Please gimme some reasons for your selection. I have just started following the Budesliga this year...seen a few matches and the Highlight show on FSW. Germans really love their footie. I am already a fan of the English Premiership and MLS, but I need more football. Thanks for your time and thoughts.
Let's turn this game around. Tell us how a club you want to root for has to be like and we'll tell you which club comes close
Well... Passionate, loyal fans. Chance to win the Bundesliga would be nice. I'm not one of those snobs who has to support a crap club just so I won't be a bandwagon fan. My family names that are German are Mattes and Kaehler. I really don't know what part of Germany that came from...(Mattes) i think the South/SE, not sure. Would be cool to support club from where my ancestors once lived!
Passionate and loyal fans: most teams will tell you that they have passionate and loyal fans. From the South/Southeast: Bayern Munich, TSV 1860 Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern (also Unterhaching, Fuerth, and Nuremberg, three 2d Div. teams with a reasonable chance of promotion). Chance to win: Bayern . . . and maybe Dortmund. So Bayern probably best fits your criteria . . . but rooting for Bayern is like rooting for the NY Yankees. If you are not a New Yorker, and you like the Yankees, then Bayern is your team. On the other hand, if you don't like the Yanks, then you need to look elsewhere. How about Stuttgart--probably not the most passionate and loyal fans, but a good, young team with a very outside chance of winning the BL. They are playing CL this year. They are also financially troubled. Kaiserslautern has famously fanatical fans, but they are financially troubled and a relegation candidate (although, they are the most recent team to win the BL other than Bayern and Dortmund). And speaking of Dortmund, they have passionate fans, but are from the Ruhr Valley. And they are also sort of the a mini-Yankees. Schalke is a team that has passionate fans, but they are from the Ruhr Valley as well, and have only a distant chance of winning a BL near term.
I think you should root for Kaiserslautern (K-town to the Americans) for the reasons above, plus the city has a big American military presence.
Hamburg! There's no other city like it in Germany. The fans love their team as well and it's the only Bundesliga side to have never been relegated, although they're not off to a great start this year. And besides, they're my team.
it is a great city, but be honest... HSV is off to a miserable start! i'm shocked! i say go for hannover 96 - they're like the little engine that can and does, they are very attack minded and US international steve cherundolo starts there
I've been following German football ever since I joined bigsoccer - over three years now. During college I lived in Holzkirchen - south of München, so I lean towards the south of Germany, I find myself rooting for Stuttgart, 1860, and sometimes grudgingly for Bayern. I did buy a Bayern shirt and a Bayer shirt after their triple silver (2nd place). Still struggling for a single favorite. I also like Hannover with Cherundolo.
Given the criteria 'passionate fans' and 'chance for winning the league' I think Borussia Dortmund is your team. As wolfsburg said, realistically there are only two clubs, who are provided with the possibility to win the title due to their financial superiority compared with all others - this are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. And passionate fans is surely no attribute you'd link to Bayern fans, but definitely to Dortmund's (although they are very critical and impatient if the team doesn't play well). And believe me, I'm close to cutting off my fingers before submitting this recommendation...
He said that he isn't one of the guys who wants to support a crappy club. (Sorry, couldn't resist a little Hannover diss...this opportunity was just too good.)
I say Borussia Dortmund, for the following reasons: 1. They are one of the best in the BL and have a legitimate chance of success. 2. They have some of the most passionate fans in all of Europe (and the world, for that matter). 3. Their Westfallonstadion, with it's 83,000 capacity right on top of the pitch, is second to none in atmostphere. Watching a game on TV played at the Westfallonstadion brings shivers up one's spine. Apart from Dortmund, I would say Stuttgart, then Bayer Leverkusen. These teams have young, exciting teams that play attractive soccer and are always competitive. Both were recent runners up, so they both have a shot at winning the BL. Plus, both reley equally on German talents and on international stars. You could jump on Bayern's bandwagon, but then you'll have to put up with their arrogance, FC Hollywood tendencies, and the rest of the BL fans hating them with a passion. But, Bayern are certainly one of the best clubs in the world, so watching them is always fun.
Speaking from a non-FC BAYERN fan viewpoint ... I'd say FC BAYERN Only the greatest of fans and supporters cheer this club on
I can't think of a worse, more boring team to support than FC Koeln. Talk about a team with no chances! HSV! HSV!
