The Culture of German Football prides itself of its self-sufficiency and punctuality. It has always been packed with great teams that are always organized, punctual and is full of physically fit players — the coaches. The coaches have definite methods and were recently revamped. They are amazing and full of great players. There are many young and old players who follow the immense discipline and undergo may training session, and they make a profound footballing lifestyle.
The multiple chants that are vigorously said on the stands, they recite “Força Porto Allez” alongside their rivals Benfica that sent the transport loudly into Dortmund.
The Portuguese bunch turned up in great numbers and took to their seats that were priced at only €16 over an hour before the major kick-off, yet their loud voices where I drowned out by the immense Die Schwarzgelben upon entering the Signal Iduna Park Stadium. The world-renowned ‘Yellow Wall’ bounced for over two hours behind the Südtribüne goal as their loving Borussia eased past their Iberian visitors pretty comfortably.
The season that went on to follow the Euro 96 saw Borussia Dortmund lift the Champions League trophy as the world prepared for great German domination for years to come. But, a footballing lesson was given to Die Mannschaft through the hands of a Croatia side in the 1998 World Cup in the beautiful country of France, and a horrible Euro 2000 followed suit; seeing the holders finished bottom of their group, partnering England in elimination at the first hurdle and notching just a single goal throughout the course of the tournament. Kevin Keegan’s England side went home with their tails between their legs, pointing fingers at individual mistakes and bad luck with refereeing decisions and injuries. The then three-time world champions returned with only themselves to blame.
Football is a huge part of the German identity and provides an infrequent occasion for the Germans to show some love and respect as a great nation. One of the reasons why the German Football Culture is so very unusual is the German Football League called Die Bundesliga. It has an excellent reputation all around the world, not because of big players or names that play in the excellent league but because of its fans and the great atmosphere they create. Sometimes, a few people from England like to fly over for a weekend just to witness the fantastic magic of German football culture – even though the English have their big League (Premier League). But why is this? Why is German Football Culture so unique?
The Tradition is fantastic and full of colour. In every big league, you have a lot of clubs that were bought by some other big companies, and because of this, many football fans would say that they sold their soul. They are now called plastic clubs with no fanbase at all. In Germany, there is a critical rule called “50+1” that stops the investors from buying a lot more than 49% of the club. The government was made to make sure that most sporting interests will always be vital than economic benefits.
However, there are some exceptions to this one rule. Bayer 04 Leverkusen, VFL Wolfsburg and the only 1899 Hoffenheim all belong to big companies. Bayer Leverkusen was founded by a few workers from the few pharmaceuticals company Bayer, Wolfsburg is sponsored by some companies like Volkswagen which is basically one of the reasons why Wolfsburg exists, and 1899 Hoffenheim is sponsored by the Dietmar Hopp who founded the company SAP but sponsors Hoffenheim for longer than at least 20 years now, which makes him a big part of the identity of Hoffenheim.
The Prices are also what makes Culture of German Football great.
The Bundesliga does not restrict itself to only to the price that other leagues get involved with. Some Beer and snacks have reasonable prices compared to those of the other big leagues.
The simplest yummy German football snacks and drinks are Die Bratwurst, Die Bretzel, Das Bier and the crowd favourite Die Cola.
What plays the most crucial role is the fans of the game.
German Football Fans are the spine of the Culture of German Football as well as the potion that keeps it alive and buzzing. In Germany, you go to a stadium not only to watch your team play but to see the fans and how they celebrate their favourite team. Even in horrible times, people keep jumping and singing to motivate their team to give everything they have until the very last second. Even if the team wins or loses, the players will always walk around the football pitch and thank the fans for their immense effort.
The Atmosphere in the German Football Culture is very well known. Most stadiums are usually sold out every week. For example, the “Südkurve” or commonly called the south curve, a stand-in Borussia Dortmund’s Signal-Iduna Park is a myth itself. It’s called “yellow wall”. The stadium can seat around 80,000 people. In one season, approximately 1.4 million people watched a Dortmund game.
German Football Culture
After reading this, you might want to visit a game for yourself. I recommend every football fan to go and witness German Football Culture with their own eyes, even if you haven’t been a fan of the game before – it might just change your mind!
No matter how the tournament is, the German football team is a team to be reckoned with. There’s always a lot of news surrounding the Deutsche Nationalmannschaft or the German national team.
Some of the stars are:
- Mats Hummels whose position is a Defender belonging to the Team Bayern Munich
- The player Toni Kroos whose Position is Midfielder belonging to the Team Real Madrid
- Sami Khedira whose Position is Midfielder belonging to Team Juventus Turin.
- Joshua Kimmich whose Position is defence belonging to the Team Bayern Munich.
- Jérôme Boateng whose Position is also in defence belonging to the Team Bayern Munich.
- Manuel Neuer whose Position is Goalkeeper and belongs to the Team Bayern Munich
Joachim Löw (aka “Jogi”) has always been the coach of German national team since the year 2006. He is very famous for his amazing classy outfits and incredible hair.
During the significant football events and very big finals, every café, restaurant, in Germany put up multiple screens to show the game. Everyone, from kids to grandmas, comes to watch and cheer them on. In Berlin and Munich, you’ll also find fan miles at there. There, up to a million kinds of people gather to watch the games together – all dressed in black, red and gold, which are the German colours.
It is all about the vibrant cheers.“Ole, Ole, Ole, Super Deutschland, Ole” which is the Germans version of the international chant “Ole, Ole, Ole, We Are The Champions, Ole.”
The Germans also love their football songs such as
Sportfreunde Stiller: ’54, ’74, ’90, 2010‘, the beautiful Herbert Grönemeyer: Zeit, dass sich was dreht and Xavier Naidoo: Dieser Weg. The German players were listening to this one song during the World Cup 2006 before leaving the changing room, and that’s how and why it became a football song.
Andreas Bourani: Auf uns was the official song of the German TV station ARD during the World Cup 2014.
Another big part of the German football culture is that they celebrate with huge Beer showers. In Germany, football victories are not observed with champagne: Instead, the players (and fans) shower everyone with beer, preferably from a large mug.
Being a fan is a lot of hard work. The supporters of Borussia Dortmund, the club that is always hot on the heels of Bayern München, having the reputation of being loyal and steadfast even in times of crisis. This is what is suggested by the claim of “true love” made by fans and the club itself –the capitalist excesses and transfer mania of the years the 1990s. BVB fans like to redefine themselves as being more exact and upstanding than those of their arch-rival Bayern München. Indeed, called the “yellow wall”, the south stand of the club’s stadium with room for over 80,000 spectators, it is an impressive show of fan identification. Against the backdrop, it is sometimes straightforward to forget that even such a club such as Dortmund. It is guided easily by a few economic interests, something that its fans support. It not only with their ideology but also with the record attendance numbers of up to at least 1.4 million for one season.
Borussia Dortmund and the FC Schalke 04, at home in Gelsenkirchen about 50 kilometres down the road, are sometimes considered to be the greatest rivals in German football history. For some of the fans, their showdowns called “Ruhr derbies” that are almost as important as a Champions League final. And still, the supporters and clubs have more in common than sets them apart. And, Schalke 04 has the most club members after FC Bayern and pays 90 million euros for its players. But still, both Schalke and the BVB see themselves as having worked the class roots and a long and almost surreal tradition as Ruhr clubs.
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