5000 fans in Dortmund

Premiere: Sturm’s historic mass migration!

After the hit against Rapid, the Sturm fans can look forward to Tuesday's match in Dortmund.

(Bild: GEPA)

When Christian Ilzer's team arrives at Dortmund's soccer temple tomorrow Tuesday (9pm) in the Champions League, around 5000 Sturm fans will be there. By plane, special train, bus or car, the supporters are making the long journey to the Ruhrpott today. Never before has there been such a mass migration.

Just one more sleep. Then it's time for the real treat in the Champions League: Sturm play in Dortmund for the first time in the club's history. Against the yellow wall, in front of around 80,000 spectators. In sporting terms, a Herculean task awaits the Blacks. The big challenge ahead of the thriller against BVB for Christian Ilzer: "It won't be an easy task to find the missing freshness by Tuesday. Nevertheless, we will prepare for this game in the best possible way," said the Sturm coach after the hit against Rapid. In which his men were tired after exhausting matches in the English week. "Above all, we lacked the freshness in our heads, the explosiveness."

Contemporary witness remembers
By the time the goosebump atmosphere in Dortmund's soccer temple arrives, his professionals will be back to their best. Ilzer's double heroes experience a historic mass migration. Around 5000 fans are expected to make the trip to the Ruhr region.

Sturm have only been accompanied by similarly large crowds once before in the European Cup. And that was on November 5, 1975 during the 1:1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Szombathelyi Haladas. "I was there myself, it was a real bus caravan to Hungary, the fans stood at the border for an hour and a half, some only arrived at the stadium at half-time. It was the time of the Iron Curtain, the controls were very strict," recalls contemporary witness and Sturm encyclopaedia Herbert Troger.

"Sturm won the home game 2:0 and there was great euphoria afterwards. But I don't know whether there were actually 5,000 Sturm supporters at the second leg. It was claimed at the time anyway. But the trip back then is not comparable to Dortmund, Szombathely is only 124 kilometers away from Graz," explains Troger.

Coach Christian Ilzer has to get his players fit quickly.

(Bild: GEPA)

Dortmund is not around the corner, but more than 900 km away. A total of two planes with fans will take off from Graz, the third will be carrying Ilzer's squad, the Youth League team, coaching staff and the board.

Special train and bus
The club has also organized a special train with extra coaches. The black express leaves Graz at 10.30 p.m. today and arrives in Dortmund twelve hours later. But the hardcore Knofel don't care about the hardships, the special train is sold out. Those fans who have opted for the bus option will need even better "seat meat". Departure today at 8 pm, arrival tomorrow at 1 pm. Some Knofel are also making the journey in private cars.

I was there myself, it was a real bus caravan to Hungary, the fans stood at the border for an hour and a half, some only arrived at the stadium at half-time.

Sturm-Historiker Herbert Troger

"I've been with the club for a long time, but there have never been so many fans at a Sturm European Cup away match," emphasized Sturm's head of security Bruno Hütter ahead of the record match in black and white history.