Bundesliga/2.Bundesliga/3.Liga: "Have a nice summer break, you losers" – Kurvenschau
Welcome to the final edition of Kurvenschau for the 2024/25 season. And what better way to start these days than with a pitch invasion? It's undeniable that the incidence of this phenomenon has increased significantly in recent years . 1. FC Köln, for example, literally broke all barriers on Sunday after Effzeh secured not only promotion to the Bundesliga but also the second division championship with an impressive 4-0 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
While there were several injuries during the HSV pitch invasion last week, the Cologne party passed without any notable incidents.
The importance of the match created a special atmosphere before and during the 90 minutes. The Billy Goats could theoretically have dropped out of the promotion ranks entirely...
... while the visitors from Lautern still had a chance of reaching the relegation spot. Accordingly, things were heated in both the away section...
... as well as in the home sector.
Their Dortmund fans had already wished Cologne luck on Saturday. But for BVB, too, a lot was at stake on the final matchday—specifically, qualification for the Champions League.
In keeping with the theme of "International Business," the South Stand presented a bilingual choreography dedicated to the stadium ban section.
Arguably the most exciting final for the European spots took place in Freiburg on this matchday. The starting position was clear: the winner of SC Freiburg's match against Eintracht Frankfurt would start in the Champions League, while the loser would have to wait and see the outcome of the match in Dortmund. Before the match, Freiburg fans marched to the Europa-Park Stadium.
The Breisgau-based club is known for its humility and frugality, as well as for occasionally overshooting the mark. For a now-established Bundesliga player who has played in Europe in two of the last three seasons to celebrate survival before a Champions League final is a bit like Lamine Yamal being happy to still have a professional contract with FC Barcelona next season.
Ha! We caught them! So a few Freiburgers actually used the word Champions League.
Freiburg's fans were certainly Champions League-ready, as they motivated their players before kickoff with this choreography...
... and countless streamers.
But the Frankfurt fans also showed themselves prepared for the duel and ultimately came out on top. Eintracht Frankfurt won 3-1 and will be playing in the Champions League next season, while SC Freiburg will "only" compete in the Europa League. Or, in the words of the Breisgau fans: narrowly avoided relegation.
The scenes following the final whistle of the Bundesliga match between FC Sankt Pauli and VfL Bochum at first glance look like a pitch invasion, which is why it immediately sparked ridicule and mockery on popular social media platforms. A pitch invasion after a 2-0 defeat against the already relegated Ruhrpott side? How embarrassing! In reality, this joint celebration with the fans had been planned even before kickoff; there was music and free drinks on the pitch. Not only was the relegation victory celebrated, but also the successful founding of the cooperative, which had raised almost 30 million euros.
The local club and its fans truly deserved the party after this season and the resulting relegation. Even though Hamburg equaled an inglorious record in their last home game. In eleven of their 17 matches at the Millerntor, Alexander Blessin's charges failed to score a goal. Only Tasmania Berlin had previously achieved that in 1965/66. Even the once again first-class support of their own fans didn't change that...
... who, with this pictorial representation of a Sisyphean task, could well have meant the attempts of their own players to score a home goal.
In the away section of the already relegated Bochum, it was time to say goodbye. Not only to the Bundesliga, but also to the two deserving players Anthony Losilla and Cristian Gamboa. While the former had already received his own choreography last week , it was Gamboa's turn this matchday. The defender made a total of 141 appearances for VfL.
The fans also said goodbye to Erwin Steden. The former stadium announcer, who also worked for the club's youth team for 50 (!) years, was recently honored for his 75 years of service to the club. He has now passed away at the age of 91.
Especially in times like these, it's important that fans show their commitment to the club and continue to support us loudly next season in the 2nd Bundesliga. However, we at VfL Bochum aren't worried about that.
We're staying with farewells and looking ahead to Darmstadt. Tobias Kempe, who is expected to end his career this summer, played his last of 285 games for SV Darmstadt 98 on Sunday. To celebrate the occasion, his portrait adorned the Jonathan Heimes Stand.
Afterwards, he was able to submit his application for the position of lead singer. Conclusion: Promising!
