The glory days of Saxony-Anhalt’s largest Football club may be behind them, but nobody seems to have told the fanatical fans of 1.FC Magdeburg. Despite not having quite as high a profile as other East German professional clubs such as SG Dynamo Dresden, 1.FC Union Berlin and FC Hansa Rostock, Magdeburg remains the only club from the former GDR to have won international honours in the shape of the 1974 European Cup Winners Cup.
35,000.
That figure means various things to various people. It is the maximum capacity of the Estadio La Romareda, home of Real Zaragoza. It is apparently the number of people who die each year in the USA from antibiotic-resistant microbes. And it is the amount of inhabitants of the market town of Beverley, just north of my beloved Kingston Upon Hull.
It is also the number of fans that followed SG Dynamo Dresden to the Olympiastadion in Berlin for a cup tie against Hertha BSC.
You probably Continue reading
Shortly after moving to Germany, my mid-breakfast-Facebook-scroll informed me that Hull City, freshly promoted, were coming to East Germany to take on SG Dynamo Dresden in a friendly a few weeks later. 15.00 on Saturday; easily accessible with a round day trip being cheap. It was on. But in the days beforehand, friends and colleagues had one thing to say;
‘Be careful’
Dynamo Dresden fans are notorious for their aggression and extremism. A Continue reading
Seen on location in Hull!
Dynamo Dresden on tour. Otherwise known as; From Germany To Boothferry.
Ref blows for kick-off; still queuing. Become aware of the Liverpudlian accent in front of me. The lad finishes his phone conversation, so I ask the obvious Merseyside question;
“Red or Blue?”
Evertonians are in town for the following day’s Continue reading
Everybody else hates them. You realise this as a Hull City fan walking around Germany when they confuse Black and Amber for Dynamo colours. But you cannot help admire the scale and the size of their support. Some of the best on the planet.
As the season draws to a close there are two thoughts regarding the relegation stories of two of Europe’s strongest leagues.
I just don’t understand how they manage this every single fucking year. 2 years ago, Continue reading
From Boothferry To Germany 