After Hamburg last year, Shakhtar Donetsk welcomes their opponents to the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. The magnificent covered venue in the Ruhr, host of Taylor Swift's concerts last summer, often rings hollow in the Champions League. There were only 21,636 spectators for the Bergamo reception and 17,420 for Bern. A poor result when more than 45,000 spectators had attended the three matches of the previous season organized at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.
“No disrespect…”
“I don’t know anyone around me who attended a Ukrainian match this year,” comments Uwe Dietz, the “voice” of Schalke 04 on regional public radio WDR. “Most fans don't live in Gelsenkirchen. They travel on average 90 or 100 kilometers to see the 04 matches but the draw did not choose teams glamorous enough, no disrespect, for the average supporter to travel this distance on a weekday evening. »
The Arena was full, 57,000 spectators at the beginning of December for the visit of Bayern Munich, and the local fans were able to vent their anger on a historic rival, guilty in their eyes of having stolen Manuel Neuer and Alexander Nübel, trained at the club. Kingsley Coman's side's response came on the pitch, a 5-1 victory over Donetsk, sending Schalke supporters back to their glorious past.
“Interest in football has declined significantly in the area”
Seven times German champions (the last time in 1958), the “Königsblauen”, with their royal blue jersey, participated in their last Champions League in 2019. In the second division, Schalke occupies a 13th place, unworthy of a club where Fischer, Özil and Raúl played. “Because of his very average results, interest in football has declined significantly in the area,” laments Uwe Dietz.
An especially economic interest for the club, owner of the premises, which hoped to bring in up to two million euros into its coffers, thanks to these European evenings. If the supporters had filled the stands… But in this city, the poorest in Germany, where 25% of working-age residents receive basic benefits, the 10% discount offered to local fans for Donetsk matches n didn't increase interest.
-The two clubs, however, have common roots immersed in the mining basins of their region but the beautiful story was cut short when around forty Ultras attacked supporters of Atalanta Bergamo, after the first Champions League match “at home “.
“I still see Shakhtar winning, 2 to 1 against Brest”
Oleksandr will be in the stands on Wednesday evening, shouting for his favorite club, just to forget for a moment the war which is ravaging his country. This Ukrainian refugee living in Hamburg had lost his voice after the victory against the Young Boys of Bern: “I still see Shakhtar winning, 2 to 1 against Brest. It will be a tough battle as both teams really need points. Brest should be wary of Sudokov, Kevin or Sikan. But especially goalkeeper Riznyk, who holds the record for the number of saves in a Champions League match, 15 against PSV Eindhoven in November.
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