Aachen are done - club has gone into insolvency and is the first team to be relegated (if they are lucky to the Regionalliga).
Saw that on my kicker app this morning. Shame. I guess they should have never built that new stadium. Or is that not part of this???
Certainly the main reason. All the people who boast about how financially responsible German clubs are really need to take a closer look. Especially at clubs building stadiums they could only possibly finance under the best circumstances. Duisburg and Osnabrück (although they didn't build a new stadium) are also close to insolvency, 1860 and Dresden only survive their stadium deals with outside help.
Okay, I don't understand when these things happen. I see today that Aachen played. So I guess they will continue to play out the season but will be relegated no matter where they finish in the table. And for the players, is it only about personal pride and the hopes that other clubs will notice them?
That's somewhat complicated - Aachen have filled for insolvency, but the proceedings have not been opened yet. The club and the administrator now try come to an agreement with the court and the creditors. They are definitely relegated, but if they finish the season regularily they can play Regionalliga next season. If their plan doesn't work and insolvency proceedings have to be opened before the season is finished all of Aachen's matches will be taken out of the standings. In this case they'll probably restart in the lowest division. The players will be released from their contracts in the winter break (they can't leave before the next transfer window, as long as the club still plays and isn't taken out of the competition).
According to fussball.de the lowest division in Aachen is Kreisliga C (10th division in the Mittelrhein region). I really hope a good solution can still be found, because AA is a club with lots of tradition.
I fear that Darmstadt may stand to profit from this development at the end of the season. A good friend of mine is a major Alemannia fan, he told me last week that at least they will be the Regionalliga club with the rockenest stadium ever. I believe even that may not be true, because the Leipzig stadium is pretty cool, provided that RB Leipzig can ever fill it. Anyway, if they adhere to sound management principles, the fanbase, reputation, home environment and tradition of the club should help them to ascend back to where they were in the none too distant future. All the best to Alemannia. And if someone has to profit from this, better Darmstadt then anyone else.
If they can play RL, of course. The city has denied them help this time (after subsiding them before), so there is a real danger of the club not managing too. Right now it is also not clear if Duisburg can finish the season, which would be the first club in the Bundesligas in quite some time to go under midseason. Fürth has cancelled the planned construction of a new stadium. People might actually start to realize how clubs spending money they don't have has been a huge part of the German football boom during the last few years?
If they get promoted the debts won't stop them at all - when it comes to getting a license, you really have to ******** up to get more than a slap on the wrist. Hell, even Aachen got a license for this season. And either the city or a sponsor will surely help out too. The problem will get bigger if they don't get promoted.
Kickers Offenbach aren't in the best of shapes either: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/offenbacher-kickers-der-bieberer-berg-wackelt-11982475.html
yes, they built a new one. According to the article their attendance, after another dissapointing season so far, has declined to a point where the money they make from gates is less than the costs of the new stadium however. Osnabrück is getting a new loan from the city to keep them in business btw.
Today was the draw for the Regionalliga play-offs Holstein Kiel - Soutwest 1 (Hessen Kassel or Elversberg) Rasenball Leipzig - West (Lotte or Fortuna Köln) 1860 II - Southwest II (Hessen Kassel, Elversberg, Waldhof or FCK II)
Outsch, in the Leipzig - West champion and Kiel -South-West champion clashes very promising teams will face each other.
Darmstadt just won 2:4 away against Erfurt, now they have a real final for the last game. If they can beat Stuttgarter Kickers at home next week, they'll survive the league, I'm definitely going to try to get out to the game. How sweet that would be to have both Holstein Kiel and Darmstadt 98 in 3. Bundesliga.
I have to add, though, that Kiel haven't qualified yet - no idea why I didn't do so in the last post already Havelse or Wolfsburg II could still go up too.
No, Wolfsburg II can't become champion. Since Lübecks matches are not counted, each team plays 32 regular matches. Wolfsburg II has after 30 matchdays 59 points, so they can get at most 65 points. So the promotion race is between Kiel (30 matches played, 67 points) and Havelse (31 matches played, 64 points). So if Kiel collects one point from the last two matches (one at home vs. Havelse), they are champion. And if Kiel looses both the goal difference between Havelse and them counts.