Welcome to another addition of

our newsletter.

As always, I’d like to start by

thanking everyone who has taken

the time to contribute to the newsletter again, and in particular

I’d like to thank Bene Pliquett for

taking the time to answer our questions. After the last

newsletter we wondered how we

would possibly improve on the

content, and when we suggested trying to get an interview with a

current player I don’t think any of

us involved quite expected we’d be successful. For those who may

be reading our newsletter for the

first time, this is only our 5th edition, and it started simply as a

4 page newsletter letting our

members know about the group and the upcoming streams. 5

months later and it has developed

into monster!

It’s a credit to the club and the

bond between the players and the

fans, which is increasingly rare in modern football.

This will be the penultimate newsletter of the season, with us

taking a much needed break

during the summer months! Our last newsletter of the season will

be released after the end of the

season, so hopefully it’ll be delayed due to the playoff.

Here’s a few bits of information

regarding Yorkshire St Pauli...

Our move to our new venue, ‘Wharf Chambers’, has been a great

success. The only disappointing

aspect of the streams so far have been the results, having conceded a

last minute goal to lose against Aue

we then looked on in shock as we conceded three goals in the opening

20 minutes of the game against FSV

Frankfurt. Thankfully, the team

didn’t give up, and we picked up a point and in the end could have had

all three. If this season is going to

end in promotion, our next three streams will need to be a lot more

successful! There was over 20

people at our last stream, our biggest attendance yet, so thanks to

everyone who made it.

We will be showing the last three

games of the season, against Hansa

Rostock (22nd April), Dynamo Dresden (29th April) and Paderborn

(5th May). The streams against

Rostock and Dresden will start at

4.30pm, and we will confirm the start time of the Paderborn stream

closer to the game.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the

newsletter and hopefully we’ll be

reporting about a St Pauli promotion in next month’s edition.

Magic St Pauli, A victory here for us today.

Scott

6th Edition

A note from the Editor...

April 2012

Next Streams:

Sunday 22nd April v

Hansa Rostock (AKA,

Banana Party!)

Sunday 29th April v

Dynamo Dresden

Sunday 5th May v

Paderborn

Streams shown at

Wharf Chambers,

Leeds.

For more information,

please visit

yorkshirestpauli.com

Contact Us

Twitter: @YorksStPauli

Facebook: Yorkshire St

Pauli

Website:

yorkshirestpauli.com

St Pauli UK Forum:

stpaulifansuk.forumup

.co.uk

Our Shop:

yorksstpauli.spreadshi

rt.co.uk/

In this issue... An interview with Bene Pliquett, a review of the trip to Düsseldorf, a piece on

visiting the Millerntor, a look at the remaining games and the police ban on Rostock fans...

It’s remarkable to think that given the poor

form of St Pauli in the second half of the

season in comparison to the first, we are still in with a good chance of finishing in 3rd

place and securing the playoff place.

With Greuther Fürth and Eintracht Frankfurt

all but guaranteed automatic promotion, the

current table looks like this:

3) Paderborn 58 points (+15 GD)

4) Fortuna Düsseldorf 57 points (+28 GD)

5) St Pauli 56 points (+18 GD)

During the first half of the season, St Pauli

amassed 36 points, and were in 4th place at the half-way point of the season. They were

level on points with Greuther Fürth who

were above St Pauli with a superior goal difference. In contrast, so far in the second

half of the campaign, St Pauli have only

picked up 20 points with 3 games left. This form would place St Pauli in 7th, with less

points than Dynamo Dresden (22 points)

and Ingolstadt (24 points). The main problem would appear to be a lack of goals,

with 36 goals scored in the first half of the

season, but only 15 scored during the

second half of the campaign. Whilst Marius Ebbers has struggled for fitness, Max Kruse

has struggled to re-capture his superb form

in the first half of the season.

