Fans not essential as money flows in Ruhr valley derby

NO ONE ever became wiser challenging the assertions of Jock Stein. But his observation that football is nothing without fans was put under worldwide scrutiny yesterday. It can now be questioned. Football without fans is quite something.

The Bundesliga returned with a set of fixtures that had the Revierderby standing out like a teenage plook. Borussia Dortmund v Schalke is a proper derby on the Ruhr between two teams and sets of supporters that have a history as acrimonious and longstanding as that famous fixture between the Romans and the Gauls.

It was played in front of 300 people on a bright afternoon. There has been a longer queue for the toilet in the ost tribune of the Westfalenstadion when this observer has hirpled his way from his seat. However, 300 supporters at Central Park Cowdenbeath would be described as a seething cauldron of humanity. It is a matter of perspective, one supposes.

There will be the purist who believes the absence of fans makes the whole purpose invalid. There will be the obsessive — and the club executives — who exult in the return of elite football in any form.

There were, of course, two plotlines that echoed around a stadium that normally shakes and shudders under the sound and fury of 80,000 fans, the most vocal of them being in the now famous Wall.

The first concerns the universal dimension, the second the narrative of a title race. Definitive statements were delivered on both. The world watched yesterday afternoon as the first steps were taken to a return to elite football. The tests were passed.

Yes, the absence of the crowd was obvious and poignantly dispiriting.

But the big five leagues rely on broadcasting income, rather than money at the gate. The speed to resume football in Germany was prompted by the national recovery from coronavirus but was given an element of haste by the need to avoid rebates to the broadcasters.

The management of the game was precise, set out in a protocol document so bulky it resembled a Rangers dossier. The subs maintained the wearing of masks as if they were auditioning for roles alongside Jesse James, the balls were returned quickly, and the goals were greeted with smiles and the sort of social distancing that would win applause from any chief medical officer.

The most stark effect was the absence of crowd noise. The shouts from the bench could be heard clearly and the smack of the ball served to emphasise how sharply modern football is played. There will be those who protest that this lack of atmosphere robs the game of everything.

They would find strong debate among Bundesliga accountants and the millions at home around the world who appreciated not just a football match, any football match, but one that bristled with intrigue, excitement and genuine quality.

The second issue is purely domestic. The German title race has been quickened, at least for the moment. Dortmund’s facile but entertaining 4-0 victory takes them to with a point of Bayern Munich, who play Union Berlin today.

It also showcased the potential of those who played and the resilience of Dortmund to cope with the absences in black and yellow. Axel Witsel, Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, Emre Can and Dan-Axel Zagadou all were missing from Lucien Favre’s starting line-up. Gio Reyna was picked but did not make the kick-off. At 17, one suspected at first that his mum had sent a late sick note or that he had left his gym kit at home. The truth was more prosaic: he injured himself in the warm-up.

Sympathy for Dortmund for these omissions should be limited, with Julian Brandt (£25million from Bayer Leverkusen) and Thorgan Hazard (£25m from Moenchengladbach) supported Erling Haaland (who knows how much from Salzburg, given payments to dad and agent?) from the beginning and Sancho (£120m-plus, anybody?) coming on near the end. Dortmund could even introduce Mario Goetze, scorer of the winning goal in a World Cup final, as the game eased to a comfortable close.

The goals were things of exquisite beauty exhibited in a largely empty gallery. Two emphatic finishes from Raphael Guerreiro bracketed a thumping goal from Hazard after a slick breakaway. But the goal that will attract that most interest is Haaland’s opener with an assured touch from a driven Hazard cross. The 19-year-old Norwegian needs more publicity the way Michael Jordan needs hair conditioner yet he confirmed yesterday that the post-covid financial depression won’t extend to reining in the vast bids certain to lie in his future.

This was a geisterspiel, a ghost game. It had its oddities. It ended in ironic style when the Dortmund players performed their traditional post-match celebration, minus holding hands, in front of a blank Wall. It undeniably showed that fans are missed. It did not prove they are essential, particularly when broadcasting cash is retained.

There were ghosts in the Westfalen yesterday. But they will not haunt those determined to bring football — and its revenue — back in Britain.