The winter break is finally over,

and the season has resumed with

St Pauli picking up 6 points from a

possible 9. After a disappointing

performance in Aachen, we dug

out victories against Bochum and

Duisburg to leave us sitting in

second place in the 2.Bundesliga.

The league is incredibly tight, with

only 3 points separating the top 5

teams. I also wouldn’t rule out

1860 Munich who are 8 points off

the top of the table but have a

game in hand and are unbeaten in

7 games. That run has seen them

beat leaders Eintracht Frankfurt,

and last weekend they beat

Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Dusseldorf are on a poor run of

form, after their 18 game

unbeaten run at the start of the

season, they are now 4 games

without a victory. They lost 3-2 at

home to Paderborn before the

winter break, and needed a last

minute controversial penalty to

get a draw against Eintracht

Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago.

Leaders Eintracht Frankfurt

hammered local rivals FSV

Frankfurt 6-1 in the derby last

weekend, and with possibly the

easiest run-in for the rest of the

season - they are the favourites

for promotion. Will that change

this weekend though? They have a

very difficult trip to Paderborn.

Paderborn had gone 16 games

unbeaten prior to their trip to

Greuther Furth a couple of weeks

ago, but were hammered 5-1 in

that game - which included a

couple of goals for former St Pauli

player Gerald Asamoah. Last

weekend Paderborn dropped points

again, needing a last minute

equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw at

home to Dynamo Dresden.

Furth also stumbled last weekend,

with a 0-0 draw at Ingolstadt.

Furth have the best home record in

the division, with 27 points taken

from 11 home games this season.

But they’ve struggled away from

home, and haven’t won away in

their last 5 games.

St Pauli have arguably the most

difficult run-in, they play 1860

Munich, Fortuna Dusseldorf and

Greuther Furth all away from home

in the coming months, before

ending the season at home to

Paderborn.

The difficulty however also

provides an opportunity to take

points off those around us. On our

day I believe we are better than

anyone in this division, and I have

every faith that we have the

players to stand up on the big

occasion. Here’s to promotion in

May.

Enjoy the newsletter.

Scott.

4th Edition

Welcome back.

February 2012

Next Streams:

Sunday 26th Feb v

Eintracht

Braunschweig

Sunday 18th March v

Aue

Sunday 25th March v

Energie Cottbus

All streams start at

4.30pm.

Contact Us

Twitter: @YorksStPauli

Facebook: Yorkshire St

Pauli

Website:

YorkshireStPauli.word

press.com

St Pauli UK Forum:

stpaulifansuk.forumup

.co.uk

After an eventful winter break with several

players returning to something approaching

fitness and even a new arrival to bolster the

squad, the legions of St Paulianer

descended from all directions into

Charlemagne’s Roman capital, Aachen,

hoping to witness the beginning of a

renewed promotion push. Alas, it wasn’t to

be, as our beloved magical brown-whites

showed their usual defensive frailties on the

pitch, albeit supported by the usual amazing

choir from the visitors’ blocks.

On a day when trouble was reputedly in the

air, our Yorkshire St Pauli official fanclub

delegation arrived early into the

‘Kaiserstadt’ to hop on one of the

convenient shuttles to the new out-of-town

Tivoli, home to Alemannia Aachen. Gaining

entry to the ground was relatively easy,

although our friends from the Port Vale

Fanclub later informed us they had been

kettled by the Police. For once, being

penned and crammed into a small area

probably wasn’t too bad an option on this

sunny, crisp Saturday, as the thermometer

registered -8 degrees!

For a new ground the New Tivoli is

impressive, with steep banks of seats, a

large home terrace at one end and a small

terrace for visiting fans in one corner.

Armed with our brand new Yorkshire St

Pauli banner, we negotiated with the

security personnel until one particularly

kind man in fluorescent orange agreed

to receive the cloth we had lovingly

brought from Yorkshire through the

fence, then tied it to the railings in

front of the away fans’ terrace. He even

took it down for us after the game and

guarded it with his life until we

returned. If I knew his name I’d declare

him an honorary Yorkshireman!

An attendance of nearly 23,000 looked

forward to the game as our feet

gradually numbed with the freezing

cold. With the travelling fans making

plenty of noise, we expected St Pauli to

come out of the blocks fast, but

unfortunately the brown-whites just

could not get to grip with the hard and

in parts slippery playing surface.

Alemannia seemed to cope with the

conditions much better in the early

stages and were the most likely to

penetrate. On 13 minutes our fears

were realised. Taking a free kick on the

half-way line, St Pauli centre-back

Thorandt managed to feebly present

the ball at the feet of a nearby

Aachener. A quick counter attack later

and Thorandt’s partner Zambrano

found himself up against two Aachen

attackers, clearly upending Streit in the

penalty area. Auer stepped up and

coolly slotted home – 1-0 to Aachen.

Worse was to come, however, as two

minutes later the St Pauli defence

found itself unable to cope with a slick

Aachen combination around our penalty

box. Demai took his chance well,

comfortably beating St Pauli’s second

choice keeper, Pliquett, from the edge

of the area. 2-0 down after 15 minutes

of my first live St Pauli game in two

years!

Page 2

The Emperor’s New Clothes

The freezing pitch at the New Tivoli.

