An Old International

work to be done

It’s late March, almost April and the football season enters its decisive phase; it is now that the routes to silverware, promotion, a safe mid-table finish or relegation are paved. Those clubs at the top will look forward to claim the title, while those at the bottom will work hard to avoid the drop at any cost and mobilize all their powers for this objective. Currently, FC Magdeburg are in such a situation where every player has to give 110% and more to avoid relegation. To add insult to injury, there is no calm off the pitch, either. The match in late January against Dynamo Dresden deliverd a case in point.

It is a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s and continues to stir emotions on either side. This year though, it was different as the violence has reached another, hitherto unprecedented, level.

This is not about who provoked whom but more about the fallout. The statements by the club in the wake of what happened were the usual condemnation of the violence yet lacked any purpose or determination. No consequences were given even though it was clear relatively early that the police would be investigating a possible manslaughter. This should be a wake up call for anyone: the board, the fans, the media.

Why was there this excessive violence? As stated before, the game against Dynamo Dresden is a derby that has been hotly contested off the pitch for years. However, it is known that Magdeburg have links to BFC Dynamo Berlin hooligans who regularly visit the Magdeburg stadium. There is a likelyhood that these people came to cause a ruckus and did so on purpose. The involvement of other firms may not be excluded here. Those firms are well connected and alliances are well established. It could be that external factors were responsible for the events inside the ground on January 24. However, there remains the question as to how large objects could be brought into the stadium before the match. It sheds a light on the match day security, which has been employed for years.

Another player in this game is the fan support group. The relationship between the club and this group appeared to be in good health – until recently. The fan support group issued a statement recommending all fans at the match to hide or better yet, to destroy any evidence that may suggest that fans were at the match, were on the north stand and were possibly involved in the violent outbreak. Now this represents a line crossed. Yes, a mistrust towards the police may be justified due to previous negative experiences which involved the kettling in of fans without the possibility to go to the toilet, in hot or cold or rainy weather conditions on the simple suspicion that football fans cause mayhem, regardless if they are ultras, male or female or whatever type of fan.

It has been a laudable relationship between fans and the board at Magdeburg, one which was based on communication – as much as the Ultras let this happen. The idea was to get everyone on board to avoid alienation and mistrust. The fan support organisation was helpful establishing this link and people were mostly concerned with the organisation of enjoyable away days without aforementioned negative experiences. That these very people feel it necessary to go such lengths is telling. It is indicative that something is broken at the club and that something is clearly disbalanced.

How did this happen? This requires to look further afield than just at a football club. The state of society can be described as alarming. Violence – verbal and physical has become accepted. Speaking out against violent club members is avoided as this may lead to accusations of exclusion; and no one seems to be willing to have such a debate, nor seems capable of engaging and maintaining such a debate. The willingness of communication and dialogue has sunk.

The Club have heaped shame on themselves by not saying much more than the usual such as “violence has no place in our stadium” and other blunt and tedious statements. It seems that only the police come out of this mess unscathed and with their reputation intact. Everyone else has lost a lot of credibility and it takes efforts to regain this. This requires time and communication – the latter is obviously not the strong point of the media department of the club, or of the Club itself, and they won’t be given much time as the capacity to listen and reason has dramatically diminished.

Whatever the outcome of the season, heads need to be changed and the mentality needs a reset.

devoid and meaningless

A few weeks ago I was on the Parisian underground when I saw a guy walking towards me with a scarf of my home town club, FC Magdeburg. I stopped him and asked if he was a supporter. He said no, he wasn’t but added that a friend of his gave him the scarf as a gift or to keep him warm during winter. While the purpose of a scarf is of course to keep our necks warm and to show some allegiance with any sports team, the idea of wearing these colours felt somewhat like a desecration. This guy doesn’t even know where this town is, let alone has he any idea about the club. A scarf is a clothing accessory to keep the neck warm during winter and it is used as a significant means to show loyalty to a sporting team, mostly football teams but also other sports. As such they serve as a way to establish a community, imaginary and real among football supporters of any particular club.

This erroneous use of a scarf by a random Parisian guy in the underground left me somewhat perplexed. Things such as the allegiance with a football team expressed by wearing a replica shirt, a fan scarf and any other accessories have become devoid of all meaning. Fandom as i know it is no longer set in stone. It has become liquid or worse, exchangeable.

I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.

