FC Bayern Forum

A new season has started, some new faces have joined, some old are missing and a new trainer is running the show. The first game against Borussia Mönchengladbach was a great success and the first three points of many to come were secured. But the greatest impression from the game wasn’t the excellent goal from Arjen, the own goal by Dante or the double penalty situation. The newspapers speak of “Ghostly Silence” and a “Cemetery like” experience. The heart of the Südkurve, sections 112/113 was gapingly empty, no drums, no singing, no jumping, no flags, and no "capo" to lead the songs. It was simply dead.

There were a few fans in the stadium who tried to start some chants but it was too uncoordinated and the majority of the fans in the stadium didn’t join in. After the numerous failed attempts to start the “Stand up if you are for Bayern” chant, there was a breakthrough in the second half of the game. Sadly most of the home fans failed to recognize the fact that the chant didn’t come from the Südkurve but the away section. So most of the home crowd happily stood up, smiled and clapped their hands to the tunes of “Stand up if you pay your taxes”, an obvious attack against president Hoeness, who is facing charges for tax evasion. “Hoeness in jail, Hoeness in jail” also echoed through the profound silent Allianz Arena and that's something everyone will have to get use to this season.

So why is the Südkurve so quiet? Anyone who followed the story the last couple of weeks will surely have a good idea. The board installed new turnstiles in the blocks 112/113 to prevent the “overcrowding” of these sections. The official statement from the board was that a couple of hundred new tickets were going to be available for 112/113. But not for the supporting groups. Instead they are handed out on a free-for-all basis. This season also started “well” with an additional 55 stadium bans after the troubles at the Nürnberg game last season. Important to note is that these people are neither suspected nor prosecuted for any crime; “guilty until proved otherwise” is the new line of justice in Munich. The board also withdrew all season tickets for away games in the German Cup as well as Champions League without any form of compensation or notice. People can't get into the Südkurve making it impossible to stay with their fan groups and friends. Some groups have already officially withdrawn from home game as a result of all this.

It is quite clear that the board is “cleaning up” in the Südkurve, just as other European counterparts have done before them (Manchester United, Paris Saint Germaine, Barcelona etc.). Locking out the “troublesome” fans and crowding the Südkurve with new, calm fans. The Gladbach game was a great success for the board because they achieved exactly what they strived for, almost all active support groups where MIA. It is therefore quite surprising that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the board, had this to say after the game;

"I don't know which decisions could have led to people not coming or being quiet. You have to ask the fans, at least those who were quiet. I don't know the reason."

He also had the following to say when asked about why there is no dialog with the fan scene;

"There is a permanent fan dialogue - and that's it. If then 200 to 300 people are of the opinion they must be quiet, then you can't change it"

Luckily Rummenigge doesn’t have to tend to these matters himself, 2011 he employed the services of Wolfgang Salewski, hostage negotiator and anti-terrorism expert to deal with the fans from Südkurve. Mr. Salewski had this to say about the situation;

„I had already expected this; there were too few support-willing fans in the Kurve."

After all the open letters to the board, to the players, to the fellow fans, our chairman of the board “…don't know the reason…”. If the chairman of the board doesn't communicate with the man he himself employed to handle fan-related issues, what value does this so called “permanent fan-dialog” have?
But fear not friends, because the hostage expert, Salewski, sees an end to the troubles;

"In the Südkurve, people who are willing to support will have to find each other first. Then there will be support again. Firstly though, it will stay for a couple of games like this".

So the “expert” is of the opinion that in a couple of weeks new people and new songs will echo from the Südkurve. With this statement Salewski says that the 41 year tradition of Südkurve can easily be replaced with new people and songs in a couple of weeks. This shows exactly how large the gap between the fans and the board truly is.

Forever Südkurve!

FC Bayern WorldWide 2013