It actually took the guests almost 30

minutes before they got any foothold in the

game at all, and Boll’s shot on 37 minutes

was our first effort on the Aachen goal. It

was the prelude for our route back into the

match, however, as two minutes later Max

Kruse raced down the left, crossed, found

Boll, who scored the goal that raised our

hopes. 2-1 and now we are in control.

The last few minutes of the first half saw St

Pauli pressure but no equaliser, yet we

hoped for more in the second half. Sadly,

Aachen’s defensive wall was strong for the

second 45 minutes and, not for the first

time this season, the boys in brown were

unable to break down a defensive formation

despite huge amounts of possession.

On 70 minutes Bruns and Kruse combined

well, sending Saglik through. The resulting

goal was disallowed before the ball hit the

net, however, as the assistant referee

judged Kruse to have been offside (post

-match reports showed that he was

clearly onside!). A few more flurries on

the Aachen goal ensued, but it was not

to be. Overall Aachen deserved their

three points on this freezing Saturday,

and the St Pauli staff have a lot of work

to do to stay with the leading lights this

season.

Despite the result and disappointing

performance, we enjoyed our afternoon

in the St Pauli choir. The trouble didn’t

happen either, thankfully, and every

Alemannia fan I encountered was

friendly and open. Hopefully it won’t be

two years until the next game, but,

note to self, aim for an August or May

fixture next time!

Rob.

Page 3

Our Yorkshire St Pauli banner hung over the away terracing at the New Tivoli.

Two weeks after a trip to Aachen, I was

back on a plane to Dusseldorf– this time

bound for the away trip to Duisburg. I also

had the added pleasure of taking my

girlfriend to her first St Pauli game, knowing

it may be a culture shock from her usual

visits to watch Huddersfield Town.

Going into the weekend, St Pauli sat in 4th

place, but with only two points separating

the top five teams in the 2.Bundesliga, we

went to the ground knowing a win would

take us top for a few hours - at least until

the matches the following day.

I’d witnessed three defeats in a row in the

past year watching St Pauli in action, two of

which were some of the worst performances

this season—Eintracht Braunschweig and

Aachen away from home, so I was hoping

for an improved performance and three

points this time round.

We made the short ride to Duisburg from

Dusseldorf which only takes about 20

minutes, arriving at the nearby Duisburg

Schlenk station. A short walk down a

country lane and you’re facing the

impressive Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena–

which was built on the ground of the old

stadium, Wedaustadion, and the old

scoreboard still remains behind the away

end of the ground.

We arrived in good time, having decided to

head to the ground early to soak up the

atmosphere. Even two hours before kick-off

there was plenty of people around the

ground, and plenty of away fans drinking

and having a good time outside the away

section.

I’m sure at this point that my girlfriend was

expecting the worst. Having read briefly

about the ‘cult, left-wing, punk’ club from

the red light district in Hamburg, I could

sense her trepidation. To relieve this, we

spent the hour leading up to kick off

discussing the history of Sankt Pauli, the

fight against racism and homophobia in

football and the origins of the club. Perhaps

this would go some way to explain why I’d

somehow become obsessed with the club.

St Pauli started the better of the two sides,

showing more urgency going forward than they

did against Bochum, whilst looking resolute at

the back - a stark contrast to the defensive

performance in Aachen.

That said, Duisburg missed an early one on one

chance, when their attacker had beaten the

offside trap but was off balance when Bene

Pliquett came out to stop the shot which was

sliced wide. 20 minutes into the game and St

Pauli took the lead from the increasingly

familiar figure of Fabian Boll - his sixth goal of

the season, his highest seasonal total whilst

with St Pauli. The free kick from the corner of

the box was floated in by Bruns, and some

terrible marking from Duisburg left Boll free to

head in from 6 yards out.

The St Pauli fans were in fine voice throughout,

singing from the first minute until the last. My

girlfriend had also got into the spirit of the

occasion and was subtly clapping and tapping

away with the chanting. Perfect.

St Pauli failed to grab a second goal as the

game went on, and were pushed back by a

Duisburg side seeking an equaliser. As the

second half went on, it seemed inevitable that

our defence would be breached - but a mixture

of wasteful shooting and some solid

goalkeeping from Pliquett meant that St Pauli

hung on to the lead and clinched the three

points.

The final whistle came as a relief, it wasn’t the

best performance of the season but we grinded

out a result away from home and picked up the

three points. Onwards and upwards!

Scott

Page 4

Duisburg review

For this month’s newsletter we are pleased

to announce an interview with Sven Brux,

Head of Organisation and Security at St

Pauli. I guess many people would have been

interested in hearing Sven’s views on the

Schweinske Cup, but I think enough has

been said already on that subject. By the

way, we would like to thank Sven for his

honest and dignified words following the

media hype, but moreover for taking the

time to answer our questions for our little

English-language fanzine.

As you will see, I concentrated more on

Sven’s past as one of the founders of the

now legendary Millerntor Roar! fanzine, as

well as his involvement in the early days of

the new fan culture at St Pauli. Although we

already had a thriving fanzine culture here

in the UK in the late 80s/early 90s, make no

mistake, MR! was a unique publication in

Germany. And the work of pioneers like

Sven to spread the word at home and

abroad goes a long way to explaining why

some of the older folks like me originally

discovered St Pauli.

Sven has often appeared in documentaries

explaining the history behind St Pauli’s fan

culture, but I wanted to find out more about

where it started for him and why he, Sven

Brux, is standing here.

