When SpVgg Greuther Fürth were felled by 1860 Munich in Week 32 of the 2.Bundesliga, one could feel the waves of change crashing over. They had held second-place, which is an automatic ticket to the Bundesliga, for sixteen consecutive weeks, and many were expecting them to hold on until the end of the season. However, with this loss, the upstarts of SC Paderborn grasped their opportunity with both hands, and were not to let go. Many had expected this small club to falter and lose their way after an impressive Hinrunde, but things just continued to improve throughout the second half of the season, ending up in a first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga that nobody could really see coming.
SC Paderborn never really grew much of an identity among the footballing fraternity thanks to numerous name changes since the inception of the club in 1907. The latest change, in 1985, emerged from the merging of FC Paderborn and TuS Schloß Neuhaus, and there the club we currently know as SC Paderborn really came to life. Unfortunately, most ardent German football fans only knows the club for what happened in 2004, when the club faced Hamburger SV in the DFB-Pokal, upsetting their much more illustrious opponents with a 4-2 win. However, what could have been the greatest result in the history of the club soon became a national scandal, as it emerged that referee Robert Hoyzer had taken money from Croatian gambling syndicates in order to influence the result of the game. This was to become the biggest scandal in German football over the past three decades, and cause considerable embarrassment to the DFB and, in essence, the entire footballing community in Germany.
The club had also become something of a running joke among rival fans, thanks to strict regulations imposed by the City Council after numerous complaints were received regarding noise levels emanating from the Benteler Arena. This resulted in a 10pm curfew, which in turn dictated that home games could not start later than 7pm in order not to break any local rules. Add to that the fact that no Friday night matches are permitted due to these regulations, then one can clearly think how this could affect the image of the club in the eyes of rival clubs and the neutral observer, for it makes one think more of an old-age home than a football ground heading into the top tier of German football. But, regardless of banter and constant needling, there is a certain quaintness about the entire situation and one can clearly see how so many football fans have become enchanted with this unique club.
Performances on the pitch is what matters most, however, and that is precisely where they delivered. SC Paderborn started this season with a budget of only €6 million, yet they held their own against, and beat, much larger and more historic clubs like 1.FC Kaiserslautern and 1860 Munich, among others. An attractive style of football has produced club-record hauls of 63 goals and 62 points in this campaign, which included a historic hammering of Fortuna Düsseldorf by 6-1 away from home, nonetheless. What makes this win even more amazing is the fact that it lifted SC Paderborn into the top-half of the 2.Bundesliga table for the very first time, which served as a catalyst to even bigger and better things. Eight current players have prior Bundesliga experience, which only adds up to 112 top-flight appearances between them. To put this into perspective, manager Andre Breitenreiter has amassed 144 appearances. This just serves to illustrate how inexperienced not only the club is at this level, but the players as well.
Speaking of Andre Breitenreiter, the manager has achieved incredible things in his short time at the club, and deserves huge praise for this historic season. He has instilled work ethic, desire to constantly improve and a good brand of football into his players, and this has been invaluable throughout the season, and could stand them in good stead when the new season gets underway. The man that made it all happen on the pitch, of course, was striker Mahir Saglic, whose 15 goals were worth their weight in gold. However, he didn't have to carry the burden of scoring all on his own, with set-piece specialist Alban Meha contributing only three goals less, while striking fear into any team that dares to commit a foul within distance of the goal. Elias Kachunga and Mario Vrancic both contributed 10 assists to the cause, while Uwe Hünemeyer won an incredible 67% of all his challenges. These stats obviously do not tell the whole story, but it just serves as an indicator of how well SC Paderborn have done to achieve what they had.
With the Benteler Arena being readied to host Bundesliga football, it is worth noting that the 15,000 capacity will make this stadium by far the smallest in the German top flight. However, one can be sure that what is lacking in capacity will be made up for by spirit and excitement to finally taste the sweet victory of having reached the pinnacle of football in Germany. Who knows, maybe the club will manage to stay up and be granted permission to expand their beloved home to a 23,000 capacity?
However, where SC Paderborn definitely set the standard in the Bundesliga is the amount of bicycle parking spaces available. 1900, yes, count them, 1900 bicycle parking spaces are provided for at the Benteler Arena, which blows all other clubs away by a considerable margin. Westfalenstadion, Allianz-Arena and Veltins-Arena, eat your hearts out!
If you want to take a trip to North Rhine-Westphalia next season, why look further than SC Paderborn? True, tickets will be as rare as hens' teeth, but the atmosphere would be incredible, up until curfew, of course. The football will be superb, and you will be thoroughly entertained, no doubt. One gets the feeling that this team has a few more aces up their sleeve, and they will give it a real go.
Happy cycling!
