City in the German press

They are trying the German way
In England's third league, two German investors have bought a football club. What began as a fairy tale of order and passion is now a mess. Why?
An analysis by Kit Holden
October 15, 2018, 8:14 pm1 comment

Bradford City's German owner Edin Rahic celebrates the finals of his team in May 2017. © Reuters Staff
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Edin Rahic stood on the pitch of Fleetwood Town FC, put one hand on his heart and held the other with a clenched fist in the air. Around his neck he wore a scarf in the burgundy-golden colors of Bradford City FC. "City 'till I die!", He shouted with the cheering fans. City fan to the death, that was the message of the German chairman of Bradford.



It was in the spring of 2017 that English third-tier Bradford City had just won the play-off semi-finals, earning a run for the title at London's iconic Wembley Stadium. For Rahic and his business partner Stefan Rupp it was a little fairy tale. A year earlier they were the first German football investors to buy an English football club. In the first year they were rewarded with a Wembley finale. They lost that later, but the fans had them on their side.

"We loved it back then when Edin was on the pitch with his scarf," says one of the Bradford fan scene, who prefers to remain anonymous, about the scene from the semifinals. "But he has to understand: if he puts himself in the middle of good times, then he has to do that even in bad times."

"Dictator"
And there are definitely bad times in the stadium at the Valley Parade. The German fairy tale has become an English nightmare. With eight defeats from ten games Bradford is now third last of the third-rate League One. Coach David Hopkin, who took up his job in early September, is the fourth since the release of cult coach Stuart McCall last February. After the dismissal of Hopkins predecessor Michael Collins, whose term of office lasted only 77 days, manager Rahic apologized in an open letter to the fans. But that was too late for many. Shortly before that, an article appeared in the national daily newspaper "Daily Star", which characterized Rahic as a "dictator" who would lead the club into the abyss.



Also, many people just want to talk about the club anonymously, says a lot about the venomous atmosphere at the Valley Parade. The fans were thrilled when Rahic and Rupp took over the club in May 2016. While the Bayer Rupp provided the bulk of the money, it was for the Stuttgart Rahic to fulfill his dream. The 45-year-old, who formerly sat on the board of Stuttgarter Kickers and scout underRalf Rangnick worked for VfB Stuttgart and wanted to get his own football club for a long time. He also wanted to design this club himself, in the German way.

"It was clear to me that I wanted to be operational and take over the management," said Rahic in Franz Stepan's documentary A Matter of Heart , which also ran on German television last year. He was looking for a club that has a good fanbase, but is also close to major youth academies. "That's where this North Belt is, from Liverpool to Hull, and we found Bradford City."


A new model for the club
Bradford City is the only working-class club in West Yorkshire that is more than just a football team: it's a community where everyone knows everyone. The stadium fire in 1985, in which 56 people lost their lives, has shaped and welded together this community for many years. It was not taken for granted to simply take over the management.

"I'm not just an owner, but also a kind of sports director," said Rahic in an interview with Spox in 2017 . "It's very unusual in England because, unlike in Germany, the sports director's job is usually done by the coach, but the German model is better because the coach can only focus on football."

The coaches themselves were less convinced of the German model. Shortly after Rahic's arrival, the successful coach Phil Parkinson suddenly left the club. Club legend Stuart McCall, who was a player at the big fire in 1985 and his father was injured in the flames, was similarly skeptical about the new club leadership from Germany. The commitment of McCall as coach and successor of Parkinson was considered a real PR coup for Rahic. However, coach and chairman never had a good relationship, and as the results worsened in early 2018, this legend was gone.

The differences underestimated
Since then Rahic tries in vain to find a coach who is successful and with the for England unusual coaching role gets along. The experienced Simon Grayson is said to have rejected a contract offer at the end of last season. And then the promotion of the 32-year-old Michael Collins from the youth field backfired powerfully. Maybe Rahic thought too German here, and saw in Collins his own Julian Nagelsmann or Domenico Tedesco. But after five defeats, he had to admit his mistake.

"That may have worked out in Germany with young coaches, but it's different here," says the anonymous fan who lives just around the corner from Collins. "It's more idealistic in Germany, you're always looking for young players, and the youth work is fantastic, but we do not have that here, it's hard in League One, and you need experience above all else."

