Earlier this summer, I was asked by a new sports magazine in South Africa, SHM, to look at the increasing popularity and success of the Bundesliga in Germany. A great thrill, as I very much enjoyed writing about St Pauli a few years back, and the comparison of the top leagues in Europe I did for Sports Illustrated was great fun – and confirmed the suspicion for me that for the fan experience, German football is well ahead of England.
After visiting the Veltins Arena to watch Schalke, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Bayern Munich vs Mainz in October too, which just so happens to be on the 20th anniversary of Norwich’s famous victory in the UEFA Cup…
Anyway, in this piece I explore what’s made German football the envy of supporters across the world, speaking to the managing director of Bundesliga, Jörg Daubitzer, the man who brought German football to African screens, Brandon Foot, and German football expert Raphael Honigstein. This was in the very first edition of SHM, which is shaping up to be a very good magazine indeed – and you can subscribe digitally too…
So have a read of the piece: just download the pdf by clicking on the link