But it’s not just St Pauli who have struggled,

Fortuna Düsseldorf have faced an ever greater drop in form. Düsseldorf didn’t lose

a single game during the first half of the

season, picking up 41 points from a possible 51, topping the league. But in the second

half of the season, they have only managed

16 points from the 14 games so far. Based

on this form, they would sit 11th in table. Again, the problem seems to be scoring

goals. Düsseldorf were superb in front of

goal during the first part of the season, scoring 40 goals. In comparison, they’ve

only scored 19 in the 14 games during the

second half of the season.

Paderborn in contrast have managed a

steady run of form, picking up 33 points in the first half of the campaign (5th) and 25

points so far in the second half, enough to

put them in 4th based on the form. A run

that puts them in pole position going into the final three games of the season.

The task for St Pauli is simple, we must win all

three remaining games, which includes the visit

of Paderborn to the Millerntor on the last day of the season, in what could be an almighty game

that decides the final standings. Here are our

final three games (all of which we will be showing a stream of):

Hansa Rostock (H) Dynamo Dresden (A)

Paderborn (H)

9 points from those remaining games would mean St Pauli finish above Paderborn, but

they’d have to hope that Düsseldorf also drop

points. Düsseldorf have a difficult few games ahead though, their remaining games are:

Union Berlin (H) Greuther Fürth (A)

Duisburg (H)

Whilst Fürth are practically promoted, they’ll

still be looking for a win in order to ensure they

end the season as champions. Also, Union Berlin could prove to be difficult opposition, and

the final game of the season against Duisburg is

a local derby. Duisburg have improved greatly

in recent weeks to steer them away from the relegation zone, picking up 4 wins and 2 draws

from their last 7 games.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to see either St

Pauli or Fortuna Düsseldorf picking up all 9

points from their final 3 games, which means the advantage has to be with Paderborn. Here

is their run-in:

Karlsruhe (A)

FSV Frankfurt (H)

St Pauli (A)

You would expect Paderborn to be favourites

going into their next two games, but Karlsruhe,

despite sitting 16th in the league, actually have a decent home record. That said, Paderborn

have the best away record in the division.

It’s impossible to predict the next few weeks,

particularly given the twists and turns that

we’ve already seen this season. Let’s not forget either, finishing in 3rd place is the easy part,

you’ve then got to win the playoff to achieve

promotion!

Voran, FC Sankt Pauli.

Page 2

The play-off that no-one wants?

“Rob, could you please contact the Club and

get an interview with one of the players,”

asked our esteemed editor a few weeks

ago. “Gulp,” thought I, “how am I going to

manage that?” I guess it’s a measure of

how far we’ve come here at Yorkshire St.

Pauli; after interviews with the likes of Ian

Paul Joy, Sven Brux and Attila the

Stockbroker, the natural progression would

be to interview a current St Pauli

Fussballgott for our newsletter.

It didn’t take much thought to decide which

player to choose. It’s clear that from the

current squad there are players like Fabian

Boll, whose long service, great leadership

and community work would have made for a

great interview, however, one player stands

out in particular as one of us – the

inimitable Benedikt Pliquett. One e-mail to

the press office and, hey presto, in my

inbox is a response from the big man

himself. And that’s the difference with our

magical St Pauli! Which other club would

give you such easy access to its players?!

When we were recently voting for our

‘Fussballgott’ tee-shirt, I found that most of

my nominations came from the defence and

at one point I even considered nominating

four goalkeepers, such has been the

influence of St Pauli goalies over the years.

Before we concentrate on Bene, there are

really two keepers in the post-80s St Pauli

who stand out from the crowd.

Volker Ippig more than any other player

personifies the revolution which took place

at the club in the 80s. Very much a one-off,

Ippig famously took a break from his career

to work with disabled children and to

undertake development work in Nicaragua,

lived on occasions in the same tenement

blocks on the Hafenstrasse from which the

leftist fan-scene originated, and took to the

field with a clenched fist salute. The fans

reciprocated this love and respect with the

slogan “Volker hört die Signale” – a play on

words of the first line of the German version

of “The Internationale”. Despite taking

several breaks from playing, Ippig stood in goal

100 times before an injury to his spine cut short

his playing career. After stints as goalkeeping

coach and also coaching lower division clubs,

Ippig was last seen working on Hamburg docks.