The Forgotten Match: England v Germany, Wembley, February 1966

With the 60th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup mere months away, it is time to remind readers that England had played West Germany twice in 1966: once in February and the other match was the World Cup final in July 1966.

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60 years and a little bit wiser

Compared to the development of football since the late 1870s, 60 years is not a long time, let alone would it be seen as old age. However, considering the twists and turns of history, 60 years can be a long time. Taking into account that within the first decade of its existence, Magdeburg had won the European Cup and were one of the most promising teams in Europe, the following 50 years were quite a difficult time to go through. From its inception on December 22, 1965 to its biggest triumph on May 8, 1974, not even 10 years had passed; and the following years had been a slow but steady decline. This was only accelerated by end of the Cold War in 1989. Within a year, the GDR ceased to exist and with it an entire political system. The vacuum was not filled with promises but with hard lessons and many disappointments. For Magdeburg it came at the worst possible moment as the club ended the 1980s rather well. The demise of communism plunged East German football into the abyss. For Magdeburg, the deepest point came in the mid-1990s when the drop into the 5th division loomed and a merger with a local rival was on the table. Neither came to happen – thankfully. Slowly the club rebuilt, suffering setbacks such as insolvency in 2001, missing out on promotion like in 2007 by mere minutes as well as missing several chances to qualify for newly established leagues like in 1994. And most famously in 2012 when they finished bottom of the table and escaped the drop only because the leagues were merged.

Just as missing out and escaping so close, we should not forget, that in the final match of the 1996-1997 season the referee blew his whistle a few minutes earlier to grant promotion. He did so with about 10000 fans standing pitch side waiting for the final whistle. What would have happened had the opposition of the day, Hoyerswerda, equalised or even taken the lead – only speculation knows.

Magdeburg would not be Magdeburg if things were not twisted and not always easy. Yet, only a few things in life are easy and surviving in an increasingly professionalised football environment requires not only legs but also brains. These were not there in the early 1990s – how could they? Those in charge of the club had not experienced capitalism and were duly overwhelmed and outsmarted by their western counterparts and cheated by some charlatans.

Magdeburg have done well since 2015: going up to the third division, and even further in 2018 and again in 2022. Second division football seems likely to be happening in Magdeburg in the next year. Alas, there will be no European football soon. Let that be the only negative point in this eulogy!

The upward trajectory of the Club runs in parallel with the positive development of the city: since the late 2000s, early 2010s, the city has become more positive looking and sounding. The scars of the past have begun to heal. No longer are big numbers of people fleeing the city to find work in nearby West Germany or Berlin. With political turmoil on the horizon, though, it remains to be seen, if the following 60 years will be just as spectacular as those 6 decades just gone.

Here’s to you, 1. FC Magdeburg!

Cretinous

If you ever needed proof that FIFA has become a farce, watch this clip. The person who has posted this, sincerely believes in what he has written in his tweet.

Business is Paramount

It is common knowledge that since 2010 FIFA has left the path of candour and become a corrupt organisation. This may have been the case before, but in December 2010, it became clear to the wider public that the core of this organisation is rotten.

In contrast UEFA has held out against this trend. Until November 2025. This month the governing body of European football has announced that the broadcast rights for its prime product, the Champions League will be held by the American company Paramount Skydance. While this is nothing new as TV rights have been bought and sold for decades, it is perhaps lesser known to the public that Paramount and its subsidiaries is owned by Larry Ellison, who is a Trump ally.

FIFA has become sycophantic in relation to the American president and UEFA are seemingly going down the same road. The amount paid is staggering, it is said to be around €10 billion between 2027 and 2031.

Paramount Skydance is also the owner of CBS, an American TV and radio network. As such, the company wields power, political power and can influence public opinion. By donating millions to the Republicans and other conservative institutions, Ellison and his businesses already exercise power.

Why is this important? At the end of the day, it is football, sport, so there is no implications for the viewer and for the sport.

Wrong.

Language is an important and powerful tool to challenge and/or reinforce existing power structures, according to the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci. As such language and the media can shape views and stereotypes.

Every media platform, regardless of size, has been streamlined in one way or another: the owners and shareholders dictate what is being shown, which perspectives are being allowed and what is not tolerated. Further, the tone of the coverage may also be indicative. How often certain groups are associated with certain words, accused of a certain way of behaviour, the way of living plays a role in how the wider public shape their opinions towards them.