Q - In the late 80s many fans moved

across from HSV to St Pauli because of

the right-wing atmosphere at the time

at the Volkspark. Were you one of

those or, if not, what was your original

connection to St Pauli?

A – Nein, ich bin 1986 zum Zivildienst aus

dem Rheinland nach Hamburg gezogen. Als

Kind war ich Fan des 1. FC Köln, aber

konnte dort später nicht mehr hingehen, da

es als junger Punkrocker zu gefährlich war.

Wie ja in eigentlich allen Stadien damals. So

hatte sich der Fußball für mich erledigt, bis

ich glücklicherweise entdeckte, dass

Hamburg neben einer tollen Punkszene auch

den FC St. Pauli hat. Ich war dann gleich

Feuer und Flamme und bin bald Stammgast

geworden, mit allen Konsequenzen bis heute...

A – No, I moved from the Rhineland to

Hamburg in 1986 to do my Zivildienst (*). As a

child I was a fan of 1FC Cologne, but later on I

found I couldn’t go there any more, because, as

a young punk, it was too dangerous. As it was

in all stadia at that time. So football was pretty

much finished for me until I was fortunate

enough to discover that Hamburg not only had

a great punk scene, but also FC St Pauli. Pretty

soon I was hooked and became a regular, with

all the consequences right up to today......

Q – The first time I heard of St Pauli was

when I bought the famous Millerntor Roar!

fanzine in Jumbo Records in Leeds. What

was your involvement with MR!?

A – Die Idee zur Gründung eines Fanzines, des

MR!, ist in meiner damaligen WG entstanden.

Ich war Teil der Initiative gegen den Bau des

„Sport Dome“ und als die Pläne nach

vielfältigen Aktionen unsererseits beerdigt

waren und die damalige Stadionzeitschrift einen

kritischen Leserbrief zu einer Auswärtsfahrt

nach München nicht druckte, haben wir uns in

alter DIY Manier gesagt „dann machen wir es

halt selbst“ und die Erfolgsgeschichte der

(damals) neuen Fanszene ging über zum

nächsten Kapitel.

A – The idea to found the fanzine, Millerntor

Roar!, originated from my then WG (**). I was

part of the initiative against the building of the

Sport Dome (***). When the Sport Dome plans

were finally buried after various campaigns

from our side, and when the then club

magazine didn’t print a critical reader’s letter

about an away trip to Munich, we said to

ourselves in our old DIY fashion, “Then we’ll do

it ourselves.” And the success story of the (at

that time) new fanzine led to the next chapter.

Q – The MR! team occasionally travelled

to other parts of Europe to meet other fan

groups and to spread the word. Did you

travel anywhere and, if so, what were

your best and worst experiences on the

road?

Page 5

Millerntor Roars On! An interview with Sven Brux

A – Ja., wir waren als MR! Redaktion zwei

mal Anfang der 90er in Großbritannien, für

uns damals natürlich das Mekka der

Fankultur, und haben sehr tolle Leute

kennengelernt, die aber zunächst aus der

Londoner und mittelenglischen Polit- bzw.

Squatterszene stammten. Richtig peinlich

war, als gleich am ersten Abend in einem

von frauenbewegten Vegetariern bewohnten

Squat in Hackney, wo wir untergebracht

waren, einer von uns (den Namen

verschweige ich mal besser) ganz stolz

ankam und eine Bierdose schwenkte, wo

eine leicht bekleidete Dame mit der

Bezeichnung „St. Pauli Girl“ drauf war. Das

zweitschlimmste war die Erfahrung, Kaffee

(auch noch diese lösliche Plörre) mit

Sojamilch trinken zu müssen, bäh! Ein

cooles Erlebnis war, als ich mit einem der

Redaktionskollegen in einer kleinen Straße

unweit des alten „Den“ standen und wir uns

gerade einen als Souvenir gekauften Millwall

Schal umhängten. Da kamen ca. 500 ganz

in zivil gekleidete junge Männer an uns

vorbei gelaufen. Erst als diese an der

nächsten Ecke einen Millwall Pub angriffen,

wurde uns klar, dass das die ICF gewesen

sein muss. Aber wir haben es ja überlebt,

wahrscheinlich weil wir den imaginären

Stempel „blöder Tourist“ auf der Stirn

hatten ;-) Das andere tolle Erlebnis war,

dass wir am Ende einer Fanzine Rundreise

die Ehre hatten, in Glasgow einem Old Firm

im alten Jungle beiwohnen zu dürfen. Dieses

erste Kennenlernen der Celtic Fanszene war

dann wiederum der Beginn einer weiteren

Story, die bekanntlich bis heute anhält...

A – Yes, at the beginning of the 90s as MR!