A total outsider and a complete one-off.

Equally legendary between the posts of the

magical FC was Klaus Thomforde. From the

early years of competing with Ippig for the

gloves, Thomforde stood between the posts a

remarkable 317 times between 1983 and 1999.

Thomforde was another strong character and

was known for his emotional outbursts, which

led to the nickname “Das Tier im Tor” – “The

beast between the sticks”!

The current incumbent, Benedikt Pliquett, is

also a great character and it has been so

pleasing to watch him take his chance so well

since the winter break. It is clear that he has a

close relationship with the fans and that’s why

he is so well liked around the stadium. His

celebrations in the Volkspark after St Pauli’s

derby victory last year will live long in our

memories. Don’t forget that a few months

Page 3

Keepers of the faith.

earlier, Bene and a number of St Pauli fans

had been jumped on at Altona station by a

bunch of HSV scumbags as they returned

from a game.

Although Bene was thankfully unscathed,

some of his fellow travellers fared worse.

This makes his reaction more than

understandable. After sending me his

interview responses, Bene signed off by

saying he was popping down to the

Millerntor to stand with his mates on the

Südkurve, supporting the 2nd eleven in their

own derby, which resulted in another Derby

Sieg! Our grateful thanks go to Bene for

taking the time and trouble to answer our

inane questions. Bene, you are always

welcome here in Yorkshire!

- Bene, you are a favourite of ours here in

Yorkshire, not just because of your

performances on the pitch, but also because

of your connection to the fans. Do you have

any special ties to particular fan groups and,

if so, why?

I have a lot of ties to different fan groups

and persons. Most of the people I know, are

standing in the "Südkurve" but, actually

there are people standing everywhere in the

stadium. I think the contact to all of them

comes from the games when I was standing

in the "Südkurve" and the times before and

after the games when I was hanging around

in the "Viertel"(the area/district around the

stadium). Many of them I know for years

now.

- How did you come to be standing here,

between the sticks for the magical St Pauli?

Which team did you support as a child?

When I was a child I remember being a

Dortmund BVB fan and although going to

the H$V Stadium with my parents, I went a

couple of times to the Millerntor. That I was

watching a game among the people at

Millerntor was a dream of mine and I first

could realise it when I broke my hand.

- Having played for HSV, did you feel that

joining FCSP was like crossing a divide?

Due to the fact that I only played for the

youth of H$V and played half a year for VfB

Lübeck before I started playing for FCSP, it

wasn't a big deal for me.

- We understand that in the past you have

been responsible for introducing new players

to the culture of the Kiez. Is that still

something you do and have there been any

memorable reactions from players?

Whenever a new player comes into our team I

try to introduce him to the most important

rules and habits of our club. But I can't

remember something very memorable...

- The injury to Tschauner provided you with

an opportunity for a sustained run in the

team. Has is been frustrating to be second

choice and how has it been for you since the

winter break now that you are back in the

spotlight?

Right now I am very happy that I received my

chance and that I took it so well. Sometimes

it was frustrating in the past, especially

because the coaches told me all the time how

well I trained and performed on the pitch. But

this is history right now and I am always

looking forward to the next game.

- What was your favourite St Pauli moment,

not counting the Derby Sieg?

pfffff...I think there are many moments, the

sensational games in the Cup, my first games

for the club, my first games in the

2.Bundesliga...

- Okay, we have to ask you about the Derby

Sieg as well! Your actions after the final

whistle quite rightly guarantee you a place in

St Pauli folklore. What were your emotions at

that time?

Most important to me was the victory over

them...the move I did to one of their players

happened because we were talking within the

team about what we could do if we score or

win and we were having a laugh about the

move he does after scoring. That I kicked the

flag happened mostly out of emotions and to

me it ain’t a big deal because it is a common

celebration after scoring goals...

