2019-03-01 World Soccer

Palace schemer Max Meyer, Werder
Bremen playmaker Nuri Sahin and
Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga.
The man at the coaching controls? Why
not go for Borussia Monchengladbach’s
Dieter Hecking.
While the southern German states of
Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg churn
out their share of top professionals,
when it comes to sheer fervour for the
game, the Ruhrpott leaves every other
Deutschland territory in the shade.
Football here is much more than
22 players kicking a ball around. It’s an
absolute way of life, with tribal loyalties
paramount and fans regarding their
clubs as their second family. Even the
word “obsession” does not quite fit
the bill. Mother’s milk is infused with
incurable football fever.
“A Ruhr without football is simply
unthinkable,” says ex-Dortmund and
Schalke midfielder Ingo Anderbrugge.
“In this region, the game is a religion,”
aptly comments Dortmund coach
extraordinaire Ottmar Hitzfeld, the

man who led the Schwarz-Gelben to
their one and only Champions League
title in 1997.
Not for nothing is the Ruhr – the
largest urban area in Germany with
a population of around five million –
known as “The Land of a Thousand
Derbies”. The place is awash with proud,
long-established clubs and at one time
or another, seven Revier outfits –
Dortmund, Schalke, Bochum, Duisburg,
Wattenscheid, Rot-Weiss Essen and
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen – have taken
part in the Bundesliga.
These days, only Dortmund and
Schalke, two of the best-supported
sides in Europe, remain in the top flight.
But that’s not to say the scene has lost
its vibrancy. Second division Bochum

and Duisburg still have substantial fan

bases, while in the fourth tier of the

German pyramid (the Regionalliga)

Rot-Weiss Essen enjoy the biggest

gates in that league by a country mile,

attracting as many as 11,000 through

the turnstiles.

Whereas in other parts of the country,

a lack of class on the ball is a cardinal

sin, Ruhrpott supporters generally have

other priorities, usually satisfied as long

as their favourites on the pitch play with

energy, commitment and drive. That’s

why Jurgen Klopp was such a good fit in

his coaching heyday at Dortmund. The

signature Ruhr style demands intensity

and mental toughness. Young players

have to truly compete or sink. This

grounding is what makes them so

marketable when they come of age.

The school of hard knocks is what

it’s all about.

What a pity that so few Ruhr natives

are currently plying their trade for the

region’s two flagship clubs. Only two

members of the current Dortmund

squad (Reus and Gotze) come from the

locale, while Schalke do not have any at

all. In contrast, second division Cologne

• not a million miles away – boast eight
  men born in the Rhineland city.
  Of Germany’s 16 federal states, North
  Rhine-Westphalia – of which the Ruhr
  is a part – is the best in the business at
  spawning Bundesliga professionals, with
  some 60 players currently earning a
  living in the top-flight.

W

hether on the

international stage or

at club level, Austrian

football has been in the

doldrums for decades. But that does

not mean the game in its capital city has

lost its primal force.

Football still inspires and fascinates

in this cultural melting pot, with players

from immigrant backgrounds a strong

currency right now.

West Ham United striker Marko

Arnautovic, the son of a Serbian father

and Austrian mother, was born and

raised here; so were Bayern Munich

left-back David Alaba – who is of mixed

Nigerian and Filipino heritage – and

the Bayer Leverkusen and Austria

centre-back Aleksandar Dragovic,

another product of the local Serb

diaspora. Incidentally, all three of them

came through the academy of top

local club Austria Vienna, a set-up

which owner Frank Stronach has

invested heavily in.

These are bright times for the next

generation of Viennese talents. At Rapid

• the other half of the metropolitan
  big two – 21-year-old
  defensive midfielder Dejan
  Ljubicic is quite a prospect,
  while keeper Daniel
  Bachmann, currently
  on loan at Kilmarnock
  in Scotland from Premier
  League Watford, could be
  a senior national teamer
  one day soon.
  Central defender
  Maximilian Wober, who
  recently moved from Ajax
  to Sevilla, is coming along
  very nicely, making his
  international debut in
  October, and although
  rather inconsistent, Austria
  Vienna attacking midfielder
  Dominik Prokop certainly
  has the technique and
  vision to go places.
  Every time Austria’s
  national team has been
  successful, Viennese stars
  have played instrumental
  parts. In the 1930s, the
  revered Wunderteam
  was defined by brilliant

Vienna

AUSTRIA

When it comes to

fervour for the game,

the Ruhrpott leaves

every other territory

in the shade

“In this cultural melting pot, players

from immigrant backgrounds are a

strong currency right now”

Football’s Talent Hot Spots

Technique...Dominik

Prokop of Austria

Vienna

Locals lads... Marco

Reus (right) and

Mario Gotze

Prospect...Rapid

Vienna’s Dejan

Ljubicic (right)