Editorial staff we twice came to Great

Britain, for us, of course, at that time the

Mecca of fan culture, and we got to know

some great people, who initially originated

from the London and Midlands political and

squatter scene. One really embarrassing

situation happened on the very first evening

in a Hackney squat occupied by feminist

vegetarians, where we were being

accommodated. One of us (I’d better not

name names) arrived really proud and

brandishing a bottle of beer with a skimpily-

dressed woman on it and the label “St Pauli

Girl”. The second worst thing was the

experience of having to drink coffee (that

awful soluble slop) with soyamilk. Yuck. A cool

experience was when I was standing with an

MR! colleague in a small street not far from the

old Den and we were putting on a Millwall scarf

we’d just bought as a souvenir. At that point

about 500 young men came past us dressed in

civvies. As soon as they attacked a Millwall pub

on the next corner, it became clear to us that it

must have been the ICF. But we managed to

survive it, probably because we had an

imaginary stamp of “stupid tourists” on our

foreheads! ;-) The other great experience was

in Glasgow at the end of our fanzine tour, when

we had the honour of being able to attend an

Old Firm game in the old Jungle. This first

meeting with the Celtic fan scene was then the

beginning of another story, which famously

continues to this day……

Q – When did MR! end and what did you do

afterwards?

A – Die Redaktion des MR! hatte sich im Laufe

der Jahre etwas auseinander entwickelt und so

beschlossen wir 1993, uns aufzulösen. Die

beiden Gruppen gründeten aber sofort

Nachfolge-Zines, das Unhaltbar und den heute

noch existierenden Übersteiger, wozu auch ich

gehörte.

A – The editorial team of MR! had grown apart

over the years and so we decided to disband in

1993. Both groups then immediately founded

follow-up fanzines, Unhaltbar and Übersteiger,

which still exists today and to which I belong.

Q – For how long have you been in your

current role and how did the job come

about?

A – Nachdem ich 8,5 Jahre als Fanbeauftragter

im Fanladen gearbeitet hatte, überkam mich

irgendwie die Lust, etwas anderes zu machen.

Eine Rolle spielte auch ein wenig der Gedanke,

dass Fanbetreuer nicht so viel älter sein sollten

als die von ihnen betreuten Fans. Naja, auf

jeden Fall habe ich mit dem St. Pauli

Präsidenten Heinz Weisener darüber

gesprochen, dass ich auf bestimmten Ebenen

im Verein Handlungsbedarf und

Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten sehe und draus

entwickelte sich dann meine neue Aufgabe als

Organisationsleiter und Sicherheitsbeauftragter,

die ich seit April 1998 ausführe.

Page 6

A – After 8 ½ yearsof working as fan

representative in the Fanladen, somehow I

got the desire to do something else. Part of

the reason was the thought that fan

advisors shouldn’t be too much older than

the fans they are advising. So, anyway, I

discussed with the St Pauli President, Heinz

Weisener, that I could see a need for action

and possibilities for improvement at certain

levels of the club. Out of this developed my

new assignment as Head of Organisation

and Security Commissioner, which I’ve

performed since April 1998.

Q – What is your greatest St Pauli

moment?

A – Es waren so viele. Aber einer der

emotionalsten Momente war ohne Zweifel

das Ausgleichstor in letzter Sekunde gegen

Oberhausen im Jahr 2000, welches uns vor

dem Abstieg in die dritte Liga bewahrte, das

war so krass...

A – There have been so many. But one of

the most emotional moments was without

doubt the equalising goal in the last seconds

against Oberhausen in 2000, which saved

us from relegation to the Third Division.

Q – And your worst?

A – Als ich von meinem Chef gezwungen

wurde, 5 Stadionverbote gegen St. Pauli

Fans auszusprechen, ohne davon sachlich

überzeugt zu sein und vielmehr wusste, was

dies an Ärger nach sich ziehen würde. Das

hat sich dann auch so bewahrheitet, ist aber

zum Glück schon lange her und heute

Geschichte....

A – When I was forced by my boss to

pronounce 5 stadium bans against St Pauli

fans, without being factually convinced,

and, moreover, knowing the anger that this

would cause. This then proved to be true,

but thankfully it’s already a long time ago

and is today just history.....

Q – Here at Yorkshire St Pauli we

recently released our first T-shirt with

our current favourite Fußballgötter

(Boll&Kruse&Naki&Ebbers). For the

next T-shirt we would like to inscribe

four all-time St Pauli Fußballgötter. My

choice would be

Boll&Stani&Trulsen&Ippig. Which four

would you choose?

A – Sorry, aber ich gehöre zur alten St. Pauli-

Schule, die ohne Personenkult auskommt.

Auch, weil man damit anderen Menschen

Unrecht tun würde, die nicht benannt werden.

Aber in meinen Augen haben folgende 3

Menschen großen Anteil daran, dass St. Pauli

heute so ist, wie es ist, weil sie damals zur

richtigen Zeit am richtigen Ort waren und auf

unterschiedliche Art dazu beitrugen, dass

Menschen zusammen kamen, die sonst nie

zusammen gefunden hätten: Volker Ippig (als

einmalige Symbolfigur auf dem Platz), Charlotte

Libuschewski (leider viel zu früh verstorbene

„Fanoma“, die uns „Hafenzecken“ etliche

wichtige Kontakte auf dem Kiez und im Verein

vermittelte) und Christian Hinzpeter (damals

Vizepräsident, der den Weg zur Gründung des

Fanladens mit ebnete und innerhalb des Vereins

die Wogen glättete).

A – Sorry, but I belong to the old St Pauli

school, which gets by without personality cults.

Also, it would be unjust to those who aren’t

mentioned. But in my eyes the following three

people have a large stake in making St Pauli

what it is today, because they were in the right

place at the right time and in their own differing

ways made it possible for people to come

together who would never have otherwise found

eachother: Volker Ippig (as a unique symbolic

figure on the pitch), Charlotte Libuschewski

(the “Fangrandmother” who died much too soon

and who imparted to us “Harbour-Zecken”

numerous important contacts in the Kiez and at

the club) and Christian Hinzpeter (then Vice-

president, who levelled the way to founding the

Fanladen and who flattened the waves inside

the club).

