On the terraces: Kaiserslautern on tour, Schalke 'failures' and 'Regensburg were here'

In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from fan protests to finances.

Was Kaiser Wilhelm I into football? To be honest, we suspect not. German football in the 1870s was very much in its infancy and the Kaiser was more likely interested in hunting or gymnastics than the devious new pastime denigrated by the German elites as the “englische Krankheit” - the English disease. On Sunday, however, Wilhelm was a football fan. An 1. FC Kaiserslautern fan, to be precise. At least just for one day.

Elsewhere on the final day of the season, German fans reacted to their respective teams’ fates in different ways: Holstein Kiel with pride, Jahn Regensburg with humour, and Schalke 04 with sheer distain.

---

Matt Ford's "On the terraces" newsletter appeared every week throughout the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Previously, the newsletter featured exclusive and in-depth coverage of the Bundesliga's private equity plans and the political intrigues at VfB Stuttgart, among other things. If you like what you see, please consider taking out a paid subscription.