It may be somewhat strange to us in Greece, but in Germany there are several… fan friendships. Some examples are those of Schalke with Nuremberg, Hertha Berlin with Karlsruhe and Munich 1860 with Kaiserslautern.
However, the oldest of them is that of her friends Bayern Munich with hers Bochum…
In the 3-0 of the Bavarians over the “blues” on Saturday (11/02), he made his appearance at “Allianz Arena” a common coreo by the fans of the two rivals, which was celebrating 50 years of friendship between them.
Even the Leon Goretzkawho was born in Bochum, posted the wonderful images from his team’s pitch.
How had it begun then, the 1972, this close relationship? No, it has nothing to do with their shared rivalry with Dortmund. It all started when a group of Bayern fans he had been… hunted by Bochum fans, before being spared by other friends of the North Rhine-Westphalia club!
“We were going to our pub near the stadium and we saw some Bayern fans running. Some people from Bochum were chasing them and we chased them away” remembers Ralph “Lobo” Wolfamong the oldest organized VfL fans.
“We had beers together in the pub afterwards and found them. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers”continues.
When Bochum went to play in Munich with Bayern, her rekordmeister friends allowed them to… parade with a banner that read “Bochum fans salute Bayern fans”. The spark had ignited the flame of a strong friendship…
A flame, however, that almost went out when in 1993 Bochum was relegated and began to face competitive difficulties. Eyes that cannot be seen are quickly forgotten, the people say, with the absence of meetings between the two clubs damaging the relationship between the fans.
Things got even worse in 2004, when the Bavarians bought the Blues’ top scorer, Vahid Hashemian. The Iranian never caught on in Munich, with Wolf saying characteristically how “They took our best player and left him in the stands. Things were not good then.”
Nevertheless, the ties were not broken. In 2005, Bayern fans congratulated the Bochum ultras on their foundation anniversary with a coreo, with the relationship rekindled despite the two teams often being in different divisions.
After all, the 50-year anniversary found Bochum in the Bundesliga, so the celebration took place properly. “50 years of Bayern & VfL” the slogan, with “Lobo” in the “Allianz Arena”, having made the journey by train. “I’m sure the younger generations will keep this friendship” he says, taking heart from the fact that his 19-year-old granddaughter had gone to Munich the day before to meet her friends, Bayern fans…
Source: BR24, DW
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