* Zivildienst – In Germany most young men

had to undertake National Service of some kind.

This could be a year in the army (Bundeswehr)

or, for conscientious objectors, a usually longer

term of Zivildienst or community social work.

This system was suspended in 2011, although

not totally abolished as this would require a

change in the German constitution.

** WG – Wohngemeinschaft – flat-sharing

community – not easily translated.

*** Sport Dome – the brand new stadium

proposed to replace Millerntor in the 1980s.

Rob.

Page 7

There’s no shortage of films and DVDs about FC St. Pauli. Over the years I’ve managed to pick up various highlights

videos, Wir Sind Pokal! – charting the run to the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in 2005/06; Sankt Pauli! Rausgehen, Warmmachen, Weghauen – documenting promotion back

to 2.Liga; and … That’s The Way We Like It! – a recordng of various USP songs and choreo. I’ve also managed to successfully avoid Gegengerade 20359, which if the trailer is anything to go by, looks like a sub-Danny Dyer hooligan flick.

However, there’s been a slight problem, for me at least, with all of the above – they’re all in German. That’s one of the reasons I

got so excited about the release of ‘Das Ganze Stadion’. English subtitles – making it the first DVD since the fantastic ’And I know Why I Stand Here’ to be fully accessible to

someone like me, who just can’t get my head around the German language (I’ve tried, honest!)

But it wasn’t just the subtitles, Das Ganze Stadion (The Whole Stadium) seemed like a promising concept for a film/documentary. The title itself is lifted from the chant that

emanates from the Südkurve at the start of a game, a call to arms for ‘the whole

stadium’ to engage in the call & response chanting between different sections of the ground. Filmed in the Spring of 2010, it covers two matches at the Millerntor, the 3-

0 win over Augsburg on 12th April and the 6-1 demolition of TuS Koblenz two weeks later.

As the title suggests, the focus here isn’t the football but the fans that occupy

different sections of the stadium. The backdrop of the games form a loose narrative (I’m sure footage shows the matches in reverse order

starting with Koblenz and ending with Augsburg – not that that detracts from the film,) but the real focus is on the cross-section of fans that make up the Millerntor crowd.

There’s unique access and footage of the USP (Ultra’ Sankt Pauli) in the Südkurve (unique, because usually in photos the faces of those fans on the Südkurve are blocked out to prevent right-wing hools from other clubs identifying them.)

There’s fan groups from the Gegengerade, and a mother and son from Nord Support on the Nordkurve are also represented. We are also

shown footage of those fans that occupy the business seats and executive areas in the new South Stand.

The film was also shot over an interesting

period for the St. Pauli fan scene (although, to be fair, we’re never really short on interest or controversy as St. Pauli fans.) At the previous home game, against Hansa Rostock, the USP instigated a controversial ‘blockade’ of the Südkurve, refusing to allow spectators onto the terrace for the first five minutes, in an act of

solidarity with fans of (arch-rivals) Rostock who’d been banned from travelling by their

club. It wasn’t a universally popular move by the USP, and the tension between them and fans on the Gegengerade bubbles along during the course of the film.

The tensions between the Südkurve and other parts of the ground form one part of the central tenet of the film: who or what is St. Pauli? And how is St. Pauli changing? Is the ‘myth of St. Pauli’ just that – a myth, marketed to the nth

Page 8

Das Ganze Stadion - Review

degree?

The perceived image of St. Pauli as totally non-commercial with a political and rebellious fan base is called into question, and yet, despite the changes that the film

documents, it is a ‘myth’ that can’t quite be dispelled. The footage might not reflect the media created mix of “punks, pimps, prostitutes and anarchists” that are supposed to make up the St. Pauli dynamic, but it is still clear that large swathes of the fanbase, wherever they stand (or sit)

believe and want St. Pauli to be about more than just football.

Without straying too far into Desmond Morris country, there is something slightly disconcerting about watching fans singing, shouting and supporting their team when, as a viewer, you are striped of the context

of the match itself. Especially for those of us who spend the months between trips to the Millerntor, longing to be back on the terrace doing exactly that: singing and shouting like an irrational lunatic. There’s definitely the sobering thought of, “crikey, I that’s what I must look like!” The subtitles are interesting

here too, one of the things I enjoy about not speaking more than three words of German is the fact that I have no idea that the bloke two steps down from me is shouting out stuff like, “My Grandma could’ve done that!” and to the ref, “Who’s

paying you?!” These pearls of wisdom are thoughtfully (and ironically?) translated for you, proving that some aspects of football fandom are universal.

There’s loads of funny stuff too. The fans on the Gegengerade responding to the Ultra’s call to join in a song with, one fan saying,

“Yes, What? What do they want now?” and another replying, “They want love and attention.” On one level, it’s a snapshot of some of the criticisms of the USP’s style of support (and no doubt the continued fall-out from the blockade,) on another, it’s just plain amusing.

Calling for a response from the Haupttribüne, a deserted building site at the time of recording, also raised a smile, as does the banter of the internet commentary team.

