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Borussia Dortmund Partners With LAFC

The Borussia Dortmund Los Angeles Fan Club wants to thank everyone involved in last nights festivities: Carsten Cramer (BVB), Annika Gollub (BVB), Rich Orosco (LAFC), Patrick Aviles (LAFC) and especially all the members of the 3252. Thanks for all the drumming and singing!

So…what was all the excitement? Borussia Dortmund has arrived in the US and are looking to make a big splash. They have worked with LAFC from the beginning; from Stadium design to team culture. With the Banc California Stadium almost finished and LAFC acquiring players (and a Manager) for the next MLS season, the time was right for the big announcement:

Borussia Dortmund will play a friendly with LAFC to open the new stadium.

Of course, there’s even more:

There will be Fan Events to meet the players
Emma and Nobby Dickel will be here
Dortmund will play two matches in the US ICC (TBA)
The BVB U19 will be in Los Angeles for a mini-Tournament

Carsten Cramer with BVBLA — Carsten, Evita, Deike, Steven, Marion, Liam, Dmytro, Julia, Joseph

…and BVBLA will be in the middle of all of it. Please sign up for the mailing list and like us on Facebook to be kept up to date as these events unfold.

When the date is announced we will be preparing a list for tickets. The LAFC fans will fill the North Wall. Fittingly, we’ve been offered the South Wall. We’ll need 2000 or so dressed in Yellow and Black, and ready to rock!

This will be fun!

Welcome To The Long Summer

Perhaps you are a “new to BVB” fan. You must be a bit confused at this point. If you are an American, you may be wondering “How is my darling Christian Pulisic going to shine in all this chaos?” If you are one of our Asian members, you may want to know if Shinji will get more or less love in the next season. Read on.

Last season we lost three great players. Ilkay was acceptable, he was mostly injured anyway. Mats was understandable. He was, in his mind, returning home. Miki? Screw him and his Manager 🙂

Speaking of Managers, we dropped a very successful Manager the day after a Pokal win. It was not a good look. One would think that Herr Watzke would have someone lined up after a stunt like that, but that was not to be. Eventually we settled on Peter Bosz, and everybody seems to be happy and looking ahead.

This Summer feels different. Zorc seems determined to buy all the young talent in Europe. Last season’s buying spree was mixed: Dembélé and Guerreiro were gems; Bartra showed great promise; Götze and Schürrle were injured; Merino, Rode and Mor never showed up. Worth it? yes!

At a time when we looked pretty set, Management has begun another buying spree. Isak came in early but never played. Dahoud and Toprak were “pre-signed” before the end of the season. Now Zagadou and Maximilian Philipp. This team looks stacked.

Some players will have to leave. Park may be out, if he likes. Subotic is back from loan and will probably be sold. Ginter looks like he needs a change of scenery. Rode could be a valuable commodity along with Bender. Mor and/or Passlack may benefit from a loan. But hey…none of those are the one you want to know about, are they?

Yes! By all indications, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is leaving. He is 27 and in his prime. He’s always indicated that he would like to play for Real Madrid one day. That does not seem likely with Benzema and Morata there, so now it seems he’ll “settle” for Paris. Bild reports (shorthand for “probably not true”) that they will get him for €70 and will double his salary.

But…it’s looking more and more like this will not happen. The more these deals are reported the more Zorc says “no offers have been made.” It would be a silly move for PSG, spending a fortune on a player they have no position for and isn’t their first choice. China seems out of the question.

Also said to be leaving is Shinji Kagawa. Don’t believe it. He’s currently in form and looking to sign a new contract. Plus, Bosz will be eager to try out his Japanese on him.

Others may go out on loan, or be sold. It happens. Believe it when you hear it from bvb.de and believe the opposite when you hear it from Bild.

So hey, enjoy the Summer and we’ll see you for the Super Cup: August 5 at Wirtshaus. Ous, Christian, Shinji, Weigel…all your favorites will be there. This is the team of the future.

BVBLA – Echte Liebe in Los Angeles

The Borussia Dortmund Los Angeles Fan Club. It started when two strangers asked on Reddit: “Where can I watch the match in LA?” Now a year later, we’re had our largest event to date, over 30 Fans at Wirtshaus for Der Klassiker 2 on March 5.

Scottish Breakfast Club – The Hardcore

We all love Wirtshaus and the owners are Founding Members of the club. Unfortunately, most Bundesliga matches happen at 6:30am or so, and Wirtshaus cannot open for us. Enter the Cock’n Bull in Santa Monica. They are all EPL fans, mostly for Liverpool, but they have helped us get together for matches that happen before sunrise. Only a handful of us get there for every match and the Scottish Breakfast with Guinness is the preferred order.

We Like the Bayern Fans…Really!

The FC Bayern München Los Angeles Official Supporters Club were here before us and they have been helpful in every way. Our largest turnout in 2015 (20) was at Tom’s Urban for the first Der Klassiker of the season. That was a crappy day, we must admit (5-1

How Lucky We Were

We were hoping to get to 50 likes on Facebook and 20 fans out for a match before the end of the season. As I write this, we are at 97 likes and looking to break all records for attendance this weekend. Are we organizational masterminds?

The real reason seems to be that Borussia Dortmund is having one of their greatest seasons in decades. Thomas Tuchel now looks brilliant. Major injuries have been avoided (knocking on wood). Rotation players are starting to show what they can do. Our Club favorite Henrikh Mkhitaryan* has emerged as one of the top players in Europe. It goes on and on.

*Götze? Reus? Dembele? Who can say.

Every Match

We’re going to try to meet up for every possible match in 2016 and 2017. Early morning Saturdays and Sundays will be at the Cock’n Bull. Select Champions League matches (11:45am Wednesdays) also at the Cock’n Bull. BVB vs. Bayern is usually at Wirtshaus.