Ibrahim Maza's career is still a long way off. But despite his young age of 19 and "only" 51 appearances for the first team, the Hertha native received a farewell worthy of a veteran. The East Stand presented the highly talented number 10, who is moving to Bayer Leverkusen for €12 million, with a commemorative picture, repeatedly chanted his name, and both sides expressed their deep affection in speeches. A procedure that has become a rarity in the fast-paced world of football, and was all the more beautiful for it.
Sadness at the farewell also in Verl. After two years of working together, coach Alexander Ende is leaving the SCV in the summer – the fans thanked him for his commitment on Saturday.
Norman Theuerkauf and Vitus Eicher were in the service of 1. FC Heidenheim for significantly longer.
How do you explain Schalke's season finale to someone who hasn't followed football closely in recent years? How do you explain that Germany's third-largest club – in terms of membership numbers – could theoretically have been relegated on matchday 34 of the second division season and went into the match against SV Elversberg as a clear underdog? And that, despite all the suffering they've endured in recent years, over 60,000 spectators once again found their way to the Veltins Arena and honored Schalke's new tradition of having the upper tier in blue and the lower tier in white on the last home matchday of the season. And that, despite some of their team's disastrous performances, these fans once again performed a choreography on the last matchday that chanted "Football Club..."
... Gelsenkirchen-Schalke ...
... since 1904 EV" was written on the banner. The whole situation was so absurd that even the fans resorted to unusual measures. After falling behind, the North Curve turned away from the pitch and spent much of the first half in this manner. They sang loudly about the German championship and the DFB Cup win, the classic "Oh, how beautiful it is" was unleashed, and even a Mexican wave swept through the arena. A maximum humiliation for their own players.
As the second half progressed, the North Curve lost even the fascination for gallows humor and (once again) stopped supporting the fans. This banner, which sums up the mood at Schalke quite well, was also dry and humorless.
A contrasting program in Karlsruhe, where the visiting fans of SC Paderborn thanked the team for a strong season despite narrowly missing out on promotion.
1. FC Magdeburg also narrowly missed promotion to the Bundesliga, but still had an impressive season—certainly thanks in no small part to their ever-vocal fans. Fifth place is their best finish since reunification.
Kiel fans had also long hoped for a turnaround, but the final push up the table failed to materialize. So, after one year in the Bundesliga, the Storks are relegated straight back down – but not without a proper farewell in Dortmund.
Ulm, too, has been relegated after a year – albeit from the second to the third division. And this despite some truly impressive football. The fans honored their players' efforts and even thanked them for the season...
... and said goodbye with a bang.
To celebrate promotion to the second Bundesliga, Dynamo Dresden fans painted their stadium in the club's colors.
Here again for all those who have been living under the rock in Dresden in the past few weeks.
Energie Cottbus would also have liked to be promoted to the second division, but they suffered a clear 4-1 defeat at home against FC Ingolstadt, so in retrospect one has to ask oneself: Did the players take the excitement that the fans are talking about a little too seriously?
The past few weeks have passed like a frenzy for Arminia Bielefeld's fans. Not only is the DFB Cup final against VfB Stuttgart coming up next week, but they've also been promoted as third-division champions. But the East Westphalians weren't just celebrating themselves...
... but also sent congratulations to their HSV fan friends.
HSV can't expect any congratulations from the Bremen fans. Besides, they were far too busy with their small but impressive choreography, which consisted of two parts. Green and white dominated the first part...
... while the second part was in the colors of the city's coat of arms.
Speaking of the rivalry between HSV and Werder Bremen, the rivalry between FC Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich is similarly historic and received new impetus this weekend. While the Lions let light blue clouds of smoke waft through the stadium at their last home game...
... Bayern fans had positioned themselves on a neighboring skyscraper, accompanied by a banner reading "Munich is red" and setting fire to the corresponding color. Pope election Munich style.
They also want to have a say in the election: Gladbach in their last home game of the season against VfL Wolfsburg...
... whose supporters remembered the founding 80 years ago.
As the name suggests, 1860 Munich is significantly older and celebrated its 165th anniversary on Saturday.
We're coming to the end of this issue, and with it, the end of the 2024/25 Curve Review. And now? What to do during the summer break without any league football? Cologne are leading the way with their pitch invasion. Maybe finally hang out with your friends or family a bit more on the weekend...
...or go on vacation and build grass—er, sandcastles. We wish you a wonderful summer and are already looking forward to the first issue of the coming season!
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