- And can you describe your worst St Pauli

moment?

To me it was the moment after the Bayern

Munich game last season when it was final,

Page 4

that we had to go down again. And probably

my only injury, when I broke my wrist

(handgelenk).

- Would you like to make any comment on

the recent DFB rulings?

Hmmm...I don't know exactly what you

mean but overall I think they have to stop

all the restrictions against fans!

- We Yorkshire folk are quite reserved, but

we are trying to bring more fun to our

events. For example, we are planning a

banana party for the Hansa Rostock game!

Your facial hair has also become a bit of a

Kult here in Yorkshire! For the Aue game

one or two Bene false moustaches appeared

above the lips of YSP members. What

inspired your facial hair?

--hahahahahahhaa...I started growing the

moustache to show my loyalty to my dad.

He has also one and because he was in a

struggle for over 3 years, but now everything is

alright. But the moustache stays...because it is

sooooooo sexy (-; ...You have to know I do not

really care about my looks.

- And to the future. What are your hopes for

the next couple of seasons and what would you

like to do when your playing career has

finished?

Most important to me is that we are promoted

back to the 1. Bundesliga...right now I think I

would try to stay in the football business.

Thanks to all of you for your support!!!! As long

we have folks around the world like you the

"magic FCSP" will never die!!!!

SANKT PAULI IST DIE EINZIGE

MÖGLICHKEIT!!!!

Page 5

Ciao, Moro.

Our thoughts are with Livorno after the loss of player Piermario Morosini. Morosini suddenly

collapsed during the Livorno game away at Pescara last weekend. It is believed that Morosini

suffered a cardiac arrest. Livorno have retired Morosini’s number 25 shirt in his honour.

On Tuesday, over 5000 Livorno fans gathered at the Stadio Armando Picchi to pay their

respects, as the coffin of Morosini was brought to the stadium. Fans of many clubs, including

big rivals Pisa have shown solidarity and support during the past week.

Our thoughts are with our friends in Livorno.

Ciao, Moro.

To be honest, I wasn’t really fussed about

visiting Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Esprit Arena.

When eying-up the Easter fixtures, I’d been

hoping that FSV Frankfurt would be brought

forward to the Thursday to give me a

chance of visiting their intimate Stadion am

Bornheimer Hang without obliterating Easter

at home with the kids. It wasn’t to be, and

with me in desperate need for some

football, I settled for Düsseldorf.

As the fixture edged ever closer, it was

becoming apparent that the game could be

important. It could go a long way to

deciding who finishes third and thus grabs

the all-important play-off spot against the

third from bottom team in the Bundesliga

(and at the time of writing HSV are real

contenders for that spot.) A win for Fortuna

would put them six points clear and in the

driving seat, a win for St. Pauli would bring

us level. A draw, would pretty much

maintain the status quo. Football wise, this

was shaping up to be an interesting game to

be able to watch in person.

The despised Monday night TV slot had also

made things easier for me at least (for

regular fans it remains a despised pain in

the neck,) it meant I could get the first train

out of London and be in Düsseldorf with

plenty of time to spare for the 20:15 kick-

off.

I opted for a change of departure station,

beginning my journey from Bletchley

instead of Milton Keynes – which robbed me

of the irony of departing from the ‘city’ that

stole the very soul of English football to

travel hundreds of miles to stand with fans

that are the polar opposite of the loathsome

Franchise – but which made parking a lot

simpler.

The journey form Bletchley-to-London-to-

Köln-to-Düsseldorf was about as smooth as

it could possibly have been and by 4pm I’d

checked into my hotel attached to the side

of Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof. The station

itself, aside from the impressive clock tower,

wasn’t one of my favourites, it feels a bit

oppressive, I’d go as far as to say that the

façade is foreboding, and it lacks the grandeur

of Köln or Hamburg or the quaintness of

somewhere like Aachen.

