D€RBY

Nomen est omen: Commerzbank-Arena How to increase your club's budget by more than 14 percent? Easy! Your overpowering local rivals just have to get relegated. This season 2. Bundesliga (level 2) side FSV Frankfurt are able to spend € 5.15 million, a plus of € 0.65 million compared to last year's campaign. Simply because they moved one game to Commerzbank-Arena, a World Cup 2006 venue with a capacity of 51,500. And they nearly sold out the huge stadium when they hosted their neighbours Eintracht for the first Frankfurt derby since 1962 on matchday 5. FSV lost 0-4. Currently ranked 16 the move will possibly be exposed as a very profitable mistake...

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Klopp 1-3 Podolski

Hey Jürgen, why the long face? Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp (being asked by a Sky reporter about a possible interest in buying 1. FC Cologne forward Lukas Podolski) on Sunday: "Lukas is an exceptional player. But I believe him to be hyped in Cologne so much that it is hard for him to perform well regularly. With his potential, he had to be one of the best strikers, if not the best striker, in the league – but he is not. This is because he is not able to deliver often enough. And then it is too expensive for us  – for a good performance every few weeks." Shortly afterwards Lukas Podolski responded via local tabloid Express: "What a...

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One-Way Rivalry

Neither inner-city opponents like Union Berlin or TeBe nor Energie Cottbus from provincial Brandenburg are considered to be Hertha BSC's main rivals. No, this iffy honour dues Schalke 04. What is particularly astonishing for various reasons. First of all, Gelsenkirchen is about 320 miles away and really no one there seems to give a shit about Berlin or Hertha. The capital club are perceived as an Bundesliga competitor just like the rest of the league. Nothing more, nothing less. And then, what are we to think about a rivalry which is allegedly based on two incidents in the 60s and 70s while keeping in mind that a majority of Herthas's following...

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Greuther Fifth

The rather odd logo The construct of SpVgg Greuther Fürth was actually formed by a merger of three times German champions SpVgg Fürth and the prosperous village club TSV Vestenbergsgreuth in 1996. Just one year later this convenient marriage of tradition and cash payed off with promotion to 2. Bundesliga. Greuther-Fürth have been playing there since then, making them the longest serving of any current second division teams. Somewhat quaint, the Shamrock nicknamed team achieved national recognition for finishing in fifth position. Seven times during their actual 14 season lasting stint to be precise: 1997-98: 9th 1998-99: 8th 1999–00: 7th 2000–01:...

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Doublepost

Borussia Mönchengladbach's Hans-Günter Bruns in 1983 against Bayern... Now hat would have been a goal!...

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Informer, you no say that's who I'm gonna blame

Beef! Clemens Tönnies, chief executive of Schalke's supervisory board, is notorious for his liability to populism. For a couple of years now, the meat industrialist prefers to attend the annual Revierderby in Dortmund with fellow supporters on the terrace. Last week's meeting has seen the odd smoke and fireworks coming from the away end. Too much for Tönnies, 55, who instantly started to take photos of the troublemakers with his smartphone. "All reasonable fans should declare their solidarity against these lone perpetrators and expose them with photos so we can file them. These people have to leave our stadia," Tönnies told a newspaper on...

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