carried on playing until he was 40 and had a decent career in the second and third divisions. I once went and stood in the away end in Berlin with a Bielefeld-supporting mate of mine to cheer on Peter Hobday.
Click to expand...

As a regular visitor to Hobdays with my nan when I was younger, that's enough of an obscure link for me. Paderborn it is then :toot:
 
Family had friends in Gelsenkirchen so I stayed there a few times growing up as a kid so its Schalke for me as well.

Can't wait to see some proper football again.
 
I was listening to Beckenbaur talking about how he was a big fan of 1860 who were a bigger team than Bayern. He had a bad experience when playing for his local team against 1860 in a youth tournament which resulted in him and his team mates joining Bayern instead of 1860.
 
Why all the excitement about the return of the fcking Bundesliga?!

For those missing football, the Belarusian league never stopped. I reckon I'd opt for FK Slutsk.

Not because they're top of the league and I'm a glory hunter. More because I think their name is pretty funny.

It's just reminded me of the tracksuit tops the girls at Simon Langton All Girls School used to (maybe still do) wear. On the back it just said, "SLAGS".
 
Alderman Barnes said:
Right you lot, don't say I never do anything for you:

Alderman Barnes’s totally objective guide to the Bundesliga.

FC Bayern München
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 29 times
Cup winners: 19 times
The biggest, baddest team in the Bundesliga. Weren’t all that good until a young Franz Beckenbauer was punched in the face when playing Munich’s dominant team TSV 1860, so decided to sign for their rivals Bayern, who then put together a locally raised team that went on to dominate Europe. After that, they no longer relied on local players but developed the tactic of promoting club legends to senior positions in the firm and buying up all their closest rivals’ best players. Champions for 9 out of the past 10 seasons.
Niceness factor: 1
English equivalent: Manchester United squared

Borussia Dortmund
Colours: Yellow and black
Champions: 8 times
Cup winners: 4 times
The favourite for romantics who can’t bring themselves to support a proper underdog. The legendary Yellow Wall, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, Jürgen Klopp. You can see where I’m going here.
Niceness factor: 4
English equivalent: Liverpool

RB (that’s Rasenballsport, not Red Bull, oh no, certainly not) Leipzig
Colours: White and red
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Franchise outfit of a disgusting Austrian energy drink that pounced on the moribund football scene in Leipzig like a parasitic wasp, bought a village team, built a huge stadium in town and bought its way all the way up to the top. Inevitably praised by establishment pundits as the sensible way forward in an attempt to normalise that sort of behaviour.
Niceness factor: -10
English equivalent: MK Dons to the power of a million

Bayer Leverkusen
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 1 time
Used to get moaned at as a chemical factory team pumped up with company money. Now seem positively attractive compared with what’s come along since.
Niceness factor: 2
English equivalent: Middlesbrough

Borussia Mönchengladbach
Colours: White, green and black
Champions: 5 times
Cup winners: 3 times
A proper club from a town that’s not all that big but that has held its own over the years, but were really good in the early 70s.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Leeds United without having to throw all their medals into the bin.

VfL Wolfsburg
Colours: Green and white
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 1 time
Like Leverkusen, but for cars instead of chemicals.
Niceness factor: 2
English equivalent: Coventry

Eintracht Frankfurt
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 5 times
Perennial exciting underachievers. Occasionally have really good squads that tragically come second.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Tottenham

Werder Bremen
Colours: Green and white
Champions: 4 times
Cup winners: 6 times
Another provincial club who have always done well, especially under long-serving, charismatic managers like Otto Rehhagel.
Niceness factor: 8
English equivalent: Nottingham Forest (I know)

TSG Hoffenheim
Colours: Blue
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Another test-tube village club, but at least their sugar-daddy actually used to play for them, rather than picking them for optimum demographic suitability.
Niceness factor: 1
English equivalent: Fleetwood Town cubed

Fortuna Düsseldorf
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 1 time
Cup winners: 2 times
Perennial yo-yo club who’ve been through hard times, nice to see them back up.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Hertha Berlin
Colours: Blue and white
Champions: 2 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Perennial capital-city underachievers, prone to comedy fuck-ups wherever possible.
Niceness factor: 5
English equivalent: West Ham United

Mainz 05
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Agreeable provincial triers.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Southampton

SC Freiburg
Colours: Red and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Agreeable provincial triers, but from a university town.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Oxford United in the 1980s

Schalke 04
Colours: Blue and white
Champions: 7 times
Cup winners: 8 times
Coal-mining, massive tradition, huge support, haven’t won anything since the thirties despite regular hilariously heart-breaking near-misses.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: obviously Newcastle United

FC Augsburg
Colours: Red, green and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Here we go again. More agreeable provincial triers.
Niceness factor: 6
English equivalent: Ipswich?

1.FC Köln
Colours: White and red
Champions: 3 times
Cup winners: 4 times
The people of Cologne are delighted by their own sense of humour and never stop going on about it.
Niceness factor: 5
English equivalent: Everton

SC Paderborn
Colours: Blue and black
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times
Small-town club completely out of their depth.
Niceness factor: 9
English equivalent: because of the black and blue stripes, Hess-era Gills

1. FC Union Berlin
Colours: Red and white
Champions: 0 times
Cup winners: 0 times (GDR cup 1968)
Berlin’s alternative team, focus of East German opposition, fans built their own stadium.
Niceness factor: 8
English equivalent: unfortunately Charlton, but not such wankers
Click to expand...

I know sweet FA about German football. But for playing in blue n white I’ll go Schalke 04.

How are we doing before the resumption? In with a chance or rock bottom? If we are a few places outside the Euro spots with a lot to do to make it, well bloody marvellous 👍
 
Football played behind closed doors - does this actually prove that leagues like the Premiershit don't need supporters?
 
I stayed at the hotel next to Schalke stadium, got in the lift after a few beers and a fella in full Schalke training kit was there. Tried to speak to him in German and in perfect scouse he replied "sorry mate dont speak german". He was on loan from Everton and played a few times this season.

They also have a fans club over looking the training pitches so you can have a beer and watch the various squads train.

The tunnel is made to look like it's a coal mine tunnel to pay respects to their heritage.

I liked Schalke alot.

Had Buddha nominated yet ? If not I'd recommend St.Pauli for you mate (is liga 2 starting as well). That tour felt like a political protest lecture. I really enjoyed it.

Fans certainly play a bigger role over there that they do here.
 
1899 Hoffenheim might not be as Fancy-dan as some of your choices but, can any of your teams boast former players like ... Bum-Kun Cha
...thought not,, Up the Hoffs
 
I don't know anything about German football, so I picked a team at random and ended up with Bayern Munich. I've just looked at the table, and we're top!!!!!
 
Unfortunately I don't have a favourite German side, I will checkout their kits then pick one.

I look out for Rennes in France and Utrecht in Holland because I've seen them play. I also look out for Livingston results in Scotland because I bought my first house in Livingstone Road in 1995 the year they were formed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.