UEFA have become the just another pawn in the game of the powerful (arch) conservative and rightwing of rolling back any progress and forward thinking.

No remorse? No job!

News broke late last week, over the weekend that Jerôme Boateng is about to return to Bayern Munich to gather work experience as a coach. While this is laudable as he has won a few trophies throughout his career, the news nonetheless sheds a dubious light on the club and poses serious questions to German society in general.

We remember, Boateng was accused of having hurt a former girlfriend, yet escaped being sentenced. This in itself represents a slap in the face of women and the woman in question. The trial has been dragging for more than five years now and initially the player had to face the fact of having a criminal record. However, several instances at various courts later and Boateng was acquitted but has to pay €100000 to organisations that help kids. And should he ever be reported to the police for violence against women, he will face severe charges. In football parlance: he is booked and next time he’ll be sent off.

Football is way too lenient when it comes to domestic violence. A few years ago, a former player in England was hired by a club after having assaulted a woman. Boateng was accused of having beaten his girlfriend while they were on holiday. The former couple have been arguing for several years about the custody of their kids and it appeared that it is before this background that the argument escalated with both sides getting physical; yet Boateng appeared to have hit harder which led to the investigation in the first place. Initially, he faced charges of €1.5m and a conviction but he escaped either for different reasons.

He got away with it and it’s not fine. It throws a terrible light on football and the German society at large. Will we accept someone without showing any remorse as a coach in football? It may just be possible he coahces kids or a women team! Will they feel safe in when near him? While it is clear that people make mistakes, it is vital that they live up to them and learn from them. This clearly seems not to be the case with Boateng. This is terrible news for football and sports in general.

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I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.

Magdeburg: 1-0-7, 7:19

Here we are: the autumn internationals are behind us and FC Magdeburg have parted ways with their coaching staff in a move that appeared overdue. With a quarter of the season played, Magdeburg are thoroughly rooted at the bottom of the table with three points from eight games and a goal difference of 7:19. This is relegation form. We have been there twice. Once in 2018/19 and the story did not end well as Magdeburg were relegated. In 2022 the season started similarly but somehow the team managed to turn things around and avoided being relegated straight away. How have things come the way they are?

The main reason is surely the departure of Christian Titz in June just after the end of last season. He left behind him a team that had missed out on promotion by a few points only. Who knows, though, Titz may have seen something among his former players that made him look for an exit strategy. A home defeat against Preußen Münster ended all dreams of promotion in spring; Magdeburg couldn’t be further away from the top spots in autumn 2025.

In all fairness it must be added that Magdeburg are not that bad, their statistics demonstrate a good percentage of ball possession and the mileage the entire squad has done during those eight matches up to this point, isn’t too far behind that of their opponents. Last season they had a lot of luck and simply had a goalscorer who was there to score. The departure of Martijn Kaars surely left a gap but in the first match after his departure Magdeburg lost 4:5 in a freak match at home to Greuther Fürth. That day they showed that they are no pushovers. However, it was the last time they scored in a league match. Since then a goal in a friendly against Aue was the only goal scored in the league since 31 August! That’s more than 450 minutes without a goal! And while they do create chances, they are just a bit off the mark.

Yet, the overall impression is that of a team deeply insecure about its potential and that is the task of the coaching team. It is here where Markus Fiedler and his assistants have been out of their depth and lacked a strategy to address these issues. Hence the decision to part ways with the coaching team.

There is however, the question whether this decision comes too late and whether this scenario may have been avoided by hiring a different coach in the first place. If things go wrong, it is the coach who will be sacrificed yet the players remain and need to find a way out of their situation. It is therefore questionable whether a change of coach will make a difference. It has not worked in 2018/19 but back then the sacking of Jens Härtel simply came too late and the squad was not strong enough for Bundesliga 2.

Here we are, Magdeburg have parted ways with their coaching staff, hoping that a new coach will turn around the fortunes of the club in just a few weeks time.

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I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.

UCL Qualification: Paris FC (F) – Austria Vienna (F)

And before you can count to two, summer has gone: the evenings are still light but the temperatures have dropped to more enjoyable levels after almost three months of summer heat. It also means the start of the Champions League and other European Cup Competitions.

A rainbow over the stadium, of which we can see an empty tribune.