Due to the good time I’d made, I was able to

meet up with astro from the St. Pauli

messageboard who promptly produced some

bottles of Astra that we consumed on a short

walk to the Brauerei Schumacher, a typical

German brewery, that serves the beer it

produces along with an impressive array of

traditional German food. I say food, I mean

meat – great big hulks of the stuff. The beer

comes in 0.25l glasses, but it gets replenished

until you say no or put your beer mat on top of

your glass. Being a total lightweight and still

reeling from the fast consumption of a bottle of

Astra on an empty stomach, I had to bow out at

a, err, ‘respectable’ one glass of beer.

Then it was back to the station to catch the U-

Bahn out to the stadium and rendez-vous with

Stefan from the Fanladen to pick up my ticket.

The train journey was quick and before I knew

it, I was stepping out onto the platform at the

impressively modern Esprit Stadium station.

The stadium itself isn’t one that hits you has

soon as you see it, quite the opposite. You

wouldn’t really know it was a stadium, it looks

more like an over-sized Ikea depot, or more

precisely a giant Esprit warehouse. In fact, the

Page 6

First train to Düsseldorf.

first impressions are that it is shrink-wrapped

in a layer of that opaque polystyrene/plastic

sheeting that often separates the bits of MDF

you get when you unwrap a flat-pack

wardrobe. Inspiring it isn’t, insipid it seems to

be. As you get closer, you realize that it’s not

polystyrene sheeting but a square metal

cage, painted white, that has been built to

encase the stadium’s innards. It’s different,

and by the end of the game, when the said

innards glow through the outer metal frame,

it’s almost quite appealing.

I locate Stefan and collect my ticket, and

soon it is time to head into the ground. The

concourse is pleasant enough, lots of food

and drink outlets, but curiously short on

toilets. The gents has six individual urinals

and two toilets and, as a result, huge queues.

There’s also only one door serving as the

entrance and exit. This causes much

discussion and reassurance from astro that

the new Gegengerade will be have ample

toilet facilities (one result of the ongoing

consultation process between fan groups and

the club, although they’ve still to resolve the

thorny issue of placing the supporters

Fanräume adjacent to the police control

centre – eek!)

As usual in these new stadia, the away

supporters terracing is a segment in the

corner of the ground, although in this case a

fairly generous slice with a decent view of the

pitch. There are more St. Pauli fans above us

in the seats, and it didn’t take long to spot

the ‘Yorkshire St. Pauli’ banner draped

proudly over the hoardings on the second

tier.

The inside of the stadium has more going for

it. It can hold close to 55,000 fans, and along

with the away terrace (convertible back to

seats btw) it has a large standing section for

home fans behind the goal at the far end. The

Fortuna Ultras seem to occupy the corner of

the terrace diagonally across the pitch from

us. The stadium developers also pulled the

clever trick of randomly colouring the seats in

the upper tier, to give the illusion of fans

being present. It genuinely makes it quite

difficult to spot how full the stadium is. Turns

out it is pretty full, with 47,484 spectators

and therefore not so many empty multi-

coloured seats.

The atmosphere is okay too. Fortuna seems to

have a thing for Depeche Mode, which is a

shame as I was hoping for a bit more of the

Status Quo as favoured by Erzgebirge Aue

(German football and dodgy 80s hits, eh?

They clearly just can’t get enough of ‘em.

Sorry.)

There’s a good exchange of ‘Scheiß Sport 1’

between home and away fans as the game

gets underway. Proof that whilst here in the

UK we’ve accepted that kick-off times are at

the behest of television, German fans still like

to make it difficult for broadcasters by vocally

(and visually, through a range of banners)

airing their disgust at altered kick-offs.

On the pitch, St. Pauli have raised their game

after a string of disappointing performances,

with Patrick Funk putting in an extremely

good shift alongside Fabian Boll in the middle

of the park. In the stands, I was mesmerised

by the effort put in by the two ‘assistant’

capos of the USP. I thought one might

actually burst a blood-vessel or simply

explode such was his intensity in trying to get

the fans to increase the noise. The

atmosphere in our end took a while to get

going, but by the second-half the volume

seemed to have increased and we were all

bouncing to a full repertoire of classics. The

noise level went up a notch after Zambrano

was red-carded (we later found out for

spitting at an opponent – not good, sort it out

Carlos!) and we realised that keeping a clean

sheet and securing a point was going to be a

major achievement.

