Maybe you know the feeling. If you’re a life-time supporter of a modern international ‘sports brand’ (formerly known as ‘a football club’), you definitely know the feeling. You were young, and you fell in love with a football club. Often it was the local team from your city or region, and in many cases a member of your family introduced you to the love-hate relationship that comes with supporting a football team. A relationship, that usually is only separated by death, or more recently, commercialisation. Despite growing up in a village near Hanover, I became a die-hard supporter of Borussia Dortmund further back than my actual memory goes. This was the work of my father, who fell in love with […]
I still perfectly remember the 20th July 2014, a sunday that really deserved its name. After I had watched my country becoming World Champion for the fourth time, I decided to spent my summer vacation in Sweden – in Lund to be precise. From there I only needed to master a three hour train ride to Göteborg in order to fulfill a long-cherished wish of mine: watching an IFK-match live in Gamla Ullevi. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it quite in time for kick-off. My train was delayed, therefore I missed the first 20 minutes of the game. But that didn’t hurt too much, since nothing really had happened and I still witnessed Blåvitt taking the lead just moments before half-time: […]
The Svenska Cupen has already taken place and in just a couple of days Allvenskan football will return as well after what felt like an eternity of nearly 150 days. Usually the anticipation in this early stage of a campaign is huge for supporters of any club worldwide: Will my team avoid relegation? Will we crown ourselves champions for the first time since World War I? Will the latest Brazilian signing be the saviour that we all hoped for – or just another lame duck, already on the move again as soon as the summer transfer window arrives? The early stages of a season is the time for hopes und musings, of promises and exuberant optimism – which will be […]