Twelve months fly by like nothing - highs and lows, celebrations and disappointments, departures and new faces. The year 2012 was one of major change which was signified...
Twelve months fly by like nothing - highs and lows, celebrations and disappointments, departures and new faces. The year 2012 was one of major change which was signified...
Twelve months fly by like nothing - highs and lows, celebrations and disappointments, departures and new faces. The year 2012 was one of major change which was signified not only by personnel changes. It's not easy to keep track of everything. So WERDER.DE put together it's Year in Review with some of the most extraordinary Green-Whites moments of the year. Today the third part: The 5 most extraordinary fan actions.
Some 100 Werder fans accompanied the players to their first training camp in the new year to Belek, Turkey, and supported the players during the test matches as well as at training. Since 2011, the club has supported its supporters' training camp travel plans with a co-operation with a marketing agency. The official program included an exclusive hotel tour by then manager Klaus Allofs and an evening together with captain Clemens Fritz and assistant coach Wolfgang Rolff and Frank Baumann. In addition, nearly all the fans wishes were fulfilled ranging from personal chats to collective "team photos".
As part of the official Werder Fan Club Christmas party at Weser Stadium in December, two groups were awarded with the Werder Fan Club of the Year title. The honour was shared by the Green Hot Spots and the Grün-Weißen Trolle (Green-White Trolls). Both fan clubs were honoured for their persistent fight against discrimination and exclusion as well as their diverse activities to promote integration.
At the home kick-off of the 50th Bundesliga season against Hamburg, the Werder fans acknowledged the European Cup Winners Cup title from 1992 with a huge chorography display which stretched over the entire east curve. "20 years European cup winners" was written on the banner. The display was organised by the Wanderers Bremen group, which could not resist a poke at the club's arch rivals. After the first banner was rolled together, another banner was displayed which read: "25 years no title Hamburg".
It was almost a ghost-like atmosphere on the 14th game day in the home match against Bayer Leverkusen. In Bremen's Weser Stadium and all of the other Bundesliga stadiums, the fans refused all cheering from the opening whistle until 12 minutes and 12 seconds had passed. As part of the campaign "12:12 - Ohne Stimme keine Stimmung (Without a voice, no atmosphere)", the football fans protested the security proposals planned by the DFL which would eventually be approved two weeks later on 12 December after all professional clubs had voted. The protests lasted until the end of the first half of the season and the Werder players felt it was odd. "It was strange. I didn't think it could be so quiet in a football stadium. The atmosphere makes football what it is and of course it's an advantage if you have fans pushing you," said captain Clemens Fritz.
The most extraordinary fan action of the year without a doubt went to Stefan "Schmolle" Schmonsees, a Werder fan who lost a bet with a Schalke fan friend. Bremen did not qualify for the Champions League qualification and Schmolle had to walk to the next away match at Schalke - from his home in Cuxhaven to Gelsenkirchen, which was 265 kilometres! Among the highlights was a stop in Bremen on the third day where head coach Thomas Schaaf wished him luck and gave him an official "Werder Fan Backpack" (including gloves and band-aids for blisters). In addition to support of numerous Werder and Schalke fans along the way, another highlight was a local Schalke fan club meeting with former player Youri Mulder.
Unfortunately the trip was a bit too much as Schmolle had to take a couple days break due to a case of Periostitis, and he had to travel a bit by train as well. The 41-year-old did complete the final three stages by foot and arrived on time for the match against Schalke on 10 November - two weeks after he had left. The hike also drew plenty of media interested, which Schmonsees used for a good cause. The Werder fan, who suffers from migraine headaches, collected more than 1,000 euros on his trip which he donated to various facilities in the fight against the neurological illness.