It’s also a wonderfully shot film, dozens of

cameras were deployed around the ground: in the police control room, on the megaphone of the capo from the USP, and my favourite, on the top of the huge brown and white heart flag in the Nordkurve. It certainly captures the feel and vibe of the Millerntor. The greatest compliment I can

give it was that after the first five minutes I

instinctively went and got a beer, and that on a ‘school’ night! It’s just impossible to watch that much Astra being drunk without joining in.

I’m not sure whether it solves the conundrum of supporting FC St. Pauli. I don’t even think it

was really supposed to. Partly, because of the simple difference between myth and reality. And partly because, I think what the film was trying to show is that all these different supporter groups have an equal stake in supporting the club.

The other issue is the constant spectre of

change. In one sense, the film is a snapshot in time: there are concerns over role of the presidency and the increased commercialisation eroding the heart of the fan scene. Yet, many of these concerns also form the backdrop for …And I Know Why I Stand Here filmed in 1991. I think, due to the self-reflective nature of St.

Pauli’s support, these worries will be ever present.

The promotion to the Bundesliga (secured shortly after this film was recorded) amplified these concerns, but they also produced a genuine, heartfelt response via the

Sozialromantiker “Jolly Rouge” campaign.

Things move quickly in the St. Pauli fan scene, hence the film pre-dates the problem of our fans throwing objects at players and officials, that led to the club playing the first home game of the 2011/12 season in Lübeck. And then, there’s the attacks on St. Pauli fans in Rostock

and at the Schweinske Cup – although they didn’t occur at the Millerntor, they represent a real threat to the safety of our fans. Not that the continually evolving story of supporting FCSP undermines the quality of this film.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and a great

reminder of why so many of us travel great

distances to watch our football at the Millerntor. It really doesn’t matter whether we stand on the Südkurve or the Gegengerade, we go precisely because of the atmosphere that those fans that are there week-in, week-out generate. Because, wherever we stand we are made to feel welcome and because – albeit not in the

broad brushstrokes than the media like to paint in – we all want the same thing: a club that’s different, a fan base that cares about more than just results.

I’d strongly recommend you try and get hold of

a copy. The whole stadium on a single DVD,

it’s pretty impressive.

Nick Davidson.

Twitter: @Outside_left

Page 9

THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT SOME KIND OF

MANIFESTO, BUT A CRY OF ANGER AND AGONY COMING STRAIGHT FROM OUR

HEARTS.

For two years now our lives have been under attack; an attack we never could have imagined. Corrupt politicians and

bankers, supported by neoliberal policies made by the IMF and the Central European Bank, have drastically reduced our salaries and pensions, while simultaneously increasing taxes and prices. This has lead large parts of our society into

unemployment, poverty and despair.

They say that the reason for such harsh

measures is the growing global economic crisis. It is in fact a crisis they created on purpose and now they are asking for the people of the world to pay the price.

At the same time, in its attempt to deal with

such extensive social unrest, the government constantly moves closer towards fascism. Rights and liberties shrink on a daily basis; demonstrations end in violent teargas fuming, police brutality and beatings; undercover police forces charge into houses and make arrests. “Technocrat”

governments that were never elected by the

people have been hired to impose conditions of economic dictatorship.

The media, fully manipulated and guided by the system’s agenda, make it their goal to terrorize people with lies, fear and

propaganda.

These events are not unique to Greece however. The situation is similar, if not the same, in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and elsewhere. Let us have no illusions. This crisis will strike other countries in time, making this

new social war a concern for us all. From Athens to Dublin and from Cairo to Madrid and Berlin.

They say that football knows no borders. This is why we believe that the murder of 74 Ultras during the football match in Egypt on February 2nd is very much so our business. These

murders had clear political incentives, since it is a known fact that these Ultras played an important role in the defeat of the dictator Mubarak about a year ago.

The past couple of months have seen banners with political references been raised in stadiums across Greece; banners against the current

political situation in Greece and Europe at large. At the same time, more and more solidarity

acts are being organized by and for the Greek population in many cities of Europe. We believe it is critical to bring such acts of solidarity into the stadiums as well.

We will continue to fight for our beliefs, both in

and outside the stadiums, in the streets, at demonstrations and local squares. And rest assure, our anger will crush them.

Resistance - Solidarity

* On Sunday 12/2/12, the Greek government

voted in favour of the new measures that impose severance and poverty on our people.

Almost 1.000.000 people took to the streets to demonstrate and protest against these measures, but this fact was totally ignored by the media.

A copy of this statement in Greek and German

can be found on the Sankt Pauli Athen Klub website.

http://fcstpauli.gr/

Our thoughts and our support are with our friends in Greece.

Page 10

Sankt Pauli Athen Klub Statement

Well first I’ll give a brief background of how

4 football fans (2x Newcastle, 1 x Forest,

and 1xTranmere) ended up in the St Pauli

district of Hamburg. Last Xmas my cousin

changed his profile picture on a well-known

social networking site. Innocent

enough. When I met up with him for a

random pint I quizzed him about it as he

looked freezing.

To cut a long story short he had randomly

been invited by a friend to watch St Pauli

and was now telling me in great detail about

his experience. After that I was hooked. I

had always watched the Bundesliga but

never had a preference of team or even

heard of St Pauli. I did some research and

the more I learnt the more I loved the idea

of this little club tucked away in a murky

part of Hamburg.

