Available in the FC St. Pauli club shop


Really nice to see Pirates, Punks & Politics still on sale in the FC St. Pauli club shop this week. It's in esteemed company, alongside FC St. Pauli Album written by the fabulous club historian, Christoph Nagel, who helped me considerably in the editing stages of my book. If you are in Germany, you can get hold of both books from the 1910 e.V. Museum website here.

Pirates, Punks & Politics is now in its fourth edition. Thanks to Randall at Sportsbooks Ltd. for the continued support!

Half-and-half scarves

The 1910 e.V. Museum container has had a makeover!

Here's my report from a trip to the Millerntor to watch FCSP's exit from the DFB Pokal at the hands of Hertha Berlin. 
Scourge of modern football, well, one of them...

Harvard podcast



Here's a recording of a podcast I did with Steve Ortega and Daren Graves, both professors at Simmons College, Boston. It was part of Harvard University's 'Soccer as a Global Phenomenon' conference from April 2016.

Aside from being distinguished academics, Steve and Daren were fabulous hosts and their enthusiasm for football (sorry, 'soccer') was infectious. 

I'm mostly talking about FC St. Pauli and fan culture, although, at the end of the podcast, I do declare my undying love for Lionel Messi.

Football, bloody hell!


Here's my report from FC St. Pauli's first Bundesliga win of the 2016/17 season, 2:1 against Bielefeld. It includes a tour of the Millerntor's new tunnel decor, shown above.

Refugees United!


I travelled with refugee team, FC Lampedusa St. Pauli to an Anti-Racist tournament in the east of Germany. It was an inspiring experience. Read about it here.


Lübeck: Home of Marzipan

  
Here's a report from Lübeck, the actual home of marzipan. VfB Lübeck versus FC St. Pauli in the first round of the DFB Pokal. St. Pauli managed to navigate the first round of the cup, which is unusual. Plus, there were fireworks. Lots of fireworks. Read about it here.

 

National Football Museum


Here's a nice photo from The National Football Museum. Not just Pirates, Punks & Politics, but also possibly the last remaining copy of Modern Football is Rubbish! Thanks to André Bâbord for spotting it.

Everyone Welcome: FC Lampedusa St. Pauli

Photo: Peter Boehmer

FC St. Pauli's integrity is often called into question by cynical football fans and media alike. We are accused of being a sell-out; a marketing behemoth, milking the perceived 'coolness' of the skull-and-crossbones brand; a corporate cash-cow. Sure, there's some truth in the commercialism, but don't ever believe that the club has lost its core values or its soul.

Many German supporters' groups have been supportive of the 'Refugees Welcome' movement, many clubs have run programmes encouraging refugees and migrants to attend matches or have established soccer schools for youngsters. FC St. Pauli have expanded on this good work by formally adopting FC Lampedusa – a refugee football team. 

FC Lampedusa began playing football in 2012/13, set up to support the "Lampedusa refugees" who arrived in Hamburg after fleeing war in Libya. Since then the team has welcomed all refugees, giving anyone over the age of 16 the chance to play football in a safe, friendly and fun environment (they are also pretty good, as Yorkshire St. Pauli can testify, we lost 10-1 to them in May, and FCL never really had to get out of first gear)

The lack of official 'papers' bars the players of FC Lampedusa from playing in formal league competition in Hamburg, instead the club play in a series of friendlies and tournaments raising awareness about the scale and scope of the refugee crisis. 

FC St. Pauli have extended the hand of friendship and support to FC Lampedusa, who will now benefit from practical support in booking pitches and training sessions, supply of kit, logistical support and, of course, raising awareness. 

FC Lampedusa has formally become FC Lampedusa St. Pauli –  an announcement made in front of over 16,000 fans at the recent pre-season friendly at the Millerntor against Sevilla. 

Read more about FC Lampedua St. Pauli here.

FC Lampedusa St.Pauli fc.lampedusa@gmx.de
Facebook: FCLampedusa


Twitter: @FCLampedusaHH

Here's Yorkshire St. Pauli & FC Lampedusa St. Pauli


There's some people on the stage, they think it's all over...

Post-match discussion at the 50th 'Anniversary 'Live' Screening of the 1966 World Cup Final. An interesting discussion on German/English fan culture. 

Watching the match 'live' was a fascinating experience, to some extent debunking the mythology that has grown up around the victory. Once I'd adjusted to the lack of a back-pass rule (how quickly we forget the chaos that introduced my Sunday League team back in 1992!) what was noticeable was how stretched the play was: both teams defending their 18-yard box virtually from kick-off. The result was plenty of space to pick up the ball in midfield and run with it. For my money, Alan Ball was man of the match, Geoff Hurst a virtual passenger! Moore & Jackie Charlton a formidable partnership. Off the pitch, there was a complete lack of hysteria, cliche or extended metaphor from commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme – Clive Tyldesley would've injected more hyperbole into the early rounds of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

Okay, enough of this World Cup nonsense. The real thing starts on Monday night: VfB Stuttgart v FC St. Pauli. Forza Sankt Pauli!
 

1966 And Not All That

I have a chapter in 1966 And Not All That (edited by Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football fame). It's about the flow of fan culture between England and Germany since '66. It's published by Repeater Books.

Pirates, Punks & Politics at Harvard University


I was honoured to speak about FC St. Pauli at Harvard University's "Soccer as a Global Phenomenon" conference. I've written about the experience here. I also hope the paper itself will be available to read soon.

University of Brighton: guest speaker

On Friday 4th March 2016, I had the pleasure of speaking at the University of Brighton's  School of Sport and Management (in Eastbourne!) The preceding lecture had focused on fan culture in general and I was speaking about St. Pauli's active fan scene along with differences between English and German fan culture. An interesting day that made me wish I could be a student all over again!

The many faces of St. Pauli: some reflections

 

 Latest blog: read it here

Reflections on another trip to St. Pauli, partly inspired by (and in response to) an interesting blog by oldmangroom documenting his first ever trip to the Millerntor.