St Pauli lose narrowly to Bayern but stadium masterstroke wins admirers | Bundesliga

IThis was, in many ways, one of those games we see far too often today. The huge difference between the two teams in the same division was all too apparent, with the inferior team holding out, aiming to keep the powder dry and give the punchers a chance in the final stages. Bayern Munich won thanks to Jamal Musiala's out-of-this-world rocket from range. It was a quality moment, as if it was designed to highlight the Gulf Coast.

St. Pauli were eating leftovers even though they were the home team. They had three shots during the game, but none were on target. They have not scored in five games at home, which is now an enviable Bundesliga record. Did anyone really want to hear Song 2 of Blur, who scored one goal after another in last season's whirlwind title campaign? Alexander Blethyn's team could not have put in a better effort – the team as a whole covered almost six kilometers more than Bayern – but it wasn't enough. In a sense, St. Pauli suffered a crushing 1-0 defeat. Another day was one of frustration.

Bayern last visited Milantor in May 2011, sealing relegation to the second division with an 8-1 victory over the locals on the penultimate day of the Bundesliga season. This was not the case. It was a sign of progress, but avoided touching when the prize was much closer. “They were in the game,” wrote Nils Weber of the Hamburger Morgenpost. “Obviously you're not always on an equal footing against higher-ranked opponents, but until the final whistle, you're within reach of something tangible. A promoted side playing title contenders. The end result is actually It looks really good. They held up well, but they didn't bring anything tangible home. That was painful.”

That may have been nice, but it was a day, a weekend, that focused on what football could be, not what it is. A weekend to celebrate. St. Pauli have a new plan to close the gap on Bayern, but not on Bayern and on other potential top-flight rivals. Early last month it was announced that this most socialist of clubs has plans to be at the top table of the modern world. A cooperative of supporters will buy a majority stake in Millernter, raising tens of millions of dollars to support a club whose community-focused ethos has forced it to refuse commercial deals from the likes of gambling and crypto companies. Become.

And for the past week in Mirantar, building facades have been foretelling the future. The large club crest was covered with the badge of the co-operative society set up to purchase the stadium for the start of this initiative. Initial uptake was strong. St. Pauli announced on Monday morning that 6,650 people have already become part of the football cooperative St. Pauli eG and pledged a total of 8,661,500 euros. “We are experiencing a huge rush and are looking forward to working with the members of the cooperative,” said Andreas Borcherding, a spokesperson for the cooperative board. There is a way. The strong response has sparked real optimism for the cooperative, which aims to raise a total of up to 30 million euros with a minimum investment of 850 euros per share. “All this shows that it is perfectly ripe for a different kind of football,” club president Oke Getrich emphasized. “Different Types of Financing in Professional Football.”

There is no doubt that St. Pauli's special image and character are its selling points. As an emotional Vincent Kompany said after the match, Mirantor is a “special” place. Sporting director Christoph Freund added: “There are few things better than watching a football match here.” So St. Pauli retaining their biggest asset while monetizing and protecting it (with a built-in club veto to prevent secret hostile takeovers) could be a masterstroke. It seems like there is.

On the pitch, it may be more of a transplant than a technique. Eric Smith's block on Harry Kane to deny the England captain a classic goal that left him injured shows the kind of investment Blessin's players have made. Their moment will come at the end of the month, when their next home game will be against Holstein Kiel, another promoted team and just below them. Dai Keys Kicker In this table, they are ranked third from the bottom and second from the bottom.

On the pitch, bad runs are meant to be broken. A football club's home ground is sacrosanct on the outside, and St. Pauli holds the key to the club's future and sense of self this season and beyond.

point of issue

Bayern's reward for going through the hard yards was a second successive weekend where they achieved all the results, with Leizpich (currently 5 points behind) being held at home by a great Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen (9 points behind). ) and Borussia Dortmund. (10 point difference) Lost.

Leverkusen dropping points in three consecutive Bundesliga games was not just a story on Kastroper Street. Bochum, who were at rock bottom, only scored their second point of the season with a deft finish and a completely unexpected equalizer from substitute Koji Miyoshi in the 89th minute. However, newly appointed veteran coach Dieter Hecking (Heck King in Bild's headline) has given a boost to the weak season despite having barely coached since leaving Hamburg in 2020. He became the hero of this time. “He is an outstanding coach,'' Gerrit Holtmann gushed about the Hecking effect. He gives us something and you just have to believe everything he says. If he said he would play for Real Madrid, I would believe him. ”

It's also debatable whether Dortmund's recent setbacks really make headlines. The 3-1 defeat against Mainz was not helped by Emre Can's early red card – given the current injury crisis, playing 65 minutes with 10 men is definitely something to avoid – but , which was also a disaster on the defensive end, resulting in a six-game losing streak. All competitions. “I'm tired of driving home from cities where we've lost. I'm pissed,” Julian Brandt groaned. It's not just a defense issue. After the howitzer in Hamburg, Musiala has scored more goals in Bundesliga away games than Dortmund as a whole (5 vs. 4).

Eintracht Frankfurt have found it easier to score goals, with Omar Marmouche's superb free-kick clinching the winning goal in Sunday's thriller in Stuttgart. The Egyptian forward has scored 11 goals this season, making him the Bundesliga's top scorer alongside Kane. Sebastian Hoeneß's hosts almost overcame a 3-0 deficit, but what initially appeared to be Chris Furych's equalizer in stoppage time was followed by a protracted Stuttgart celebration. After a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled invalid. Captain Kevin Trapp, who also saved Elmedin Demirovic's penalty, complained to DAZN that “it's unacceptable that we stopped playing with 3 wins and 0 losses,'' but Eintracht were still in a respectable third place in the international standings. We entered the break.

Elsewhere, there are concerns for two of the league's European adventurers. Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Müller suffered a nightmare at home against Wolfsburg, their fourth defeat in five games, and Pellegrino Materazzo was sacked on Monday as Hoffenheim drew goalless with Augsburg. They are fourth from bottom with just nine points after 10 games.