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http://www.goal.com/en/news/15/germany/2014/03/07/4668325/klopp-sammer-must-thank-god-hes-at-bayern

 

The Dortmund boss feels the Bavarians would be just as well off if they had not hired the 46-year-old and refuses to settle for second place

 

Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp has slammed Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer, saying the 46-year-old must be grateful even to be involved at the Allianz Arena.

 

The former Germany international succeeded Christian Nerlinger in his position in the summer of 2012 and has since overseen a fresh period of success at the club.

 

However, Klopp believes that Bayern would have done just as well without the ex-BVB star and coach over the last season and a half.

 

"If I were him, I'd thank God that someone had the idea of hiring me every time I walk into the Bayern training ground," he said at a press conference.

 

"I don't know if Bayern would have got one less point without Sammer."

 

Klopp also claimed that his side refuse to be happy with a second-placed finish in the Bundesliga each season and feels his side could have done far better.

 

"We felt that there were games this season in which we would have been better to play football," he said on Friday.

 

"We're not satisfied with second place."

 

Klopp expects another tough test when Dortmund face Freiburg on Saturday, especially as star striker Robert Lewandowski is unlikely to be available for the trip.

 

"Freiburg will want to show that they belong in the division," he added. "It has not been easy for them with the Europa League. They have had good games in the last few weeks but were not rewarded.

 

"Lewandowski's doing well, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be included. There was a slight stretch, (but) the knee is stable and he is pain-free. It's not a gamble I'm about to take."

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

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Been discussing the Hoeness case with a friend, and wouldn't a fine double the amount + interest rate or w/e it's called be worth more to society than paying a guy who will probably eat everything available to stay in jail?

 

I mean, take his money and then give the same amount (his fine) and give to charity or something.

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Guest neesy111

Been discussing the Hoeness case with a friend, and wouldn't a fine double the amount + interest rate or w/e it's called be worth more to society than paying a guy who will probably eat everything available to stay in jail?

 

I mean, take his money and then give the same amount (his fine) and give to charity or something.

 

Guess jail time is a bigger deterrent.  Also you don't want a culture where you can pay your way out of trouble.

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Been discussing the Hoeness case with a friend, and wouldn't a fine double the amount + interest rate or w/e it's called be worth more to society than paying a guy who will probably eat everything available to stay in jail?

 

I mean, take his money and then give the same amount (his fine) and give to charity or something.

 

Guess jail time is a bigger deterrent.  Also you don't want a culture where you can pay your way out of trouble.

 

Sure, at the same time you can go out on the streets beat the shit out of 10 people and yet not get the same jail time. I guess the system doesn't always work as it should, but I do feel like they're using him as an example tbf.

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People (aside the Südkurve of the Allianz Arena) would have been on the streets if he hadn't been sent to jail.

 

Have every respect for the man and for what he's done with Bayern Munich in his time (which is a very long time) but he has to get a punishment which he will now. That's live.

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  • 1 month later...

*Warning long football hipster post*

As I've posted on here I've just returned from my trip to Berlin and on the Friday night I managed to catch the Union Berlin and FC Köln match at Union's Stadion An der Alten Försterei ground located in the Eastern part of the city.

 

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6936/4ta9.jpg

 

Not many people might know much about FC Union so here’s a bit of background information; they play in Bundesliga 2 and what makes the club a bit special is their fan base, which is one of the reasons I went to Berlin in the first place. In 2004 their fans donated blood and sold it off to German hospitals to raise enough funds so that the club could pay the licensing costs to enable them to play in the fourth division. This culture runs thick throughout the club as everything that is done is fan centric; in polar opposite to the way Newcastle is ran.

 

As luck would have it Köln are top of the league so at least it would be a competitive fixture (Union currently lie 8th).

 

The match was scheduled for an 18:30 KO and we went along to for 17:00 when the gates opened to try and soak up any pre-match atmosphere that there might be. Well we weren’t the only ones lined up for 17:00 and by 17:30 the surrounding areas within the stadium was completely full.

 

Despite this there were several stalls located around serving both beer and food. I ended up getting both a bratwurst and a steak sandwich (greedy twat but when in Germany and all of that) and I have to say it was the nicest food I’ve ever had at a football match and superbly priced. The bratwurst (pictured below) only cost €2.00!  :drool:

 

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/7793/0jkf.jpg

 

As kick-off approached we ended up going to the terraced section that we were located in (behind the goal in the same section as the ultras) and I was allowed to carry my beer with me too.

 

The fans all lofted their scarves above their head to sing the club’s anthem (Eisern Union) which is apparently a bit of a pre-match ritual and it was a truly amazing experience, which continued throughout the full 90 minutes.

 

The signing was constant, fans jumping up and down, stands signing back and forth with each other all match. Not one sign of negativity towards the players, constantly backing them and urging them on (despite losing the match 2-1), showing levels of encouragement I have never seen before. This must surely give the players so much extra energy in the match, to go that extra mile for those amazing fans. The Köln fans were something else as well and certainly added to the experience.

 

As mentioned Union lost 2-1 (had two goals disallowed) but the football on show was of a really good standard and surprised me quite a bit. Possibly because I’m using to watching some Championship games and the football isn’t that pleasing on the eye but this was real end to end stuff with the ball being played on the floor at the same time. Union even had 3 people up on the half-way line when they had a corner! (Also their fans went mental whenever they got a corner and repeatedly launched the same chant every time they won one).

 

I can’t ever remember being to a game with an atmosphere as intense and brilliant as that one (I didn’t think it was possible that 21,000 fans could ever make that much noise!). Even with such intensity amongst the fans there was no sign of trouble whatsoever. When we were walking back to the U-Bahn station after the match fans from both sides were mingling together, people were allowed to drink even when police were there and they seemed to treat fans like adults and this showed in the positive behaviour towards each other.

 

When the Köln fans were being given their police escort all of a sudden some sort of German folk music started blasting out of the police PA system which was a totally surreal moment, especially as they then all started singing along to it. Again no sign of anger directed towards them from the Union fans.

 

Then on the Monday we went back around the stadium as we needed to pop to the club shop in the centre of Köpenick and I managed to get a photo of the team bus (see below) that was parked up and nip into the open gates and take some shots of the ground.

 

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8606/i16a.jpg

 

It was a truly unique experience that I would definitely do again and for anybody that wants to experience something that you can no longer get with football over here, then go and you won’t regret it.

 

I’ve put a link below for what the signing of the anthem normally looks like and another bit of signing from different matches.

 

 

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It really was surreal being allowed to sit on public transport just drinking and it being the norm. I think because of that fans weren't going overboard with it and everybody was being quite sensible. :thup:

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We went in the summer, have a major stonk on for the way German football is ran, fan orientated about everything.

 

Makes me jealous when I think about it. 50+1 and all that. 

 

Busy reading Tor! to help me understand a relatively strange and new league to us.

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When we were walking back to the U-Bahn station after the match fans from both sides were mingling together, people were allowed to drink even when police were there and they seemed to treat fans like adults and this showed in the positive behaviour towards each other.

 

Exactly what we thought too, it was incredible how much beer was flowing just while walking to/from the ground and also during the game, but with no trouble at all. It really is a completely different experience.

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