What stadiums are the biggest? Also how many Champions League and Budesliga titles do clubs have? I'm surprised that no one mentioned Bayer Leverkusen (sp). And how many seats are in each clubs stadium? Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. I bet by next season, I will be an avid +educated Budesliga fan.
CL titles: bayern 4 hamburg 1 dortmund 1 uefa cups: 'gladbach 2 bayer 1 bayern 1 eintracht frankfurt 1 schalke 04 1 bundesliga titles and cups check www.histora.org
Check out www.dfb.de for information about German soccer. It is, in my opinion, the best federation website by far. Very, very informative. It is in German, but there is an English option as well. It's not as up-to-the-moment in English as it is in German, but it really doesn't matter. I would go for either Dortmund or 1860. Dortmund has a great chance of winning the Bundesliga. 1860 has no chance, but at least they are not Bayern.
Re: What stadiums are the biggest? sound to like mtv's "making the fan" ;-) so here we go: bayern has won the most tiltes by far. second would be dortmund (if you take in account that a champions league win is worth more than other cups). i would advise you to watch some matches on tv if you have the chance to do so and then decide from what you've seen. were the players passionate and playing well, how was the atmosphere in stadium (sold out, many chants)? bayern is, as mentioned before, something like the yankees. if you want to go the easy way, that would be your choice. it even guarantees you regular tv presence of your favourite team as bayern plays champions league every year. if you want to go the difficult way you may choose some other club. if you want to go for the south...i would tell you to join kaiserslautern (as mentioned there are many american soldiers in that area). nice stadium, passionate fans. if you want a sizzling atmosphere in stadium it would be dortmund or maybe schlacke (and i hate to say that more than eating raw fish) jonam, http://www.schwatzgelb.com
Thank you Alex for doing my work! Well of course you should support F.C. Hansa Rostock as it is the greatest club around. But we are not close to win the league. For me it is not a reason to support a club though just because of titles and I think it´s not really a good way to search the internet for a club. But still good luck to you. You probably will end up being a Bayern or Dortmund fan, since you seem to hunt for some glory. (Sorry about the last statement, but what do you expect?)
The real 1.FCK. Do not settle for amateurs like the ones from Koln. You want to be with the Kings - Kaisers......lautern. Die Roten Teuflen.
Domingo...my friend A few reasons that someone supports a club, according to my logic are: they are the local club (near one's home) personal connection (family is from there or you have visited there or have friends there) Finally, the club plays attractive football. Well, since I don't have any German pen pals and just started following the Budesliga this season...I guess that would make me a gloryhunter if I pick a successful side. I hate bandwagon/gloryhunters too, but when you live on the other side of the world, the good clubs are going to be the ones that the Bundesliga promotes on Fox Sports World (our local cable channel with tons of international football). It is true for every league...EPL (Man Utd), Spanish (Real Madrid), Italian (Juventus), Scottish (Rangers or Celtic). People want a winner, and if not the reigning champion, a side that plays great football not some bottom feeder!
No, i didn't. Support Leverkusen: Many people hate them for the reason why I think you should support them. Leverkusen had more Americans playing there than any other major German teams. Or Munich 1860: Nowark (ex-Fire)'s old team.
Hertha Berlin wouldn't be a bad choice. They are off to a slow start this year so no bandwagon issues, but still have a lot of long-term potential. In addition, their website is also in english, making it much easier to follow the club from a distance. And finally, Berlin is a great destination so a trip to see Hertha could be easily mixed into a vacation.
Texan makes a great point about English-language websites. Unless you are fluent, teams which have such sites offer you more of an opportunity to follow your team. Teams which have English-language official websites for sure are Hertha (www.herthabsc.de), Hamburg (www.hsv.de) and Bayern (www.fcbayern.de, I think). I don't think these sites are mirrors of the German-language site, but they have enough content to make them worthwhile. I think Schalke (www.schalke04.de), Leverkusen (www.bayer04.de) and Stuttgart (www.vfb-stuttgart.de) also have English sites, and maybe Dortmund, too. Other teams which have German only official sites have unofficial sites in English. A good one is www.seitenwahl.de, which covers Borussia Moenchengladbach.