Leipzig/Dresden. The graffiti along a railway line can tell you a lot about the footballing allegiances of a city, town or region. Especially in Germany. Especially in Saxony.
Waiting for a connecting train in Engelsdorf, a cold, glum, snow-covered suburb of Leipzig, The Sportsman’s eyes are drawn towards a tag scrawled across the shabby departures board: “Lokomotive Hooligans 1966 – f*** Chemie!”
The local rivalry is alive and well in Leipzig, a city where not everyone blindly follows the Red Bull-backed franchise which took root here in 2008.
However, as the train speeds away from Leipzig, the Lokomotive graffities give way to those belonging to their bigger, more easterly neighbour. “Ultras Dynamo” appears on bridges, walls and tunnels, as well as the ubiquitous “SGD” – standing for “Sport-Gemeinschaft Dynamo” – the second-division “sports society” Dynamo Dresden.
Huge support
With 21,354 paid-up, voting members, Dynamo are the 21st biggest sports club in Germany and by far the largest football club in the former East.
In addition to a healthy average home support of 27,000, they take impressive numbers away, too. A barely believable 20,000 made the trip to 1860 Munich last season, taking over all three tiers of the Allianz Arena’s south stand.
Later in the season, a comparatively poor following of just 15,000 accompanied the team to Nuremberg.
But Dynamo’s support caused the biggest stir in Karlsruhe on the final day of last season. With the league positions already decided, over 2,000 Dynamo fans travelled the length of the country to attend a meaningless fixture – all dressed in military fatigues.
After marching through the south-western city, the self-proclaimed “Football Army Dynamo Dresden” proceeded to “declare war” on the German Football Association (DFB), setting off a huge amount of pyrotechnics. [Link]
Ahead of Sunday’s game against Bochum, the Ultras Dynamo were collecting donations to support the 28 fans who are being investigated by police in the wake of “the Karlsruhe incident.”
#kscsgd
Dynamo and the Stasi
But it wasn't always this way. Established in their current form in 1953 when Dresden was part of the former East Germany, Dynamo were a police team, backed by the feared secret police: the Stasi.
But despite their influential backers, Dynamo Dresden were never particularly favoured by the ruling socialist party. Indeed, the bulk of their team was officially “delegated” to East Berlin in 1954 when the government decided the players were too good to play for a provincial club. The new Berlin branch, BFC Dynamo, went on to win the former East German Oberliga 10 times in a row. Fancy that?
Nevertheless, Dresden enjoyed considerable success in the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the UEFA Cup semi-final in 1989 and playing high-profile games against Leeds United, Liverpool and Aberdeen.
But, like most East German clubs, they struggled to adapt to the free market economics of the Bundesliga after German re-unification in 1990 and slipped down the leagues, falling as low as the fourth tier at the turn of the millennium.
"We played in a European semi-final as recently as 1989, so the expectations are always huge here," explained one fan on the short walk from the main station to the ground, espousing the common belief that Dresden can become the first eastern German club to play in the Bundesliga since Energie Cottbus in 2008 (For many in Germany, “RasenBallsport” Leipzig don’t count). “We’re by far the biggest club in the former East.”
“Look at Freiburg, Augsburg and Mainz," he continued. “They have shown that you don’t need the big money of Hoffenheim or Red Bull to compete in the Bundesliga. Dynamo Dresden are now debt-free and we can show that there is another way.”
K-Block
Inside the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, the notorious K-Block behind the goal is a sea of black jackets punctuated by yellow scarves and the odd maroon-coloured hat. And they don’t have to wait long for a goal as Dynamo take the lead from the penalty spot after just three minutes.
Long-serving capo “Lehmi” may no longer be on the microphone at the front, having stepped down earlier this season, but, behind the flags proudly proclaiming “Ostdeutschland” (East Germany), the Ultras Dynamo still conduct the non-stop singing.
“Hey, SG Dynamo!” goes one chant, to the tune of Bruce Channel's “Hey, Baby!”, before each stand bellows a syllable each of "DY-NA-MO!" in reply.
Despite being the better team, Dynamo struggle to move the ball quick enough to put the game to bed, although debutant striker Moussa Koné does make the points secure in the final minute with a second goal.
“I had a dream and it was so wonderful!” goes the next chant, to the tune of Scooter's "The Logical Song," harking back to Dresden’s glory days: “European Cup! It was an away game in Amsterdam!"
"All the Dresden fans sang a song for you, oh Florence on the Elbe; you fight for us and we for you!"
And at the drinks stand at half-time, a small boy strokes the letter “D” emblazoned upon his scarf, which stretches down past his knees. Looking up at his Dad, he says: “D is for Dynamo!”