Today the women of Paris FC were hosting their counterparts from Austria Vienna in the qualification for the group stage. The sky presented itself with sunshine and a rainbow just after kick-off. And immediately it was Paris who took the initiative. Yet their fluidity brought no rewards other than being pleasant to watch.

Both teams had their Ultra groups present; Vienna putting Paris to shame as their ten man crew was respectable compared to the home side‘s fifty. It gives an idea of the support for women’s football in Paris.

Within the opening 15 minutes Paris had outplayed the Vienna keeper but the ensuing corner brought nothing. It was Vienna who grafted themselves into the game with grit and determination. Their passes lacked precision. This was emblematic when their number 5, Tatjana Weiss crossed way too early. This was a waste of a rare opportunity to push Paris back.

The Parisian keeper showed some insecurity when the team had a goal kick: Vienna pressed and applied pressure and Paris almost cracked. They had a lucky escape.

Speaking of which, Vienna rode their luck: the post and the cross bar saved them as well as Paris placing a number of well played balls wide.

The second half began in the same manner as the first half ended: Paris FC were dominating possession and the pitch yet created too little. This was largely due to Vienna now appeared to be better organised in defence, thus allowing less chances for Paris to get through on goal. Vienna were more physical now but could not make it count, i.e. create their own chances. It was somewhat telling that they had their first chance of the match after almost 75 minutes! Not long after, it could have been 1-0 for Vienna but a very good tackle prevented it from happening.

It was now a typical 0-0 match: both sides started their moves promising only to be frustrated by the tip of the foot, a body, a leg in they way. On the other side, this was entertaining for the crowd as the game, though now largely taking place in midfield, ebbed back and forth.

Advantage Vienna? Maybe as the return leg will see them play at home. However, they need to improve their attacking prowess, or rather need to show that they possess something like that. Paris on the other side will know that one goal will suffice to see them through – yet they need to be more clinical, less wasteful.

Sadly, with some time still to play, people started leaving the ground. The ground, the Stade Jean Bouin, in Paris’ 16th arrondissement, wasn’t even halfful, a sign that the women’s game outside the top clubs still has a long way ahead to develop. For the neutral observer though, it was trip down memory lane: cycling to the game, arriving five minutes before kick-off, no stress, no police.

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I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.

The mysterious affair of the drawn window blinds

The football establishment had something to mull about at the end of last week (August 25-29). An email from St. Pauli to FC Magdeburg was published online; it’s phot has been taken through a drawn window blind, adding some spice to the entire affair. The mail was sent from St. Pauli‘s sporting director about the transfer of Martijn Kaars from Magdeburg to the Hamburg club. It requires some criminal energy to go to these lengths to get such a photo taken. Rightly so, Magdeburg have forwarded the case to the police for further investigation. It’s likely that nothing will come off it and no one will be charged for breach of privacy and theft.

There’s two things here that make this affair stand out. First, is the fact that people really don’t seem to care about privacy and really wanted to get this information published. This could only have been people with knowledge of this email having been sent, thus acting intentionally, or the action was planned and the outcome was pure coincidence. Either way, the damage is done.

Second, it leaves Magdeburg with the urgency to find a solution, i.e. a replacement for Kaars. During last season he scored 19 goals and was thus an integral member of the team that only lost out on promotion during the final two or three matches of the last campaign. And this is where the upset begins. Magdeburg have already played three league games this season, lost two of them, but beat Dynamo Dresden away. They have additionally reached the second round of the German Cup. So far, he has scored two goals in the league and one in the Cup. This is already a very good performance, showing that Kaars has potential. St. Pauli coming in and buying him, therefore only logical. Yet, the league is already underway and the summer transfer period about to close. To find a replacement and hoping that this player will be just as impactful seems difficult if not impossible. The home made solution may be Rayan Ghrieb who has been signed from the French Ligue 2 club EA Guingamp and who already has scored twice: in the Cup against Saarbrücken.

However, there needs to be a better ruling for those cases. The Bundesliga starts tradionally later than the second division in Germany, so the clubs have more time to prepare and to assemble their squad. However, there should be a ruling which prevents such late signings unless the player or the coach is a free agent, particularly from lower league clubs.

The whole affair leaves an aftertaste: Magdeburg have lost a very good player while the season is already underway. The circumstances have left many damaged reputations on either side. While Kaars made it clear ‘to take the next step’, his departure nonetheless forces his ex-club to bolster their squad.

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I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.