Just three days after the last ball of 2022/23 was kicked in anger (almost literally, over the bar by Kvaradona) at soggy Hampden amid a tropical storm and a rain delayed fiasco, I found myself heading across the River Forth en route to an opening joust of the new season! Okay it was just a friendly match scheduled on an unseasonably early date, after all July was still 8 days off, but this was a magnificently random friendly match-up in the guise of Dunfermline Athletic v St Pauli. The away end had sold out weeks before the match, which saw the home club looking at its stadium layout to see if they could squeeze in any more from the visiting throng (just a small portion were from Germany) by creating another area for them to gather.
Dunfermline is Scotland’s newest city (population 55,000 and growing), an award given by the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee, almost a last act just months before her passing. It was perhaps a fitting accolade considering eighteen royals, including seven kings, are buried in Dunfermline Abbey, including Robert the Bruce, the one who led Scotland to victory at Bannockburn in 1314, although his heart is at Melrose Abbey. The town had once been the de-facto Scottish capital for around 500 years in the 12th century. At the neighbouring Palace in 1295 Scotland and France first signed the Auld Alliance, a venue that in 1600 also saw the last monarch born in Scotland (Princes Charles, who became King Charles I), just three years before the Union of the Crowns in 1603. It signalled a decline in the importance of Dunfermline, accentuated by a terrible fire just twenty years later that wiped out three quarters of the town, with the Abbey and Palace amongst a handful of historic buildings to survive.
Dunfermline’s most famous son was the wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie who may have departed from his birthplace at an early age (12) for America in 1849, but once he had made his fortune from railroads and steel, he never forgot his roots. He dedicated much of his wealth to the foundation of libraries, together with University funding in Scotland and the USA as well as commissioning venues in New York and Dunfermline, with the former perhaps being one of the most famous of Carnegie Hall venues in the Big Apple, but Dunfermline is rightly proud of its theatre and Andrew.
Becoming a city can have a regenerative quality. When Inverness was granted such status more than twenty years ago now, it brought added prosperity with businesses and the subsequent population increase adding to the rich canvas of city life. I am sure Dunfermline will gradually see the benefits increase over time. They are certainly well backed with Jim Leishman, who was not only a legend at the football club as player, then manager, but who is now the Provost of Fife. His endearing charisma and personality are worth its weight in gold.
The local football team Dunfermline Athletic has been around since 1885, or the Pars as they are nicknamed. This unusual name comes from one of a number of sources, firstly the parallel black and white stripes of the shirt, which seems a bit naff, or the word paralytic often being coined back in the day from the associated cricketers in regard to the football players drinking habits! Now we are getting closer to the story, but it still seems tenuous. Perhaps the most rational comes from the proximity of the nearby naval docks at Rosyth, whose Devon staff would turn up to watch Dunfermline in the ‘30’s with a banner saying Plymouth Argyle Rosyth Supporters. It potentially makes sense! Is there a friendship tie up with Plymouth to this day? One club where no love is lost though curiously isn’t with any of their Fife rivals but Falkirk. How it all started is largely lost in the mists of time, but it truly is occasionally a nasty affair these days.
Despite having been around for nearly 140 years, Dunfermline’s true halcyon days were reserved for the 1960’s, some 75 years into their existence. In that period they won the Scottish Cup twice, in 1961 (under Jock Stein), and then again in 1968, a feat they have never repeated since. The Pars were also regular participants in Europe in that period too, culminating in a Cup Winners Cup semi-final in 1968/69, where Olympiakos and WBA were beaten before being edged out 2-1 on aggregate by Slovan Bratislava. The next season, Anderlecht would be the third European visitor to Dunfermline that term, a 20th European tie in seven extraordinary campaigns during the sixties. I am sure no one trotting out that night from East End Park after another famous 3-2 success (they went out on away goals after 1-0 loss in Brussels) would have thought it would be a quarter of a century before such nights would return, but gradually the world of football was altering forever.
Amongst those other European matches, Bordeaux, Everton and Stuttgart were all beaten during various seasons, but in ‘62/63, having reached the Cup Winners Cup Quarter-Final the year before, Dunfermline astonishingly clawed back a four goal first leg deficit in Valencia in the Fairs Cup, beating the Spanish giants 6-2 at East End Park only to go out on the toss of a coin! Granted until recently they would have lost on away goals anyway, but the toss of a coin was such a hideous way to decide anything, let alone a two legged football match!