Fast forward a few months and I’m sat in

the middle of Afghanistan contemplating the

next 6 months stuck there. I needed

something to take my mind off things and

decided that as soon as I get back home, I

will go to see St Pauli, on my own if

necessary. Luckily my power of persuasion

won over and ‘The Trip’ was born. This

was essentially a visit to The Millerntor via

Amsterdam. The actual travelling part is a

different story all together but suffice to say

4 soldiers starting in Newcastle, getting a

ferry to Amsterdam then the next day

driving to Hamburg cooked up one hell of a

time, but I digress.

So the 4 of us now have a target to set

ourselves. When we get back we are all

going to Hamburg. This was made easy by

the fact that I have a spot-on girlfriend and

the other 3 got dumped in Afghan by

there’s! I sorted out travel which was easy

and next came the actual match. Well as

am sure you’re all aware, planning to watch

a game in the Bundesliga is not the easiest

due to the (strangely) in-efficient way they

fixtures are produced. Luckily we had a bit

of time off so booked to go over the

weekend that happened to be the Dresden

game. Our only issue was getting tickets,

which through various websites I was told

would be hard.

I have a few mates with German girlfriends so

planned to use this in the acquisition of the

tickets. I had sent an email asking the club

how best I go about this to no real reply. The

tickets went on sale, and then got sold just as

fast. As I thought all hope was gone and the

chance that we would have to turn up without

any, I received an email from the club,

basically asking me if I wanted any! Hell yeah

I thought, and sent my address as was

asked. Now being from England I thought

this a bit odd, how the club sent me a

confirmation email saying I had secured 5

tickets and a reservation number, no booking

fee, no proof that I was even going, nothing.

So we eventually woke up on the Sunday of

the game, bleary eyed after about 3 hours

sleep. The other 2 lay in bed as I dragged

myself and another lad up and headed to the

ground with the money for the tickets, hoping

I could go the ticket office and pick up the,

unlikely, tickets. We approached the ground

and straight away you know you’re not at

English football.

I don’t know how to explain it the best way

though I think would just be, better. I went

to the window and showed my reservation

number, the woman looked, gave me an ok

and printed out 5 tickets. Easy as that,

unbelievable. Now, you may be thinking why

we asked for 5. Originally there were 5 of us

going but one lad dropped out a week to go,

saying he was skint, oh how he will regret

that for the rest of his life! I told the ticket

office that we now only required 4, fully

expecting to be charged for another ticket but

instead got a simple, ok, and with that

handed over the money and got the

tickets. There seemed to be loads of English

fans there without tickets who were being told

that it was a complete sell out and there’s no

way they would get in.

I had been recommended a pre match pint at

the Jolly Roger, which lived up to all the hype

and more. The two of us sat in there for a

Page 11

A trip to the Millerntor

couple of hours (after taking various snaps

of the ground) trying to drink through our

hangover. I didn’t think the other two

would make it after the monstrous session

they had been on the night before, but with

an hour to kick off the two Geordie lads

walked in and settled down to enjoy a top

up and some pre match banter.

As we approached our entrance we noticed

there was no such turnstile system just a

big queue of people casually going it, again

completely different to English football when

you are hounded all the way up to the

ground. We went in and immediately got

ourselves a pint and a bratwurst. It took us

about 3 pints to realise that if we took the

plastic cups back we would get 1.50 euros

off our next drink! Through the game as

well there would be a guy going round with

a keg on his back filling up anyone’s beer so

they didn’t have to leave their seat for the

match…genius.

We took our seats with about 5 minutes to

go until kick off, taking in the unique

atmosphere at the Millerntor. There were

no Dresden fans allowed at the game but a

few had got in and sat trouble free amongst

the St Pauli fans. The bell then started up

and with that the teams came out (Hell’s

Bell’s by ACDC is one of my favourite songs

so I was loving this). I have never

experienced an atmosphere like it, the fans

behind the goal constantly jumping and

singing in perfect time, led by a guy with a

megaphone, never stopped. From what I

remember the first half was even, with St

Pauli attacking but having no final ball and

Dresden looking dangerous on the counter.

At half time we got the news that Gary

Speed had died which added to the

craziness of that weekend. The second half

began much like the first, St Pauli having no

final product and Dresden countering at

speed. It’s with one of these counter

attacks that Dresden scored, with the 20 or

so fans who had got in not afraid to show

what team they were there to support. A

few minutes later Ebbers was introduced for

the tiring Saglik and the whole game was

turned around. A dangerous free kick was

flicked in by Boll for 1-1 and seconds later

Naki smashed an unstoppable drive into the

bottom corner. 2-1 St Pauli and the place was

literally bouncing. Song 2 by Blur has to be the

best music to play after a goal goes in as

everyone was now jumping up and down

screaming the ‘wooo hooo’ part. The game was

sealed with an Ebbers tap-in in the final

minutes, all in all a very impressive

performance and cracking advert for

2.Bundesliga. At the end of the game we were

mystified as to why no one left. We stuck

around and glad we did. The players did a lap

of honour and acknowledged every part of the

stadium, superb!

A few things that I took away from our first of

hopefully many St Pauli game:

The fans never stopped singing throughout and

didn’t bat an eyelid at the team going 1-0

down.

The Dresden fans being allowed to show their

support hassle free.

The efficiency of getting in to the ground and

getting food .

Being able to sit and watch a match and have a

pint.