Page 7

We hung on and it finished 0-0. Not the

decisive statement of intent either side

wanted at the start, but it keeps the race for

a play-off place – and that potential clash

with HSV – alive that little bit longer.

As I was walking back to the station, there

was a bit of a roar from the away section

and several chants of ‘Nazis Raus’ (Nazis

Out.) I didn’t think much of it at the time

but, apparently, some right-wing nutter

decided to get into the away section and

cause a bit of a ruck. There were also

reports that police and stewards waded in

and that more innocent St. Pauli fans were

pepper-sprayed. If true, it is another

worrying development, one that seems to

follow a similar pattern to previous

incidents: Nazi hools attack FCSP fans, FCSP

fans cop it from police and stewards. Like I

said, I wasn’t in ground by the time, so can’t

verify what happened.

Although the stadium U-Bahn station was

packed, it took less than five minutes to be

on the train back to the main station, pretty

impressive when you consider a high-

proportion of the 47,000 strong crowd came

by public transport.

Despite an offer to rendez-vous with our

friends from the North and their YSP banner

in Düsseldorf’s St. Pauli bar, I headed for

bed as I was on the 05:45 Thalys train that

would have me back in Brussels for 08:30.

The complimentary breakfast on the train

was a boon, especially – and bizarrely – as

my seat in first class was cheaper than the

second-class equivalent.

The longest wait – both on the outward and

return journey – was for my connection at

Brussels. This wasn’t a problem as I passed a

very enjoyable two hour wait reading ‘The

Hunger Games’ (I’d caught a snapshot of the

movie trailer and thought I’d better read the

book first.) I know when travelling through

Europe by train I should be reading something

intellectual like Brecht or Rimbaud, but my

days of trying to impress fellow InterRailers

are long behind me. Anyway, I’m partial to a

future dystopia and I did enjoy the way

Suzanne Collins drew in equal parts from

Orwell’s original and Endemol’s gameshow

version of Big Brother to create her

nightmarish vision of society’s future.

Despite my initial reluctance (and yes, I’m still

kicking myself at missing out on FSV

Frankfurt) it had been an enjoyable trip. Good

to catch up and meet fellow fans, and good to

be back on the terraces belting out songs in a

variety of languages with my fellow St. Pauli

fans. It was a long way to go for a 0-0, but

that’s not the point. It is about the

experience, the journey and being able to

stand shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded

football fans.

Coming out of the tunnel, I was brought

crashing back down to earth with the first

email on my phone being a ‘reminder’ to fill in

some random bit of paperwork for work. It

made me think that these trips are also about

escaping: getting away from the soul-sapping

demands of working life. A fact further

confirmed when a woman on the train back to

Bletchley sat ploughing through some test

marking, sighing despondently at the kids

scores as she went. It reminded me that I had

a batch of tests of my own in my bag that had

travelled with me to Germany and back

without once being looked at. Sometimes, it’s

more healthy to forget about work and enjoy

the stuff that really matters – experiencing

life.

Anyway, no matter how long it takes to get

there, or how many train connections, when

I’m on the terrace with St. Pauli, I know why I

stand (t)here…

Written by Nick Davidson.

Website: http://outside-left.blogspot.co.uk

Page 8

For the upcoming game against Hansa

Rostock on Sunday, the police have issued a ban on all away fans from attending the

game. This is a highly controversial issue

which has divided opinions. Is it acceptable for the police to completely ban all

supporters of a team, or is it exceeding and

abusing police powers?

This was discussed in our last newsletter,

and as expected, St Pauli decided to appeal

the decision against the police. However this week the appeal was rejected and no

compromise was reached, therefore the ban

goes ahead.