In March Rahic was the kicker to that he had underestimated the differences between Britain and Germany. Meanwhile, some fans believe that this is more than just a culture shock.

 

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And now even Red Bull?

Bradford City and its stadium is more than just a place for its followers; it is the center of a growing community. © Ed Sykes / Reuters
"Rahic's talking about a so-called German model, but the cynic in me says that's just a smoke candle," says John Dewhirst, who is the author of several books on Bradford's club history. "I think it went rather wrong because Rahic wants to know everything better and wants his personal control over everything."

After all, it's not about anti-German resentment, says Dewhirst. After all, the success of the city of Bradford and its wool industry in the 19th century was also largely due to the influence of German immigrants. Even today there is the district of Little Germany. When Bradford won the only FA cup in his history in 1911, the chairman was a certain William Pollack, who came from Baden-Württemberg like Rahic.

Important people left
At the takeover, many had even hoped that the Germans would bring a more professional way of working in the club, but Rahic's Umkrempelung the club structures rather not excited. Popular idols such as player supervisor Wendy James were suddenly gone after years of collaboration. In the summer also went James Mason, who as de facto managing director had marked the successful era under Parkinson's.

"When Mason left, it was a huge problem because both his expertise and his closeness to the fans were very valuable." says Jason McKeown, editor-in-chief of the popular online fanzine, Width Of A Post . "There are worries that the behind-the-scenes changes will not work, and that alienates many fans."

Too much in focus
Now worry about where this could lead, says McKeown. One looks worriedly at the neighbor Blackpool, whose fans no longer come to the stadium in protest against the club owners. Also Rahic's suggestion that he could imagine a collaboration with RB Leipzig and his old companion Ralf Rangnick, some are worried that Red Bull could influence the club. But most of all, there is the fear that, after several years of stability, the chaos that plagued Bradford in the 2000s has returned. "We've had a terrible time as a club, and there's a fear that such times could come back."

Hardly any fan seriously believes that the two Germans intentionally want to destroy or exploit the club. Rahic wants the best for the club and also has good ideas, says McKeown, but the owners have now lost touch with the fans. Even the documentary was a turning point, because they had seen the conflicts behind the scenes for the first time. In addition, it had irritated the fans that the two Germans were so much in the center.


If they did that only in bad times, there would probably be less headwind. After a critical article in the Daily Mail, he called for an interview with the journalist this summer to defend himself. He also gave the popular Youtube channel Bantams Banter an hour-long talk in which he paid a lot of respect to the fans. The longer the crisis lasted, the quieter the German chairman became. Also for this article he did not answer on several requests. "Since the old head of communications is gone, there's no radio, and it's not possible, someone has to tell Edin that he has to give interviews," says the fan who wants to remain anonymous. City to the death, that includes just the bad times

 

@Bronco spot on with what you said last week.

 

Any bets the anonymous source is actually Collins?

 

"The longer the crisis lasted, the quieter the German chairman became. Also for this article he did not answer on several requests."

Imagine my surprise.

 

Nothing new here unfortunately, a long wait for this article and it's not going to ruffle any feathers.

 

Unreal that they keep smashing on about "England" and "Germany" and "English" and "German", are they COMPLETE XENOPHOBES?!!!!!!!!

 

Racist comments , but it's an article in a German paper so hopefully the shit they have done at this club will make others sit up and notice.

 

I wasn't sure when the article was being published or what the content was but I heard it was Die Zeit who were involved, I've just seen you linked my name so I'll have a butchers.

 

Good old roger

 

Can't be that bright if he writes for the Daily Mail. Think @Fordy117 went to Cambridge - for an away game.

 

interesting article but it doesn't exactly tell us anything new.

 

Seems like an English journalist in Germany has been sought out and fed information to print as opposed to a German newspaper coming here looking for a story

 

How disappointing that Hopkin now feels he has to apologise for his post-match interview rant. First sign of weakness in my opinion. Should have stuck to his guns and instilled a bit of fear among that shower of a team.

 

he’s not apologising to the players, he’s apologising to the fans.. he clearly states that.

 

Same rehashed story albeit wrote in a more confrontational style.