Report on Sonderzug to Köln available here - Enjoy!
Just 17
Dear Boller,
Over the course of this weekend alone, thousands of words have been written about you and what you mean to FC St. Pauli. Even in retirement, you’ll never have a chance to read through them all, but hopefully just knowing that so many people have felt the need to put pen to paper (or sit at a keyboard) will make you realise how much you mean to us all.
I only joined your adventure halfway through in 2007, but you scored the first goal that me and my Dad ever saw at the Millerntor (against Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal). It happened in an instant, yet I can still see it clear as day: you sliding in to score in front of the Nordkurve, wheeling away to celebrate, sliding on your knees, in front of the old Haupttibüne. That 87th minute goal crowned a perfect first visit to the Millerntor and it played its part in me returning as often as I could in the years that followed.
Of course, back on that sunny August afternoon, I was struggling to drink it all in: the fans, the atmosphere, the pitch, the players – the Millerntor was a football experience like no other, it literally blew my mind. I must admit, it wasn’t you that stood out that day for me, but your fellow midfielder Björn Brunnemann. I put it down to the fact it was his debut, he seemed to be an all-action type player, full of energy. In reality it was probably his shock of punk-rock, bleach-blonde hair that made him stand out ;) Indeed, shamefully, it took me a little while longer to realize that it was you Boller, who was the beating-heart, lungs, legs, guts, spirit and so often the brains behind FC St. Pauli in the years that followed. Of course, there have been others too, others that have represented something of St. Pauli’s passion and spirit during my time as a fan: both Florians’ Bruns and Lechner, Takyi, Naki, Eger, Ralle, Bene and Ebbers – I love them all dearly, but over my seven years following FCSP I have realized that you are the modern day embodiment of FC St. Pauli.
There’s so many matches, not even matches, seasons, where you have driven the side forward both physically and mentally. Pushing them over the line. We owe a great deal of the promotion from the Regionalliga in 2006/07 (which admittedly I only watched via the highlights DVD) and the return to the Bundesliga in 2009/10 to you. There were important goals too. We could see from your face what your goal at the Millerntor against HSV in 2010 meant to you. On a personal note, your goal at SV Freiburg that same season meant a lot to me: it was the first game I took my daughter to. As a result, it means that you scored the first goal that three generations of my family had seen watching FCSP (it also triggered the comeback and our eventual 3-1 victory down in the Black Forest on another boiling hot August afternoon).
I can’t believe that your St. Pauli adventure is coming to an end. I wish you weren’t retiring as I still think you’ve got at least another season in you at this level. The influence you have on the pitch you still command was still evident last Sunday in Köln – when you came on, a rudderless, listless and tactically all at sea ship was almost instantly steadied. Sure you couldn’t alter the result, but you instilled some stability and passion into a side that was sadly lacking in all departments. However, I can appreciate the amount you have given on the pitch has taken its toll on your body physically. But also, never underestimate the influence that you have had off the pitch. You have made a genuine connection with those of us that watch from the stands. We understand that you hold the club as close to your heart as we do. You have stood with the fans, supporting us on numerous issues. You have earned our trust and respect – not bad for a policeman, eh? ;) You share our passion and our principles, and that’s why we love you.
In so many ways this feels like the end of an era. I worry that not enough of the players coming through share your ethos, or recognise the need for the bond between player and supporter (although I’m delighted that at least Sebastian Schachten seems to have picked up the baton).
Anyhow, these are just my reflections on your contribution to FC St. Pauli’s rich history. There are many people better placed and who can explain far more eloquently than me what you mean to us all, but I just wanted you know that you will never be replaced in our hearts. Thanks for everything.
You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Nick
talkSPORT interview
For a limited time only (some may view this as fortunate!) you can listen again to my talkSPORT interview with Danny Kelly and Andy Jacobs right here
FC St. Pauli TV
Here's my interview for FC St. Pauli TV filmed before the game against Ingolstadt on 22nd April. Scary stuff!
New York Launch
Pirates, Punks and Politics is Coming To America on Friday 11th April with a launch to coincide with the screening of FCSP v Kaiserslautern at the East River Bar in Brooklyn. They'll be a short Q&A and an opportunity to buy the book during the half-time break. Can't wait!
