An Old International

Rico’s Curse

There are things which regardless of how often you try, will never work, you will always fail. Rico Schmitt, the coach of SV Meppen must have felt as though he is living a groundhog day when he faced FC Magdeburg. The away side went home with three points in the bag and hosts made long faces.

Rico Schmitt's Record vs. Magdeburg

This is not a recent phenomenon; thirteen games and only two wins are a clear sign that Schmitt simply knows not how to beat Magdeburg with his teams. Among this list are those famous two games in late May and early June 2015 during the play-offs against Kickers Offenbach.

October 2021 and the picture is the same: Magdeburg take the three points from Meppen and cement their position at the top of the table.

He will keep trying …

The screenshot was taken from Transfermakrt.de

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Euro Hools

The new season in the Europa League and Champions League is just a few days old and the centre stage besides the football was taken by violence. How has it come to this? Read more →

Contingency Plans

How important a player is, becomes apparent when he is missing. Magdeburg are learning this the hard way, losing two games in a row and looking very average in the process. Read more →

Bad Losers, Suspicions and Conspiracies?

A debate of racism surrounded the match between Saarbrücken and Magdeburg in late August. The evidence is thin and there is an element of whataboutism included. Not an easy debate considering all points of view. Read more →

Stats and how to bend them

In early August FC Magdeburg played St. Pauli in the German Cup and lost unfortunately. The main headlines however, focused on Magdeburg’s dominance in one particular part of the match statistics. While these are not wrong, they do give a wrong image of the game. Read more →

Football’s Coming Home – Debunking a Myth

The slogan „Football’s coming home“ from the song “Three Lions” by Baddiel and Skinner has enlightened the hearts of football fans across the globe for 25 years now.

The song was released in May 1996 just ahead of the European Championships held in England, thus the reasoning that football is coming home. Since it is English in origin, it is little surprise that it is full of references to the past and of course about the history of encounters between the national teams of Germany and England. While this is without doubt one of the most iconic and melodic songs about football, it is questionable wether the message is correct. As the country where modern football has its origins, the claim by England that football is coming home needs to be refuted, however.


Football has no home. Yet it is not homeless. It pops up every day of the week in parks and playing areas the world over and doesn’t care who plays with or against whom as long as a ball is kicked about. If Argentina would win another World Cup, many would argue that football is coming home because again many consider Buenos Aires the home of football with its clubs and fans being very passionate about the game. The same would be said about Brazil and of course, about England.
Yet, none of this is true. Football has no home.

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Christian Beck: the Player, the legacy

Football has become superficial, players and coaches migrate between clubs in short periods. The more remarkable it is when a player stays five years or even longer. In the case of Christian Beck whose departure was joylessly announced last week, it has been eight and a half! During this time he has become a legend for Club fans and been the face of the rise of FC Magdeburg. Read more →

The Great Escape 2…

Magdeburg have done it. Again. They have saved themselves from going down to the fourth division by beating FC Saarbrücken away; one of the best teams this season had no chance in a 3-0 home defeat against Magdeburg who are by now one of the in form in Europe. What a turn around but also what a nerve-racking season it has been. The fan community tore itself apart over the discussion whether the entire management team should be sacked: coach and his assistants, managing director, advisory board – the lot, while the team slowly but steadily trundled towards the drop. Read more →

Enough is Enough

The world of football took note on Sunday when a mere 200 fans stormed Old Trafford ahead of Manchester United’s home game against Liverpool – one of the most important games of the season for either club – and caused the game to be postponed. It is a strong signal that something is wrong in football, and it is not just the recently proposed and immediately binned Super League. This protest is a sign that the anger and the frustration touches upon sentiments that are much more intense and deeper than many may think. This protest is against owners who consider the possession of a football club to enrich themselves and to load the debt onto the club. Back in 2005 many fans left United for good when the Glazer family came in and created a new, their own football club, FC United of Manchester, currently playing in the Northern Premier. The club is the entire opposite to what Manchester United have become: owned by the fans and run by them.

The proposal of the Super League just a couple of weeks ago was the final drop that broke the dam and the result was for all to see inside the stadium. The protest outside was largely peaceful, yet there are always those taking a chance for mischief. This minority should not dominate the coverage of the events at Old Trafford but instead emphasis must be on those who have been protesting for years; against the idea of floating shares of Manchester United on the stock exchange or the proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch. Football fans care about their club and they have a long memory.

Supporters have said it often enough: enough is enough. It is high time that those in charge listen.

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42 Years of Hurt

Magdeburg have done the almost unthinkable: beating Hansa Rostock at their own ground for the first time in 42 years. Read more →