Promotion herds bring back pride

When the promotion heroes in front of 10,000 enthusiastic fans entered the stage on the abbey place, Jean Zimmer hid behind sunglasses. "There are very, many small eyes," said the captain of 1. FC Kaiserslautern after the party marathon on the second division return in the SWR, "because the night was not available."

• "What's going on here is awesome"
• "Today and tomorrow is first blown up head"

The players had already "flying the cow" on the bus, and the fans set fire to spectacular fireworks during the train ride towards home. After years of sadness and great financial shortage, proud has returned to the traditional club from the Palatinate.

"The club went through a lot of shit," said midfielder Hikmet Ciftci after the 2-0 (0: 0) in the relegation secondary at Dynamo Dresden: "That should be a gift for the club, for the fans." In the fourth attempt, you are "finally out of the 3rd division", as captain Jean Zimmer reed.

"What's going on here is awesome"

After three defeats for the league final, very few had expected it. But the new coach Dirk Schuster breathed new life in the red devils. He had appealed to his depressed players "that the relegation is not a punishment, but a chance," said the coach, who had already led Darmstadt 98 from the third class in the Bundesliga in his most successful time.

Out of respect for the opponent and probably also out of worry about an escalation of the already heated atmosphere in the Dresden arena, he had encouraged his players to "celebrate a little more reserved in the stadium," revealed Schuster, "and only let the cow fly on the bus". The professionals did that too, and on Wednesday the party marathon in Kaiserslautern continued. "What's going on here is awesome," said Zimmer.

"Today and tomorrow is first blown up head"

The exuberant atmosphere during the public viewing in the Fritz-Walter Stadium with 7500 fans also showed how euphoricized the four-time master's environment is. No question: The club "Lechzt" after success, as Schuster found in office after two weeks. Manager Thomas Hengen, who had a high risk with the late change of coach from Marco Antwerpen to Schuster, did not want to reveal anything to plan personnel for the second division season: "Today and tomorrow is the order of the day."

Since the completion of the bankruptcy proceedings in December 2020, the FCK has officially been debt-free, the financial plus in the double-digit million range due to the ascent will help again enormously. Thanks to the much higher media money, the deficit business in the 3rd league ends, the value of the club is likely to increase massively. Due to the entry of several investors, he might even penetrate new spheres.

With its radiance and the Betzenberg myth, the FCK is also an enrichment for the second division. Now the club only has to learn peace and continuity. "The 15 months I am at the FCK," said Hengen, "feel like 15 years."