Earlier the same day, Nick is speaking at Hofstra University's Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Football's Artistry, Identity and Politics conference.
Earlier the same day, Nick is speaking at Hofstra University's Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Football's Artistry, Identity and Politics conference.
Populism, Politics and Football Clubs, Friday 11th April, 11.15am-1pm
at East Multipurpose Room, Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, North Campus.
at East Multipurpose Room, Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, North Campus.
I would fly 800 miles...
I would fly eight hundred miles
And I would fly eight hundred more
Just to be the man who flew a thousand (okay, sixteen hundred) miles
To watch another 0-0 draw…
And I would fly eight hundred more
Just to be the man who flew a thousand (okay, sixteen hundred) miles
To watch another 0-0 draw…
Massive apologies to The Proclaimers, but
I’ve had these lines going round in my head all week.
It’s a bit of luck we don’t go to St. Pauli
for the football, eh? This was my second 0-0 on the bounce, the first being the
home game against SV Sandhausen in October – both dreadful games. Fortunately,
like the Sandhausen trip that ended up being a precursor for the Lampedusa
refugee march, the game against Ingolstadt was only one part of a busy weekend.
I was over for the Fanladen launch of Pirates, Punks and Politics and as a
result, had a pretty packed schedule. Even before I’d left Heathrow – by the
power of a St. Pauli hoodie – I’d got chatting to a Celtic/St. Pauli fan called
Scott who was also on his way to the match. In true St. Pauli fashion, on the
U-Bahn into town we discovered we were both trying to text the same person (hello,
Sönke!) about arrangements for later. After dumping my bag at the Fanladen and
a quickly consumed Astra to steady the nerves, I legged it round to the Haupttribüne to meet the guys from St.
Pauli FM. I was pretty sure I was at the right entrance, but after a bit of a
text message mix-up, I decided I wasn’t and started the search for the mythical
northern entrance to the Haupttribüne! This basically involved me doing a lap
of the stadium, realizing pretty quickly that the entrance in the north-east
corner of the ground was for away fans, sprinting round past the bunker,
through the Dom, squeezing through the crowds trying to get into the Südkurve
back to where I’d started. Eventually, I got in and found myself sitting high
up in the press box with a cracking view of the Gegengerade as it began filling
up with people. It’s a pretty inspiring sight, I’ve only ever really seen the
Gegengerade on matchdays from the Südkurve, where it looks pretty impressive,
but from directly opposite it looked incredible. Anyhow, despite being nervous
and slightly sweaty from my warm-up lap of the Millerntor, I bumbled my way
through my radio interview, which included a comedy reading-out of the St.
Pauli team, where I realized two things. First, I can’t pronounce ANYTHING
properly in German (which ironically also means I could do a decent job
commentating on FCSP for BTSport) and, second, that there’s still a fair few of
this new(ish) squad that I don’t really know. Oh, for the days of Tayki, Naki,
Sako & Co. I then got nabbed for an interview with St.Pauli TV, which was
even more nerve-racking as, unlike radio, TV highlights my slightly manic (and
born of nerves) ‘arm waving whilst being interviewed’ technique. Still, at
least, in the space of 45 minutes I’d ruled out future careers in both radio
and television. Finally, then, I was free of media duties – please don’t think
I’m sounding ungrateful, I’m not at all, it made for a really different
pre-match experience, it was just all slightly surreal.
As a result of getting onto
the Südkurve late, I found myself tucked down in the corner by the Gegengerade.
I’d wanted to try and find the guys from Catalunya who were over watching, but
it wasn’t to be. Then, after some great flag-based choreo from the USP, the
game was underway. To say I can’t remember a single incident of note from the
match itself isn’t an exaggeration. Literally nothing exciting happened. Indeed,
the highlight of the second-half was watching Ralph Gunesch warming-up in front
of us for Ingolstadt – further confirmation that I am rooted in the past, or
that I’ve just not bonded with the new St. Pauli team yet. Is it just me, or do
the current team seem a bit devoid of characters?
However, there were two
curios that came about as a result of the game, both not your typical St.
