Revierderby
The day of the Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04 match.
"I can't stand these stupid Schalke bastards!"
Erwin Müller, who had supported Dortmund without fail every single day for 51 years, showed up at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund's home stadium, right on cue as always.
"Boooooo─! Go to hell, you Schalke idiots!"
Every time a Schalke player's name came out of the stadium announcer's mouth, he unleashed fierce boos.
"Scheiße! Schalke!"
The Dortmund fans mocked Schalke in unison.
After the away team Schalke, the home team Dortmund players were introduced.
"Weidenfeller!"
The stadium announcer, who had been rattling off Schalke names like an AI, quickly ramped up the energy with the crowd's response.
"Jinho!!!!!"
As the player introductions wrapped up and they took the field, Dortmund fans rose from their seats and began singing the anthem You'll Never Walk Alone.
"When you walk through a storm!"
And at the same moment, red flares engulfed the stands.
"Yeah, days like this call for some red flares."
Erwin Müller nodded at the blazing red flares, pulled one from his pocket, and set it off.
The German Football Association, DFB, fined flare use, but rooting out the deeply ingrained flare culture among German soccer fans was no easy task. Dortmund knew this and didn't bother stopping fans from bringing them in—they just nabbed the ones brazenly lighting up on entry.
"Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart!"
But no Dortmund fans paid the stadium announcer any mind. The announcer didn't expect them to put out their flares either. It was just proof that the club had tried to prevent accidents.
Online jokes even claimed Dortmund and Schalke had prepaid their DFB fines before kickoff. Flares were everyday life in the Bundesliga, and the fines were basically league registration fees.
"You'll never walk alone!"
Dortmund's South Wall, evoking the fires of hell, quieted its flares as the anthem ended.
"Flares out! Time to watch the game!"
It meant they'd had their fun—now let's get to the match.
Beep─!
Catching the signal, the ref let out a light sigh and blew the whistle to start the game.
Schalke's starting striker Huntelaar nudged the ball forward, and Raúl González grabbed it for a pass back.
This notoriously fierce derby made for an intense clash.
Raúl's pass went through center-back Kyrgiakos to right-back Atsuto Uchida.
Lucas Barrios, starting for the first time in a while, pressed hard up front.
Caught off-guard by Dortmund's pressure, Uchida hastily cleared the ball.
Son Jinho read Uchida's pass timing to Lucas Holtby and intercepted it a step ahead.
Son Jinho stabbed the ball straight to Lucas Barrios and Dortmund's counterattack ignited.
Thwack!
Maybe because he'd been pushed out of the starting striker spot by Robert Lewandowski lately.
"Verdammt! (Fuck!)"
Edgy about losing his place, Barrios ignored better-positioned teammates, took a wild shot himself, and squandered the golden chance.
Schalke's attack followed.
"Booooooo─! Hoooow!"
Dortmund fans sighed in relief as the shot sailed over the bar.
"Damn! That was close!"
The relief was short-lived.
Schalke attacked again.
Under Ralph Rangnick's direction, Raúl González—playing attacking midfielder—slipped a pass into space ahead of Julian Draxler.
Raúl had nearly been left in limbo when Rangnick suddenly burned out and stepped down at the season's start.
But drawing on his Real Madrid days as an attacking midfielder, he'd excelled in the role during the 11/12 season, becoming the team's linchpin.
With Huntelaar drawing Dortmund defenders' eyes up top, Draxler shook the backline from the flank, and his cutback found Raúl González.
"Block Raúl, you idiots!"
Roman Weidenfeller's scream-like shout reached the Dortmund players, but too late.
Thud. Ripple─!
Raúl calmly placed his foot on the ball and shook Dortmund's net.
As the ref signaled the goal, red flares rose from Schalke's away section. Their celebration ended, and Dortmund kicked off to restart.
Dortmund's furious push for an equalizer met Schalke's stubborn defense, and the first half ended.
Halftime followed.
On a normal day, most fans would've wandered off for snacks and drinks, but not on Revierderby day.
A few rushed to the bathrooms, but most stayed seated, singing chants.
"Phew... these Schalke punks got some game, huh?"
Fierce glares from surrounding Dortmund fans shot toward the guy.
"Hey, fatass. You a Schalke spy or what?" "Nein! What bullshit! You pig!"
The nameless man reacted like his parents had been insulted.
"Shut it! Ideological screening time. Who's the German champion?" "BVB Borussia!" "How many league titles have Schalke won?" "Schalke will never lift the Meisterschale in their lifetime." "Nice. Approved."
As Erwin Müller oversaw the fan in Dortmund gear conducting the screening, halftime ended.
The players returned to the pitch.
The ref's whistle kicked off the second half.
And soon...
Thwang─!
Son Jinho's surprise long-range shot from just outside the penalty area ripped Schalke's net.
"Jinho!!! Smash Schalke!"
"Ah... Mom, that's embarrassing, stop!"
In that moment, Erwin Müller spotted an East Asian woman clutching red flares in both hands, screaming Son Jinho's name, and an East Asian girl trying to stop her.