Firstly, this issue isn’t based on footballing

grounds. It is not a rule issued by the DFB (German Football Association), it is a ban

imposed entirely by the police. Their

reasoning is simply that there is a high risk to the safety of the general public, and

therefore it is in the public interest to issue a

complete ban on all Rostock supporters.

This sets a dangerous legal precedent, if

police are now allowed to ban all football

supporters on the grounds of “public safety”, how long will it be before this gets enforced

on a regular basis?

Of course, there would be a risk of violence

during the game on Sunday, we are all

aware of the scenes that marred the game in Rostock earlier in the season. It can’t be

denied that a section of the Rostock fans

could be intent on causing trouble, but by the same reasoning, what about the

innocent Rostock fans who simply want to

watch their team?

The rejection of this appeal sets a dangerous

and worrying practice, how would you feel if

you were prevented from attending a game because of the potential threat of trouble?

We must not dismiss this decision simply

because of our rivalry with Hansa Rostock fans, because it has the potential to be of

greater impact to all Bundesliga fans.

An individual should not have restrictions

imposed on them simply because they are a

football fan of a team who may cause

trouble. What happens the next time the

two sides play each other, will St Pauli fans be

banned from travelling to Rostock?

Of course, there is reasoned arguments for

the ban, too. Individuals shouldn’t fear attending a football match, violence both

inside and outside the stadium shouldn’t be

tolerated, this is why the issue has provoked so many differing views.

But I’m personally of the opinion that as a

football fan, I would not want to be stopped from attending a football match simply

because of a threat of trouble. How is the

level of threat measured? When is a game deemed safe? There is a threat of trouble in

many games, not just between St Pauli and

Hansa Rostock. What about the derby games against HSV? These games are so intriguing

because of the opposing fans and the

atmosphere created. Who wants to attend a football match with no away fans?

There is also the question of whether this ban will actually work. Rostock fans have now

organized a demonstration in Hamburg from

11.00 on the morning of the game. Local

newspaper MoPo has reported that around 2000 Rostock fans are expected to attend the

demonstration. Therefore, surely the threat of

violence remains, despite the ban?

It is a credit to St. Pauli that the club have

fought this ban, siding with Hansa Rostock and trying to get the decision overturn, albeit

this was ultimately unsuccessful. Bernd

Hofmann, CEO of Hansa Rostock said "FC St. Pauli in spite of all the rivalry spared no effort

to challenge the injunction", adding "We

appreciate the efforts of the FC St. Pauli

appreciated and we thank you."

I hope football clubs remain united on this

subject, and attempt to prevent future bans occurring.

When the fixtures are announced, which games do you look for first, which games

excite you? For me, it is those games with

rivalries, those that have added meaning and a special atmosphere. If away fans were

banned from these games, all meaning and

rivalry would be eroded. This simply can not

happen.

Page 9

Rostock Fans Banned.

My introduction to FC St Pauli was from a

friend whose words were, ‘Imagine an

English Premier League football club in

England based on radical politics, punk rock,

anarchism, eccentricity, a steadfast refusal

to conform and a team that comes out to

AC/DC ‘Hells Bells’. Whose ground and fans

bear the skull and crossbones emblem and

locate their stadium a brawling sailor’s left

hook swing away from one of the world’s

most infamous red light districts (in this

case the Reeperbahn where the teenage

Beatles cut their musical teeth and caught

the pox for good measure) and you have FC

St Pauli a symbol of non-conformity,

radicalism and rebellion with worldwide

notoriety.’

My first visit was February 2011, it was my

birthday weekend and we thought it would

be a great way to celebrate. We found a

great hotel just off the Reeperbahn, ‘The

Empire Riverside’, a shi-shi hotel in the

middle of a war zone that it is Hamburg

Docks area. Tickets were hard to come by

and we ended up finding out about the

business seats in the south stand. €149

seemed a lot but all the food and drink you

can consume was a deal clincher.