Pauli. First was the appearance of a large Union Jack flag in the middle of the
Gegengerade. It didn’t look like something brought along by chance, as I think
it had ‘FCSP’ stenciled in the middle. Seemed like a strange choice: maybe
ironic, maybe genuine? I’ve not had a chance to check various internet forums
for more information. It just seemed odd. I know the USP, quite rightly
disapprove of national flags on the Südkurve (which fits in nicely with my own
feelings about ‘no nations, no borders’) but it is not unusual to see various
national flags cropping up elsewhere: the Cuban flag, the Irish tricolor or
flags representing the Basque region, or indeed Catalunya, it’s just that I’d
never thought I’d see a Union Jack at the Millerntor. Again, maybe I’m rooted
in the past and a certain historical/political mindset. As the Union Jack
reminds me of growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s England with all its links to
the far-right. Then there’s the flag as the uncomfortable visualization of
patriotism, ‘Great’ Britain, ‘Empire’ and everything that conjures up. And of
course, Morrissey at Finsbury Park… ;) You get the picture: I’m no fan of the
Union Jack – take it down, it clashes with the sunset as Billy Bragg would say.
Second was the treatment of
the referee, Bibiana Steinhaus.
I’d seen her ref a couple of games prior to this one and she’d done a good job.
Today, however, she had an average game (in my opinion, and I’m no referee!) I
don’t think her case was helped by the bity nature of the game and the creeping
frustration of the home crowd, who (despite our shaky home form) expected a
win. As the game wore on, it seemed to become more disrupted by the referee’s
whistle and more often than not those breaks in play were given as free-kicks
to Ingolstadt. Like I said, frustration played a big part in this, both from
the St. Pauli players on the pitch making rash challenges in an increasingly
desperate attempt to break the deadlock and from the fans equally desperate for
three points. At the time, I wondered what sort of criticism Steinhaus was
getting from the stands (again, a lack of German failed to help here.) At
full-time, as Steinhaus and her team made their way to the tunnel there was a crescendo of boos and whistles. I didn’t think too much more
of it, until I got a text from someone watching back in the UK asking if the
team got booed off. Perhaps some of the jeers were directed at the team, but to
me it felt like the loudest criticism was saved for the officials. Much later
that night, in the Jolly Roger, I raised the treatment of the referee in a
discussion, and it seemed my initial suspicions were confirmed. She,
apparently, got a bit of sexist abuse from fans standing on the Gegengerade.
This very un-St. Pauli treatment of
the referee was a real shame and a reality check on how far football (even at
St. Pauli) still has to go to rid the game of sexism. It was disappointing,
although as ever with FCSP fans, it is good to see that so many people were angry
and outraged by the sexist abuse that was directed at Steinhaus.
All that aside, it
was a dull game. I decided that prior to meeting up with everyone at the
Fanladen for the book launch, I’d check into my hotel and have a bit of a nap.
An hour or so later, I was refreshed by sleep and chocolate and headed down to the Fanladen to meet up with the guys from Der Übersteiger’s ‘Millernton’ podcast to record a short interview.
Again, it’s these moments long after the final whistle that make the trip. After exchanging about a million emails during the editing process for the book, I finally got to meet Christoph Nagel. It was great to be able to thank him for all his hard work. Sönke’s help with the editing was also invaluable although he had taken it on himself to celebrate with a beer or two, which manifested itself in an uncanny ability to repeatedly knock bits of artwork of the wall of the Fanladen throughout the book Q&A session!
The book Q&A, like the ones before it in Leeds and London, turned out to be an immensely enjoyable affair. Massive thanks to everyone at the Fanladen for helping it happen, especially Stefan (on bar duty) and Kolja (selling books!) The evening kicked-off with Sönke reading from the FourFourTwo article from 2005 (not 2006 as I’d misremembered) that got me into St. Pauli in the first place. Sönke had picked up a copy on a trip to Glasgow, lent it to a friend years ago, but magically managed to get it back earlier in the day. I then did a short intro about how the book came about, then it was on to my favourite bit: the discussion. I wouldn’t really call it a Q&A, as I don’t really have any actual answers, but it was a brilliant opportunity to share thoughts and ideas on FC St. Pauli; fan culture; differences between German football and the rest of Europe; and hopes and fears for the future. The discussion was so intense that we had to stop for a ‘half-time’ break so people could go to the bar and/or the toilet! It was a real international gathering with contributions from fans from as far afield as Catalunya, Netherlands, France, Scotland and the Canada.
