Borussia Dortmund

It All Comes Down To…

March Madness – Join The Party

Out of Champions League, disappointing result in the Derby. Keeping tabs on who’s injured and who’s not. After 10 straight victories, setting new records, it’s back down to earth again.

Long time fans will recognize this roller coaster of emotions as a typical Rückrunde, but here’s the difference: The team seems to have fixed a lot of its issues this year (defense, set pieces, mentality) and the Coach is not in danger of losing his job.

With that in mind, we are still looking at three meet-ups in a row. That too is probably a record. So after the Derby, two more big weekends.

Borussia Dortmund vs Köln – March 18 at 10:30am @ LA Draught

You may remember our sad showing in Köln last October. Alexander Meyer started, along with Anthony Modeste. Brandt scored our single goal. Tigges put the game away for Köln. This time may be very different. Haller is up front, and Kobel should be back. Reus should also be back.

Köln is sitting at 12th in the table coming off a 2-0 defeat to Bochum. They are not having a good year. Will this match put us back on winning ways?

Bayern München vs Borussia Dortmund – April 1 at 9:30am @ LA Draught

I can’t say I like the Der Klassiker title added to this match, but if it generates more interest in the Bundesliga… If you remember back to the Hinrunde, we played them to a 2-2 draw with Anthony Modeste supplying a miracle header for the tie.

I won’t make any predictions this time around, but I will say that if Adeyemi, Brandt, Kobel and Reus are all healthy, we can go toe to toe with the current Bayern team.

LA Draught

3021 Lincoln Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Phone: 310-919-1221

March 2023 – Is This Finally Our Year?

Nine games in a row. A new record! Games won in league, a game won in the Pokal and a first leg match won in UCL. All good in January and February. The future looks bright!

The downside is, we had an easy schedule in February with Bochum, Hertha and Hoffenheim. March is more daunting.

Mar 03, 11:30am, Fri: Borussia Dortmund vs RasenBall (BUN22)
Mar 07, 12pm, Tue: Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund (UCL)
Mar 11, 9:30am, Sat: Sch*lke vs Borussia Dortmund (BUN23)
Mar 18, 10:30am, Sat: Borussia Dortmund vs Köln (BUN24)

When Karim Adeyemi went down for a minimum two weeks, there was a lot of gloom. He was the star against Chelsea for one shining moment. We heard “Here it comes again! Injuries!”

But really, our injury list is tiny compared to previous years and even the first half of the season. Our defense has solidified, our pressing is organized. Forward play looks pretty again, with smooth and delicious movement into the box. Since Can has come back to the midfield together with Özcan, we have a steel curtain look.

None of this is by accident. This is the team that Edin has been working for, but never had the healthy players to implement. This team has turned a corner.

In March we will have the rare opportunity to meet up three times in a row. (OK, that includes April 1 versus Bayern). March 11 is our second leg Derby against the Baby Blues. March 18 versus Köln is at a reasonable 10:30am.

The Bayern Match is still TBA, but it’s hard to believe that it won’t be the feature match of the day. Stay tuned.

2023 – Back To The Future

It’s been a disappointing first half, starting with Sebastian Haller’s diagnosis, continuing through more injuries (Reus, Dahoud, Reyna, Bynoe-Gittens). Some players have still not lived up to their promise, most notably Malen and Adeyemi.

The result is we are sitting at 6th in the table, 4 points off Frankfurt at 4th, 9 points off Bayern at 1st.

Long time fans will recognize this as not so bad. They will look back to 2015 (aka Klopp’s last season) when we fought to get to 7th; or maybe 2018 when Peter Bosz took us to the bottom of the league, and Peter Stöger brought us back to 4th.

In other competitions, we are well in the running with winnable draws. On February 8 we play VfL Bochum in the Pokal Round of 16. On February 15 we play Chelsea at home in the UCL Round of 16.

The Good New

We now head into the Rückrunde (plus a few) well rested, with injured players coming back into the mix, and a favorable schedule. Outside of the fact that Haller will probably not see action for a while, it appears that all players are back for Marbella.

Bayern is scrambling to shore up their defense with Lucas Hernández and Manuel Neuer out. Chelsea is in the middle of an historic losing streak and a massive injury crisis (Mount, Sterling, Fofana, James…).

No obvious meetup dates through January and February. Maybe we can sort something out for Chelsea on February 15. I have a feeling that will be a fun match.

2022 A New Hope

July 4th, 2022 – Liam

OK, stealing titles from Star Wars now. Mea Culpa! We can all feel the difference this season and most of us are feeling optimistic. Let’s review:

Players out: Erling Haaland, Steffen Tigges, Roman Bürki, Marvin Hitz, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Axel Witsel, Marcel Schmelzer, Reinier, Marin Pongracic.

I liked Bürki and Hitz, I was sad that Zags couldn’t get over his injuries. That’s about it. Haaland always seemed like a sideshow to me, taking the focus away from the team. Maybe that’s just me being salty. Rumors are abounding about Akanji, about Rapha, about Schulz, about Hazard. Can’t say what will happen, but (at least) Rapha has been a favorite from the beginning. Would hate to see him go.

Players in: Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Özcan, Niklas Süle, Jayden Braaf, Alexander Meyer, Sebastian Haller.

Can you feel the defense? Nico and Süle lined up in front of Kobel? Özcan in Defensive Mid? A back three with Hummels?

…and the offensive possibilities? Adeyemi will be a star no matter where he lines up. Malen will feed off that sort of creativity. Haller will be a center target like all Dortmund strikers of the past.

July 2022

July 05, 10am, Tue: Lüner SV vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
July 09, 8am, Sat: Dynamo Dresden vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
July 14, 9am, Thu: Verl vs Borussia Dortmund (PRE)
July 15, Fri: Training Camp – Bad Ragaz (PRE)
July 18, 10am, Mon: Borussia Dortmund vs Valencia (PRE)
July 22, 10am, Fri: Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal (PRE)
July 29, 11:45am, Fri: 1860 München vs Dortmund (POK1)

A great bunch of pre-season matches this year. Valencia and Villareal should give us a good idea what Terzic is thinking. Then our first trip to München for the season. Not the match we were anticipating, but a solid Pokal opener.

The Bundesliga opener will be our first chance for a meetup:

Aug 06, 9:30am, Sat: Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen (BUN1)

This season, as last season, we’ll meet at LA Draught on Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica. Let’s get a crowd out.

Der Klassiker Finally Lives Up To The Name

Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Bayern
Saturday, Nov 10, 9:30am

Red Lion Tavern
2366 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Old World (Orange County)
7561 Center Ave. #49
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

What a perfect event. First time at the Red Lion, filled the place up and then: Reus, Reus, Paco for the 3:2 beatdown!

Special thanks to GABA Southern California and to Warsteiner Beer for the promotions. We’ll do it again soon.

Christmas Party in Dortmund

We’ve gotten this note from Dortmund:

“we are pleased to be able to invite all Fanclubs to the traditional Christmas Party this year.”

on: Monday, 3 December 2018
from: 18:00 CET (admittance from 16:00 CET)
in: the stadium

I must point out that this is for two Club Members and you have to fly yourself to Dortmund, but…if anyone was planning on being in the area on Monday, Dec 3, let me know ASAP.

For those of you stuck in LA around that time, let me know if we should schedule a Christmas Party here. Sounds like fun.

Thanks all! Hope to see you soon.

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

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

…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!

Pokal Finale Los Angeles – Dortmund v. Bayern

The last event of the season held at our favorite Restaurant. This is the last time to see the team that Tuchel built in action. Join us for beer and schnitzel and Miki and Auba and Marco and Shinji and…