The long wait for the return of European football was over in the early noughties when the Pars reached three Cup Finals in quick succession, two Scottish Cups (‘03/04 and ‘06/07) as well as a League Cup final in between, losing all three to Celtic! The run to the last final in 2007 maybe stretched the squad too far as they were relegated from the top flight that season. It was a catalyst perhaps towards serious financial problems, seeing the club suffer going into administration at the end of 2012/13 before Pars United, a fan led group were granted full control six months later. If only Andrew Carnegie had been around then!
The ship didn’t completely steady and post pandemic a further relegation to the third tier was not where the club wanted to be. However, they bounced straight back last season as Champions, and they are doubtlessly keen for the new Championship challenge, a fact that might explain seeing the squad assembled and ready to indulge in this attractive friendly match so early in the new season.
Exactly why St Pauli were already back training, and touring in June is a mystery, but no one heading to East End Park was complaining. It is a fabulous stadium (capacity 11,480), where doubtlessly requirements to meet the previously stringent SPFL seating capacity rules (and also needing to rip up the artificial surface, whereas others get away with it now) was partly the catalyst to the financial issues, just as it had at Airdrie and Raith Rovers too, but like these two clubs, Dunfermline made a fantastic job of changing the ground. The old main stand has witnessed a lot of history, and some astonishing games, including my first ever game outside Edinburgh way back in 1974! No matter where you are sitting, the height above the action affords cracking views. Its underbelly has been buffed up over the years with hospitality and bar accommodated within its modern facilities, as well as offices, club shop and ticket outlet. Both ends of the stadium have sizable modern stands, with the terrace opposite the main stand now a seated enclosure under the old roof. If safe standing is ever allowed, this is where they would perhaps choose to rip out the seats. The proximity of a graveyard behind the ground might restrict any subsequent expansion, but that said, the current capacity is more than enough for the club.
This match might just have been a friendly, but it did allow me to tick a box of sorts finally, as The Pars are one of only three clubs from Scotland (19 in total) who have participated in European football that I missed seeing in continental action, with Morton (impossible) and Airdrie (too young) being the other absentees. Given Dunfermline entered Europe twice via losing the Scottish Cup in the noughties, before that particular door was closed, I really have no excuse. The first opportunity in 2004 saw them return from Iceland with a 2-2 draw versus FH Hafnarfjordur, and while this match was to be played in Perth because of the artificial surface, the plan was to go. Alas the weather was truly horrendous that night, and firmly believing they would be in the next round, I gave it a skip. Of course a late FH goal knocked them out 4,3 on aggregate and that was that, well until 2007 when Hacken from Sweden came to Scotland. I was on holiday and they were knocked out at the first time of asking yet again, so the opportunity sailed away. Both these modern European adventures show in comparison to the sixties efforts how football has changed, and sadly perhaps how far Scottish football has fallen behind others..
In the late eighties, early nineties, friends and I would occasionally head across to East End Park to watch random league games from the top flight, all because one player had brought an astonishing European elan to the Pars, Istvan Kozma. His face is amongst the artwork that adorns the back of the home “ultras” shed to this day. He was a breath of fresh culture in the Scottish game, with his flicks, skill and visionary passes quickly making the Hungarian a cult hero in Fife and beyond. He played 90 times in the famous black and white stripes, just scoring 8 goals, but his assists count would have been significant, as he was the engine of a fabulously entertaining Dunfermline side.
I mentioned the word cult in the previous paragraph, apt for Istvan, as well as the opposition in this random friendly, St Pauli, a club whose fans more than the club itself thrive off this status. So how did a relatively small second team from Germany’s second city Hamburg get into what they perceive as the number one club of the Left in football? I have written small morsels on the club previously, questioning its position as the doyen of Leftist Bohemia, where other clubs fans clamber to be accepted into their sphere, and fawn all over all things St Pauli once accepted. Why else would a very early summer friendly match see the away section sold out so rapidly? I have met a variety of these characters in my travels, sporting St Pauli garb like a badge of brotherhood and honour. They only ever want to watch St Pauli (totally acceptable), or clubs it sees in its own light (slightly more questionable).