To be honest, after the Q&A, I was expecting to head back to the hotel, write a piece for Der Übersteiger and then get an early night but, of course, in true St. Pauli style, there was no chance of that. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the wonderful Backbord now located on Clemens-Schultz-Straße, drinking beer and talking football, politics, hedgehogs and eagles (now there’s a book title if ever I heard one!) The conversation was fun and informed. I found myself sitting round a table with the guys from the FC St. Pauli Catalunya Supporters Club, a university lecturer from Brighton, members of Republica Internationale (a Leeds based socialist football club), Dani Wurbs the CEO of Football Supporters Europe and a couple of people who had lived the infamous Hafenstraße squats in the late 1980s. We were later joined by Sönke and Christoph from the 1910 e.V. Museum project. We sat chatting until about 1.30am, then moved on for a night-cap of Mexicanas and further discussion at the Jolly Roger.
I got back to my hotel just before 3.00am. So much for the early night. Yet again, the football itself was a distant memory. The team, the club, the stadium might be the hook that brings us all together, but St. Pauli is all about people and I’m more than happy to travel 800-miles for that.
At the airport, the following morning, I bumped into Mark from the University of Brighton and spent an enjoyable hour finding out a bit more about his work on A.S. Livorno. It had been his first experience of the Millerntor. I think he’ll return.
I’m back in May for the Sonderzug to Köln. No radio or TV interview and 24-hours without sleep, I can’t wait.
Book Overview
FC SANKT
PAULI – THE FOOTBALL CLUB IN THE RED-LIGHT DISTRICT OF HAMBURG; A TRANSVESTITE
CHAIRMAN; TERRACES POPULATED BY PUNKS, PIMPS AND PROSTITUTES; A CLUB RUN BY
ANARCHISTS, UNITED UNDER THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES FLAG.
This is the myth that has been lazily
peddled, one which attracts clueless stag parties from the Reeperbahn to the
Millerntor stadium. But it's not the real
St Pauli.
In Pirates, Punks & Politics author
Nick Davidson puts the record straight, intermingling the history of FC St.
Pauli, and the district it represents, with an account of his own involvement
with the club.
Back in 2007 Davidson travelled with his
father to watch his first game at the Millerntor. What he found reinforced his faith
in football.
This book goes beyond the stereotype to
seek out the real St. Pauli – a club with a passionate, left-wing fan-base that
has made a stand against, fascism, racism, sexism and homophobia both in
football and wider society. As the author and countless others have discovered,
the Millerntor is also a place which welcomes with open arms fans seeking an
alternative to the soulless conformity of football elsewhere, encouraging them
to stay for hours after the final whistle and immerse themselves in the vibrant
fan culture. Read this book and fall in love with a different kind of football.
All
the author’s royalties from this book will be donated to the 1910.V. Museum, FC St. Pauli museum
project.
Fanladen book launch - Saturday 22 March, 18.00 hrs
Really looking forward to getting over to the Millerntor on Saturday for the Ingolstadt game and the Q&A session in the Fanladen at 18.00 hrs. See you there!
The Independent - Book of the week!
It was quite a shock, to say the least, when my publisher emailed with the news that Pirates, Punks & Politics was book of the week in The Independent newspaper. You can read the full review here
Aufstieg Podcast
During half-time in the FSV game at the Zeitgeist, I recorded this interview for the excellent Aufstieg podcast.
Aufstieg Podcast Episode 11 – Nick Davidson and lower league round up | Aufstieg – The Lower League Podcast
London launch
After an amazing weekend in Leeds, the book launch juggernaut headed to London and The Zeitgeist pub in Vauxhall for a Q&A with the good folk from St. Pauli London. I was nervous as hell, as I know many of the people that meet up regularly to watch games having been going to the Millerntor a lot longer than me! We watched the 0-1 defeat at the hands of FSV Frankfurt but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm for another great Q&A session and the opportunity to catch up with some old friends and meet some lovely new people. Thanks to everyone who came along.
Leeds launch & Yorkshire St. Pauli ANTIRA football tournament
We won the Plate!