After our early morning flight we leave our

bags at the hotel left luggage and head for

the ground for the 12:30 kick-off, barely

10am and we head towards the Millerntor

we are awestruck that the brown and white

hordes have the Astra’s flowing and we feel

at home and at ease immediately. We walk

into a bar to find 80’s Punk and Ska blaring

out and we’re surrounded by happy hordes

of hardcore St Pauli fans.

We made our way to the ground stopping

off at every bar on route tackling German

lager at such an early hour of the day. But it

was the football we have come to

experience in this 36 hour trip to see what

the fuss was about with this football club,

FC St. Pauli.

The once ramshackle stadium has been

renovated and two new stands have been

built, but the stadium has a great feel about it.

I’m hit by the atmosphere straight away, the

crowd with immense flags and banners sway

and drift overhead, some of the stands seemed

to be over-flowing, and beer is passed along

the line, then a booming ‘Bong’. ACDC starts to

play, drinks are sloshed and confetti rains

down, the crowd is cranking the atmosphere

up. This was what I was here for, I love QPR

but this was different like a slightly rough bit on

the side where you can let yourself go and

enjoy for football and the experience. This is

special.

The football was absolutely dire, the

atmosphere was magnificent with constant

singing, jumping and chanting all conducted by

a few fans with megaphones. For 90 minutes

this offered a spectacle more than any 22 men

hoofing a ball around a field could muster. After

15 years with QPR the only thing going on in

the stands has been the occasional erupting

psychopath or small children pleading there

parents to be taken home. This was a breath of

fresh air, drinking in the stands and heaven

forbid people enjoying the occasion if not the

football. It was raucous, it was friendly, and

especially given the often oafish and snarling

Premier League we get served up at home.

Hannover 96 scored in the last minute but it

didn’t matter that the match was a dull and

dismal affair. St Pauli played with the technical

proficiency of a pub team but I was hooked, the

day was spectacular even though we were only

6 hours into it. The team was cheered off the

pitch and this was reciprocated by the team as

they applauded the supporters.

This was the side of St. Pauli i had hoped to see

and thankfully did. It seemed like early

evening, the atmosphere was charged and we

mingled with the crowd outside taking in the

day talking music, football and everything else

that needed sorting. We headed to back to our

hotel realising that something had happened

since our early morning visit to the

Reeperbahn.

We weren’t quite prepared for our walk down

the road to get to our shi-shi hotel just off the

Page 10

Fc St Pauli – My other Team.

Reeperbahn. We were propositioned by at

least twenty different German girls in jeans

and ski jackets and bobble hats to do

outrageous things for money (i think alas, the

deal was we paid them rather than the other

way round). One after the other, it was

relentless, like a domino effect and it felt like

the opening of an Indiana jones and the

raiders of the lost ark movie. Forget anything

that Usain Bolt has done, we flew down the

street without seizing up or falling at a

hurdle, it has to be one of our greatest

achievements whilst full of booze and

euphoria. There are some of my single friends

who have made the journey with me since

who failed abysmally and as far as i know are

still negotiating their way down now.

I have learnt a lot since my first journey to

Hamburg and now a visit is based around

punk and ska gigs, great bars off the beaten

track around the back streets of the docks

area. I’m not a socialist or radical left winger

but I enjoy the football and the comradery

that brings. My local, if you can call it that, is

a bar called ‘Pils Borse’ just 50 yards from the

Empire Riverside Hotel we use on every visit,

we gifted them a QPR scarf that that now

hangs from the ceiling along with numerous

others. The beer is good and the place stays

open from Thursday midday to Tuesday

morning a sanctuary on the way back from

the game or a gig.

I’m glad I found St Pauli as I never thought I

could get excited by another team, but 18

months in and 7 games down, I can now say

with pride they are my other team…

By Lee Blewett, of ‘The Bramley Inn’ pub in

Bramley.

Twitter: @thebramley

Page 11

Picture provided by Nick Davidson.

Website: http://outside-left.blogspot.co.uk