It only took twelve and a half months to transform Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld into a third division team. A butterfly turns back into a caterpillar. On Monday night, this East Westphalian football nightmare came true with their second relegation in a year. After the 4-0 embarrassment in the first leg, the combative but ineffective team from Bielefeld also lost the second leg of the relegation 2-1 against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, who can now play in the second division.
‘Transformers’, lit up again and again on the alternating LED panels of the Bielefeld football stadium on Monday evening. This was a commercial for a new movie about robots that can transform into cars. Arminia is also a sort of quick-change player: sometimes first, sometimes second, sometimes third division. This club has changed leagues seven times in the last 15 years and 23 times since the Bundesliga was introduced 60 years ago.
Again and again, the football clamor of East Westphalia blares from the loudspeakers. The trick is to always start fresh in the traditionally low-paid third division. This is also the biggest challenge this time, or as Arminia managing director Christoph Wortmann puts it: “A herculean task!”
Hercules was not present at the Battle of Varus more than 2,000 years ago in the Teutoburg Forest just outside Bielefeld. Hermann, the Cherusker, was the name of the Germanic hero, also called: Arminius. Arminia, founded in 1905, has dedicated its name to him. Arminius could have had a face like maskman Fabian Klos, who only plays in a black coal mask after two serious facial injuries.
Arminias Käpt’n Klos, who abruptly denied his side character and cohesion after the 4-0 defeat in the first leg, made it 1-0 for Bielefeld four minutes into the second leg. The stadium shook. The Transformers have weathered their next transformation. But Wehen Wiesbaden proved to be too smart and good at playing football. Born in Starnberg and former 1860 and FC Bayern junior Benedict Hollerbach, 22, turned the tables by scoring two first-half goals.
This time the Bielefeld fans did not protest pyrotechnics
The result of 1:2 stood until the end. Around 600 Wiesbaden fans sang and jumped. Around 23,000 Bielefeld spectators were shocked. There were no pyrotechnic escalations like in the first leg. Bielefeld looked exhausted. “I can’t even cry anymore,” Klos finally said, depressed. “A new beginning at all levels” was written on a banner in Arminia’s fan block towards the end of the match.
The fans could have avoided this appeal, because if you relegate to the third division you still start from scratch. Speaking of savings: after 35 million euros in television revenues in the first division and 19 million euros in the second division, Arminia will collect 1.3 million euros in the third division. As a result, he will have to assemble a completely new team there.
Michael Mutzel, formerly of Hamburger SV, arrives as the new sporting director, Uwe Koschinat could stay on as coach and Klos could lead the way as captain with the new start. All this is the content of the next discussions. The contracts of almost all the players are not valid for the third division. The season starts in two months on the first weekend of August. It will be a hot summer for Arminia Bielefeld.