When things have quietened down a bit, I will write a full report on the fantastic YSP ANTRIRA weekender, although the lovely people at YSP have written a superb write-up here It was a fantastic weekend of football chat and football. The book Q&A went well, we shifted lots of books and the football tournament was a pleasure to be a part of. Great to meet up again with so many people committed to the ANTIRA cause. In the meantime, here's some photos...
Book launch
Nearly sold out!
Printed & delivered!
The electronic versions are available on Kindle, iBook and Kobo. Now, the printed books have arrived! This batch is destined for Leeds, London and Hamburg for the launch events. I've already dispatched signed copies to Dublin, Hamburg (Happy Birthday Anja!) and Florida (THANK YOU, Ian Joy!)
Boxed and ready for Hamburg!
1910.v Museum
"A club like no other deserves a museum like no other..."
The museum will tell the story of the club as well as hold regular exhibitions and events to celebrate the club and the district. It is a worthy cause to support. Visit the website here
The proof is in the pudding...
The proof reading is done and it’s going
to print next week. With a bit of luck and a following wind, they’ll be copies
ready in time for the Yorkshire St. Pauli launch event in Leeds on Saturday 22
February – hopefully.
It’s a strange and scary feeling. I started
writing Pirates, Punks & Politics
in 2010, and have working on it on-and-off ever since. It’s taken far longer to
complete than any of the previous stuff I’ve written, partly because my day job
has been so completely all consuming that I’ve not been able to devote anywhere
near the time to the book that I wanted to. In one way, that’s been really
scary as writing something over a four-year period I was really worried it
would appear disjointed and inconsistent when I read it back. Fortunately, it’s
not too bad and just about flows. One benefit of the delay was that it allowed
me to get a much deeper understanding of the St. Pauli fan scene than if I’d
crashed it out in 18-months. Over the last couple of years I’ve met some
fantastic people connected to FCSP and it is during that time that I feel that
rather than just writing about it voyeuristically, I’ve become a part of the community that surrounds our club.
Sometimes things work out for a reason: I
pretty much took six-months off even thinking about the book at the start of
2013 and that experience gave me a bit of perspective (although people close to
me still had to listen to me warble on about the book, offer feedback on cover
designs and generally get a bit bored with it all – sorry!) but – crucially –
it made the timing of a link up with the 1910 e.V. Museum project possible. In
hindsight, without their help – especially that of Sönke Goldbeck and Christoph
Nagel – in both editing and promoting the book wouldn’t be half as good (or
accurate!) So, there’s a decent silver lining to the slight delay.
It’s strange and scary now though because,
although the hard work is done, this is the bit where I have to let go and this
is the bit where the doubts creep in.
The writing is definitely the fun part. The fear starts with other
people reading it. I wrote the book pretty much in its entirety before showing
it to my publisher (I’ve never been very good at the sample chapters approach).
I was lucky he liked it, but it is still a terrifying process. One thing he did
change was to switch the ‘match’ chapters into the present tense. I must admit,
I wasn’t sure about it at first, but can now see how it helps differentiate
these sections from the ‘history’ chapters.
Publishers and proof-readers are one thing;
the book actually being published is another. It terrifies me, not because I
don’t like what I’ve written – for me the book, especially the personal ‘match’
chapters, comes from the heart – it is more that I can’t help worrying that it
is not the book that everyone imagines. The history side of things is fairly
straight forward, but the personal bits about my trips to watch the club, are
just that, personal to me. I’m not a
massive drinker or someone that stays out partying until the early hours, and I
worry that my accounts won’t reflect what other people get from the St. Pauli
experience. But then again, I’ve not written the book to be a guide for those
people attracted by the usual clichés of beer, punks, prostitutes and evenings
spent drinking on the Reeperbahn. The flip-side of this is what those people
who have been going over to watch St. Pauli for years (decades in some cases)
will think. I’m still a relative newbie in terms of supporting FCSP and I know
of lots of UK based fans who have been actively supporting the club for much
longer than me. Their experiences and their story would be much more
interesting than mine; their golden-age of supporting the club at odds with
mine. They were lucky enough to be there during the late 1980s and start of the
‘90s to witness the birth of the alternative fan scene at the Millerntor. I
just read about it.
The other thing that’s playing on my mind
is the media coverage and reviews. Being something of a worrier and a
pessimist, I spend a lot of time in the run up to publication trying to second
guess what the critics are going to pick on.