In my opinion, you cannot have shops in New York and elsewhere coining in the money from merchandise and really lay claim to being the head of Bohemian culture in football. The commercialism is making a mockery of what the club re-invented itself from during the early ‘80’s when hooliganism and fascism were rife once more on the terraces of German grounds. I have read up on St Pauli in the lead up to this match in an attempt to understand all the hysteria. Doc Mabuse, a lead singer in a punk band, was in the vanguard of St Pauli chic. He first brought the skull and crossbones flag that subsequently became synonymous with the club to the stadium. For him, the area around the Millerntor ground, with its red light district infamy, squats and punk ethic was where the beating heart of the club were, but he abandoned St Pauli, preferring Altona ‘93, who carry the true banner of what St Pauli originally stood for in his opinion, where the perception is not to be pseudo radical, or doing anything just to gain attention as seems to be the mantra of modern day St Pauli .
The away end for this encounter was full of Celtic’s Green Brigade, a club who revel in the inclusion in the St Pauli fold, despite the fact many of the Hamburg clubs fans are now beginning to see that the political stances of the Glasgow clubs’ ardent fans is something that flies in the face of the original guiding principles of the club, with UEFA consistently fining Celtic, or partially closing sections of Celtic Park for discriminatory banners at European games. Ironically the friendship started when one of leaders in the St Pauli movement saw similarities in how both sets of fans celebrated victories?! Well one of them doesn’t really experience loss very often, and St Pauli would be more suited to the likes of Partick Thistle or Queens Park if it wanted a genuine Glasgow soulmate, but how about something more radical, befriending the hosts of this early season friendly? I suspect the “fan” culture of smaller Scottish clubs is insufficient in size and sound for a club that needs to feed off a global reach to find its place in football, after all, what have St Pauli ever won? Nothing of note!
Maybe Altona ’93 are the rightful owners of the origins of the spirit of St Pauli in the Hamburg area and Doc Mabuse won’t be the only one to have crossed over, but in Germany the true tie up between club and fans higher up the pyramid, where they don’t seek adoration or validity from outside its own sphere, but are highly socially conscience, is Union Berlin. Along with Livorno, Cosenza, Marseille, Besiktas and Rayo Vallecano I would put these clubs in the vanguard of true left clubs, who just go about their business quietly. Yes they attract some hangers on, but they don’t actively seek them, and you won’t find any of their merchandise in club shops outside the stadium or city of the team.
Dunfermline have German backers now, and that partly explains this friendly, but the club really pushed the boat out to encourage both sets of fans coming together, and perhaps allowing a friendship to flourish. A good number of hours before the game, fans were able to gather, mingle, quaff, slap backs, bond and exchange scarves, followed by a joint march from park to stadium. Unfortunately the weather tried its best to dampen the occasion, and how well attended this extra portion of the event was remains uncertain as we had gathered outside the stadium well ahead of kick off and yet saw no sign of any march. Indeed, the slightly unusual 7pm kick off seemed to catch out a good number in the away end, doubtlessly those travelling less distance than from Hamburg!
The match itself was a proper exhibition match. The curiosity as to whether the Scottish or German second tier was better was never in doubt, as once again the Scottish team were left chasing shadows for lengthy passages. The movement, ease on the ball, and understanding between the St Pauli players was far superior throughout. Determination was also in the Hamburg sides armoury, and it was this quality that brought the opening goal. In many a friendly no player would have muscled himself to win the ball right on the byline and keep dribbling along it until he could pick out a mate to open the scoring. An outrageous back flick that was inches away and an overhead kick that forced a save were amongst the repertoire before the break.
Almost an entire change in the German personnel at the break didn’t see them ease off, and for the first thirty minutes of the second half the game was almost exclusively played out at the far end. By the point where the Pars finally mustered the home crowd from their slumber they trailed 3-0. It had been a comprehensive men versus boys affair. The Dunfermline manager will doubtlessly suggest it was too soon in the pre-season, but that goes for both teams. The occasion summed up the gulf in technique and skill, but hats off to both teams for making a friendly such an entertaining affair, and no one can question the professionalism as St Pauli never relented and might have added a fourth late on from another spectacular overhead kick.
In the end it was a comprehensive away win but a good exercise for the Dunfermline players, and good business for the club too with over 7,500 in attendance. The announcer thanked the travelling fans from Germany, but in reality they were the significant minority amongst the “away” support, which must be an odd situation. In reality only a big top flight Bundesliga side would have brought more to the stadium than St Pauli and that is only because of their ‘reach’, but if new friends were formed, and lessons learned from the Dunfermline players, it was a useful run-out for sure.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 