The rhythmic chanting of the fans as each stand

sang to each other.

This isn’t a comprehensive football match

report, I know. I am recounting this some

months later through a very hazy memory. If

anyone is thinking of going I have to say that it

is something that shouldn’t be missed by any

football fan. England could learn so much from

the whole match day experience. After the

game had finished we made the short walk

back to the Reeperbahn to watch Liverpool v

Man City and reflect on what had been a truly

amazing day.

I am in the process of trying to arrange another

trip to watch St Pauli. I still watch every game

I can on the internet and bore every person I

meet with the story of the trip. Hopefully

promotion is achievable this season and the

likes of Bayern and H$V will again been seen at

the Milerntor. One thing is for sure is that this

is the most unique, weird, amazing club I have

ever been to and match day that I have ever

witnessed.

Twitter: @simotrfc

Page 12

From a personal point of view, it’s incredible

to see the progress our fanclub has made in

the 9 months since we formed as a group. A

rather mixed group of 6 of us turned up on

Friday 13th May and decided we’d try to get

something going - and it wasn’t until the

end of July that things really started moving

and we found a venue to show our streams.

I think I speak on behalf of everyone who

attended the first meeting that we never

expected the group to grow so quickly, and

for the streams to be so popular.

Obviously the cost of running a fanclub isn’t

cheap, to be registered as an official fanclub

with the club costs €30, then there is the

subscription cost of ’St Pauli TV’ - which

allows us to show our delayed streams. This

costs €25 for 6 months subscription, so

costs approximately €40 for the whole

season.

The cost of this in the first year was covered

by a ‘membership fee’, which we agreed at

the first meeting. We would like to thank

each and every individual who contributed -

we even had people helping us who were

living abroad and just wanted to help get

our fanclub off the ground. We appreciate

your support, without this - the group

wouldn’t be successful. Whilst we are aware

of the risk of over-commercialisation, these

funds are required in order to assist the club

expand and cover running costs.

However we want to make the group available

to everyone, and run the club without the

need for donations or fees. So we have looked

at ways to bring in funds to cover the running

of the club. We think it would be great if the

group funded itself through other avenues,

rather than having to ask people for money.

We’re confident this can be done.

We have a small amount of money left over

this season, and we have also raised £10 from

the sale of our stickers earlier this season.

Additionally, we have also raised over £20

from sales of our t-shirts so far. Our current t-

shirts are available here. With this in mind,

we have come up with a new t-shirt idea.

As mentioned in the interview with Sven Brux

earlier in the newsletter, we want to honour

those who have been influential in making St

Pauli the club it is today.

To do this, we want to know which 4 players

(past or present) you would nominate to

appear on our t-shirt. To nominate, email us

at ysp@live.co.uk with the title “t-shirt

nominations”. We will run this until our March

newsletter, where we will have the final

names and design. We hope to raise a couple

of quid from each design, which will help run

the fanclub next year.

Many thanks for reading and for your

continued support.

Page 13

Yorkshire St Pauli– Update

Whilst on the bus going to see Leeds United (courtesy of Scott), I pondered on what I could write about for this edition of the newsletter. My initial plans would have been

to do a preview of bands and releases for the coming year, but in February, I feel it would be too late. As my bus took a detour

to Dewsbury Road via Holbeck Moor, I had a “brainwave”. I turn on FC St. Pauli FM and I review the first five songs I hear. “The Sound of St Pauli” segment has been

created. My previous experiences with FC St. Pauli FM have been positive. British and American indie rock is usually a hit on the radio station, getting lots of air time, with some German (I suspect) pop/hip hop getting

played sometimes. I turn on the station and my experience

with it remains. British indie rock. The Libertines – Boys in the Band. I appreciate their music. I like the

early Punk edge of the band, the attitude but also the poetry, not just your average song. However, I sometimes struggle to see how this band is idolised so much. Not because of Pete’s well documented personal life or anything like that, I just don’t see

how they have become “immortals”

WU LYF – Heavy Pop: British indie rock. I like this song. Nice use of an organ in the

song. Heavily distorted vocals as well as a changing tempo throughout. WU LYF were heavily hyped by the NME for last year, me and NME have had disagreements over the

past year (The Vaccines aren’t the saviours of British music, admit it NME), but these guys seem to live up the hype, for me. The Frames – Revelate (Live) – I like this, quite a lot. It seems a serious song, very serious. Looking at the words in the chorus,

it’s a song about love, but you probably wouldn’t be able to tell. Strangely, it seems similar to Nine Inch Nails’ version of Hurt (I

say their “version” as they have passed the song on).

The Heavy – How you like me now? – British Indie Rock. Funky Indie Rock. As if Mark Ronson got his hands on Jet’s Are You Gonna Be My Girl (I’m sorry for all the

comparisons to other songs throughout this article). Lots of bass and horns. Gumbles – St Pauli Skinheads – Bagpipes, drums, guitar, not idea what is being said,

music is good though. Early metal/punk sounding. Song ends in all members of the band shouting “We are the boys in brown”. I

understand that part.

I see these reviews have turned more into descriptions of the songs, but I think we will all agree when I say that St Pauli FM plays some

good music and is definitely commendable. I’ll probably be back to band reviews new month/newsletter, but until then, stay lucky! Luke. FORZA!

Page 14

The Sound of St. Pauli