I guess it links back to the general point about it not being the book
that people expect about St. Pauli. People also love to spot a mistake (of
which there are bound to be plenty) and I’m already second-guessing that
reviewers won’t like the mix of history and match reports. Or it’ll be too
short. Or too long. Or in the wrong typeface ;) Like I said, I’m a pessimist.
In my head I can see the review in When
Saturday Comes and it doesn’t make good reading.
Still, it’s a book written from the heart.
Following FC St. Pauli has restored my faith in football. Through following the
club I feel a part of something special; a real community, one that shares my
beliefs and hopes for both football and society. The positives of this outweigh
any criticism or negativity. The sheer number of incredible people I’ve met
through supporting the club is incredible, as are some of the experiences I’ve
shared. When I first visited the Millerntor, back in August 2007 with my Dad, I
was an outsider looking in, I loved what I saw but I wasn’t part of it – not then. Now, one of my favourite
things about trips to the Millerntor is that I always randomly bump into people
I’ve met on previous visits either in the Fanladen on the Südkurve or in the
Jolly Roger. I feel like I belong now. I’ve met some amazing people who I am
proud to call my friends and in many ways St. Pauli – the club and the district – feels like home.
I’m also extremely grateful for the support
and encouragement I’ve received from various sources, from people who’s opinion
I really respect and value. To have Christoph Nagel, co-author of FC St. Pauli. Das Buch, give up so much
of his time to proof read the book was truly incredible. The support of Stefan
at the Fanladen has also been fantastic – without the Fanladen and their
willingness to help us ‘international’ fans, I would never have been able to
fall in love with this wonderful club of ours. Then there’s the various UK
supporters’ groups. Scott Stubbs and the rest of the gang at Yorkshire St.
Pauli have been a bloody inspiration. As a fanclub they work tirelessly
promoting the club and what it represents to an English speaking audience. I
don’t know how they maintain their twitter feed alone… The fact that they are
busy organizing trips (can’t wait for the Sonderzug!), writing fanzines,
organizing subsidized football games for refugees and supporting Leeds based
charity PAFRAS is incredible. They have also gone out of their way to help
support the launch of the book by hosting their first Antira football
tournament and finding a slot for me to do a book Q&A as a part of it.
Their energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Plus, I like the way they seemed to
have accommodated me and my best mate Shaun as honorary Yorkshire folk, despite
our distinctly ‘southern’ status. Thanks guys.
Also, I do need to say a big thank you to
Randall Northam the founder of Sportsbooks Ltd. I’m now on my third book with
him, I’m sure this entitles him to some kind of award. He has continued to be
both supportive and patient with me throughout the whole process.
Anyhow, I need to try and overcome the fear
that usually engulfs me at this stage and try and enjoy the whole experience. I
feel very lucky to have been able to write about the club that I love. I’ll
never forget how I felt on that August afternoon back in 2007, when we made our
way onto the Gegengerade terrace for the first time. But most of all, I’m glad
that that feeling wasn’t a one off; that I still feel it now when I return to
the Millerntor (and despite relocating to the Südkurve!) What’s even better now
is that, every time I visit, I’m amongst friends.
Forza
Sankt Pauli.
Credit where it's due...
I knew I’d forget something. Just realised I haven’t included any photo credits in the final version of the book. If we get to print a second edition, this will be rectified. In the meantime:
The front cover photograph is from the old Gegengerade’s final game on 6 May 2012 against Paderborn. If you look closely you can see people carrying seats out of the ground (some people paid for them, others didn’t!) I took this picture from the Südkurve. The silhouette on the front cover is supposed to be St. Pauli goalkeeper/fan, Bene Pliquett taking the microphone and leading the singing. The inspiration came from a photograph from a favourite FCSP photo website of mine (www.miles-photo.net). However, the website is no longer online and I’ve not been successful in contacting the owner. I would like to acknowledge the inspiration for the image (and, if necessary, pay any royalties for my adaptation of the image). The image on the back cover was taken by Scott Stubbs of Yorkshire St. Pauli on a tour of the new Gegengerade that I missed because my plane was delayed! Thanks to everyone for their contributions.
Scott's pic
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