We Did It! Thanks Everyone!

We did it! First contacted in January and hosting Borussia Dortmund in May. Thanks again to Sebastian Schneider, Carsten Cramer, Annika Gollub, Benedict, Rich Orosco, Patrick Aviles, and everyone in BVBLA. We turned out quite a crowd.

Three Years

It was the Winter of 2014 and two of us got together to watch a match. The team was headed for the Relegation Zone and Klopp would soon announce his leaving. Nobody could accuse us of being bandwagon fans.


We’ve met at Wirtshaus, The Cock ‘n’ Bull, The Scarlet Lady and Ye King’s Head; but we’ve always considered Wirtshaus to be our home.

We’ve sent our Roster to Dortmund with all of our club information for three years. We never heard back from them…until this year. This will be the year that Borussia Dortmund breaks into the USA.

Borussia Dortmund and LAFC

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

We were contacted in January by the BVB Fan Department. They were planning an event with LAFC to announce a partnership. Could we get our Club to turn out? Of course we could. So we all went downtown and got some wonderful news.

Three Days

From there we waited. We would get our own section, but when? We would get a chance to meet the players, but what would that be? Most importantly: when will the match be scheduled? At first we were expecting July, during a break in the ICC schedule. Then we were told late May, but the Pokal Finale date had to be reserved.

When the date was finally settled we had three weeks to plan, with dates and times not yet settled for flights, parties, training or ticket sales.

Meet The Flight

We had to meet the flight. We were prepared for 3pm on a Sunday. Then the flight was delayed for four hours. Could we still get out a crowd?

 

Of course we could. Banners, singing and pestering Mario for autographs.

 

Monday

Monday started at 11 with a Public Training at UCLA. Every player was there and we turned out 400 or so fans. The players were open to autographs and took the time to meet everyone.

Next was Niky’s in Santa Monica. Originally planned for 40 people, everyone got in eventually and (I think) dropped some cash on some BVB gear while watching a Q&A with Lars Ricken, Roman Weidenfeller, Marcel Schmelzer and Mario Götze.

Monday night was the Fan Party hosted by LAFC and Dortmund. At least 100 of us made it to watch Alicia play Foosball with Schmelle. They didn’t win, but it was OK. We all had a few beers and got to chat with Schmelle, Roman and Patrick Owomoyela.

The Match

Finally, the day of the Match. No events, players all surfing or wandering around in Venice. Before the match the 125 and 126 sections were full. Steven Boll had prepared the megaphone and the chanting began. At 6:51pm it was “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and at 7pm it was game time. How was the match? Best game ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen!

 

This Is It: Borussia Dortmund @ LAFC

Sing-a-long Lunch was great. Thanks to everyone who attended. Besides “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Heja BVB!” and “Olé, Jetzt Kommt der BVB,” we have nine simple chants and songs for the match. Steven Boll will be leading from section 122, so join in! The full list will be posted on Facebook tonight.

All the Events

May 20, 3:05pm – Team Arrival at LAX

PLANE DELAYED! 7PM!

Meet at Arrivals, International Terminal by 7pm. Bring flags and scarves and anything you want a signature on. Be ready for “Olé, Jetzt Kommt der BVB” when they appear.

May 21, 11am – Dortmund open training at UCLA

This will be at the North Soccer Field, just north of the John Wooden Student Center. Park in Parking 4 underground (free event, paid parking). 70 minute training scheduled. Once again, bring the kids and anything you want signed.

May 21, 3pm – Meet The Team at Niky’s

Hosted by Puma. If you’re not on the list, you can show up anyway and eat at the BVB food truck. Photos, jerseys for sale and a player Q&A. This is the only place in LA with all the latest BVB gear.

May 21, 6:30pm – BVB – LAFC Fan Party – Boomtown Brewery

Tickets not necessary. Just be there early. Only room for 200 and expecting 300. Meet some of the players and watch Liam go all Fanboy over Emma. I swear: anytime I’m anywhere near Emma, somebody has to take my picture. That is an order.

May 22, 7pm – LAFC vs Borussia Dortmund – Banc of California Stadium

We have sections 125 and 126 in the South Corner.  The visitors entrance is in the Southeast corner. Less than 20 tickets left.  Buy tickets here. We get one Megaphone (Steven) one drum (John) and 15 flags. If you’re bringing a flag, it must be on a PVC pole no longer than 5 feet and you must enter in the visitors gate.

Food Truck

The PUMA – BVB Foodtruck is touring around LA:

May 19 – 5:00pm – 9:00pm – Fontana Concert in the Park
May 21 – 11:00am – 1:30pm – Ocean & 31st – 2929 31st St., Santa Monica, CA 90405
May 21 – 2:30pm – 4:00pm – Niky’s Santa Monica
May 22 – 11:00am – 2:00pm – Tri Centre Food Trucks – 650 E Hospitality Ln, San Bernardino
May 22 – 5:00pm– 10:00pm – Banc of California Stadium
May 23 – 11:00 – 2:00 pm – Heritage Corporate Center – 10350 Heritage Park Dr, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
May 23 – 4:00 – 10:00pm – Common Space LA – 3411 W. El segundo Blvd., Hawthorne CA 90250

 

 

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

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!

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!

 

ramos-smelle

Hendrik_Bonmann

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

wolfsburg_suboticOf 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.

kagawa_12-5

 

 

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 brouderby_hat_editght me a hat from the BVB shop in Dortmund. Still haven’t gotten the glasses just right, but someday…

derby_car

 

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.

Breakfast
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.

Guinness
OK, we’re going to win this thing. Can concentrate on beer for a moment.

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.

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 🙂

Jeder im Haus!
Jeder im Haus!