Rückrunde Begins

First Match of the Rückrunde Tomorrow

Whether you’ve been paying attention or not, it’s time to get behind Borussia Dortmund again. The first match of the Rückrunde will be away against Borussia Mönchengladbach. We’ll be hosting a get-together tomorrow morning, 9:30am, at the Cock ‘n’ Bull in Santa Monica at 2947 Lincoln Blvd. If you can’t make it down to SM, you can watch the match on Fox Sports 2.

Gladbach is arguably the most dangerous team in the Bundesliga right now. After a slow start, they’ve been climbing the rankings and now are set at #4.

BVB News

Not a lot to report from the Winter break. Many see that as a good thing. Ilkay is not going to Manchester, Papa is not going to Liverpool, Ramos is not going to China. Miki wants to stay and Dortmund put a 70M price tag on Auba.

Jonas Hofmann was sold to Gladbach for an exorbitant fee. Adman Januzaj was taken back from loan by Man U. Passlack and Pulisic were brought up to the first team, but no idea if they will see any time on the pitch.

Birthdays

Big week for Birthdays: Ramos, Schmelle, Bonmann and…Miki!

Bonus interview with Miki in English!

Huge Turnout Leads to Best Saturday Ever!

With Gladbach destroying Bayern, the day was already started on a happy note. Most of us had been up early to watch and we were revved up for Wolfsburg. But how would the team react? Five starters out with the flu. Wolfsburg undefeated at home for 29 matches. Optimism was hard to come by.

Of course, Tuchel had it all worked out. The CB combination of Subotic and Bender were up to the task, and the usual possession game was thrown out in favor of a constant midfield press.

Still, our bad luck streak seemed to continue: from the crossbar hit on Ilkay’s free kick right up to a soft penalty call at the 90th minute. It felt like things could not go our way until a completely “against the run of play” pass from Miki to Shiji in the last minute. The curse of the away jerseys is broken!

Thanks to everyone who turned up. Our biggest turnout yet in Santa Monica. See you all next week for Frankfurt.

We Did It! Revierderby Meetup in Santa Monica Leads to Victory!

The biggest match of the season so far. The biggest Derby in the world. We all had to get up and out for a 6:30am meetup at The Cock ‘n’ Bull in Santa Monica. Best showing ever!

Group Photo — Front: Bill, Marion, Christine, Brian Back: Armen, Lukas, Joseph and a friendly Liverpool fan.

I told Marion that I was going for a Kloppo 2014 look lately. She brought me a hat from the BVB shop in Dortmund. Still haven’t gotten the glasses just right, but someday…

Marion also arrived in the winning vehicle of all time, The most beautiful BMW I have ever seen. This car outclassed anything in the parking lot.

As for the match: more excitement than was needed. Ginter to Kagawa was magic. Ginter header was unstoppable. Auba Batman Goal came at exactly the right time. This was a Derby to remember.

Breakfasts going cold after Herne-West tie it up.

Also being celebrated was Armen’s birthday from Saturday. What better celebration than a morning Guinness while Auba scores the winning Goal.

We’ll be back again in two weeks. Stay tuned. Sign up here or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Finally Defeated – Successful Season Continues

This was our best meetup yet, despite the scoreline. The Bayern LA Fan Club were hospitable and gracious. Altogether, 90 Bundesliga fans in one place. Thanks to Tom and Oscar (photos). We’ll be back in two weeks, still #2 in the Bundesliga, still top of our group in Europa League.

2015-10-04_armen-bill — Armen and Bill (before the match, obviously)

2015-10-04_ignacio — Members not seen before: Ignacio and Guillermo.

Joseph, Lukas, Ron. — Joseph with new members Lukas and Ron.

2015-10-04_toms — The whole scene. Quite impressive for Los Angeles at 8am on a Sunday.

Event: Der Klassiker – Dortmund @ Bayern – October 4

We will be gathering at 8am Sunday, Oct. 4:

Tom’s Urban Live
1011 S. Figueroa St. B 101
Los Angeles, California 90015

The first official joint gathering to include the new Borussia Dortmund Los Angeles Fan Club and the FC Bayern München Los Angeles – Official Supporters Club.

We will use the Facebook Group to arrange carpool and travel arrangements. This will be a big one!

First LA Meetup = Massive BVB Victory!

Borussia Dortmund’s dominating victory over Gladbach was, of course, a tribute to the players, fans and T. Tuchel. That being said, I’m prepared to say it was also a result of the positive energy coming from Wirtshaus on La Brea.

aug15_wirtshaus_four_30p — Bill, Armen, Steven, Brooke

As to the match: Super toll! All that defensive weakness we were hearing about didn’t turn up. Papa and Matts were completely in charge. Ilkay and Weigl took over the midfield. The Miki/Marco/Auba show look like they’re for real. Plus two goals from Miki. For those of you worried about the new Roman: can’t say, but if he’s as untested as this for the rest of the season, I’ll be very happy.

Thanks to Ben, Björn and the staff at Wirtshaus; Tom and Oscar from the Bayern LA Fan Club; and, most important because they showed up: Aleida, Maria, Armen, (Russell, great bartender), Bill, Steven, Brooke and Matthias. Finally, Oscar took the photos because his red jersey would have clashed 🙂

Event: Bundesliga Opener at Wirtshaus

We will be gathering at 9am Saturday, Aug. 15:

Wirtshaus
345 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA, 90036

This will be our first meeting. We’re hoping to collect Membership information from 10 fans to start the process of being an official Borussia Dortmund Fan Club. Come on out and support the process.