Fan Meltdown

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[@bipolarminddroppings]

The players and coaches alike were probably thinking "this dude might have something worth hearing, we did just lose 6-0"

[@imRehnzy]

This man just walked in and held a better team talk than ive ever managed in FM. Hire this man as assistant

[@boosterseat8159]

0/10 video. not enough chocolate turtles.

[@robbiestrong6398]

Not enough running either 🏃‍♂️

[@fiftylaren]

as a fan of Augsburg, im just happy that my club gets some recognition for their brilliant game

[@nonripeloki8959]

same❤💚🤍

[@siddhantmp1297]

As a local Darmstadt resident and someone who has been in the ultras area and seen the fan in previous Darmstadt games, I can clearly see his passion, as well as the passion of all the fans. The truth is that the players who played well last season in our promotion season were either sold or gone on frees without really being replaced properly. Stadium costs were way higher than expected + the city is not willing to give as much money anymore, resulting in low purchasing from the club. Most of the players are really not of the level of the first division and morale plays a big role, which obviously takes a hit after losing 6-0 and your last win being in October (against augsburg ironically)

[@imRehnzy]

Sounds like he's yelling at the wrong people then. Kind of sucks to be completely out of your depth and thrown to the sharks

[@siddhantmp1297]

@@imRehnzy irrespective of how good the players are relative to the league, the performance was downright abysmal. 5 out of the 6 goals we gave up were individual errors which could have been easily avoided.

[@imRehnzy]

Yeah i get that. But sounds like the problem roots deeper at it's core. Sometimes youre just not good enough. Just like Antony just can't justify his price tag because hes not good enough@@siddhantmp1297

[@christinaeconomidou7257]

This happened in Greece once. In 2020 when AEK Athens lost a derby vs Olympiacos 5-1 at their own ground, the fans berated them as well. Three years later, AEK is challenging for their second league title in a row.

[@xyonical3863]

McDonalds Zealandism

[@ELL107JB]

If this was in England, this fan wouldn't have that interaction with their team. They'd be with the opposition players calling them "wankers"

[@wollhandschuh8142]

Darmstadt native here, loving the publicity we are getting - also internationally and wanted to add some context about things that I felt were going unmentioned in how everything was perceived by a broader audience. First of all, everyone was aware that its going to be a very tough season and going down might be unavoidable. The manager received a contract extension till 2027 already in fall and its quite clear, his position is safe no matter what and despite the team having gone winless since October they usually received very positive feedback and encouragement by the vast majority of the fanbase. This loosing streak however is quite key - despite several good performances we have failed to get wins - especially in crucial matches and in order so stay competitive in the league wins had to come by eventually. The week prior to the Augsburg game, we received a heartbreaking result, when our 97th min game winner got taken away by VAR on what in retrospect seems to be a straightforward interpretation of a rather questionable handball rule. Given that the fall game in Augsburg was actually our last league win and our next 2 matches are in Leipzig and home against Bayern (who gave us an 8-0 trashing in munich after a 0-0 halftime score in fall, that was NOT a fun day) the discourse ahead of the game was kind of that it’s a do or die game to keep a realistic chance of escaping relegation. To then trail 5-0 by 30 mins on blatant individual errors was thus a bit disheartening for the vast majority of supporters as the team just seemed helpless against an opponent who really shouldn’t outclass us that much and at halftime for the first time in years, the team sort of booed and parts of the ultras ended active support, while other groups of fans still tried to keep support going for the team. Amongst the ultras it seems to have been agreed that it would be preferable to send out one spokesperson sending a kind of “this was shit and unworthy of our club but lets move on and stand together in the next weeks” rather than opening up the team to a broader varitey of reactions, some of which would undoubtetly have been a lot more negative. This was then communicated to security who will have preferred this big time over an uncontrolled response were certain individuals might have been keen on causing trouble and overreacting. Interviews and communication after the game uniformly suggest that it was more of an encouragement talk than sheer beratement. This however, was not exactly comprehensible from his body language. Other fan groups and stands to whom the intent had not been communicated started boing and shouting at him to shut up and fuck off rather quickly, because they felt he was too harsh on the team and they don’t deserve a supposed trashing of that length and extremity for just one (admittedly piss) poor performance. Some of the ultras didn’t like that response and then actually went to start trouble and brawls with other Darmstadt supporters, which in the aftermath of the game was strongly condemned by pretty much all sides apart from the ultras. So its interesting to see, how much love this gets world wide, while our fan base is actually quite split on it and its certainly an ambivalent topic. If you speack German I recommend the newest episode of “hoch & weit” Podcast where voices from many different stands and persepctives help to piece together a more coherent chain of events. Also like half our team is loaned in at this point so we very much live up to the sacred FM rules!

[@jamesdrummond7684]

great commentary on the matter, thank you brother!

[@krebualex3807]

Thats why the Bundesliga is amazing. The fans are a much bigger part of the club than in most other Countries. Even tho by now the second Bundesliga has the higher attendances lmao

[@mschmolzer99]

They only did on the last two matchdays where bayern and dortmund play away, overall attendance in the Bundesliga is still higher.

[@lisaruhm6681]

That was only, when 3-5 bundesliga clubs with high attendance were playing away games (bayern, dortmund, stuttgart, frankfurt and gladbach).

[@itmkoeln]

The big thing is that many of the biggest stadiums are in the 2nd and even 3rd Liga. -Olympia Stadium Berlin, Berlin (Hertha BSC). 3rd biggest stadium after the Alianz Arena in Munich (Bayern Munich) and the Signal Iduna park in Dortmund. - VELTINS Arena, Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04) 4th biggest stadium - Volksparkstadion, Hamburg (HSV) - Merkur Spiel ARENA, Düsseldorf (Fortuna Düsseldorf) All these grounds are bigger than the stadiums of all Bundesliga clubs except Frankfurt and Stuttgart alongside Dortmund and Bayern of course. In the Bundesliga we now have teams with Stadiums in the capacity not even half of these with Heidenheim & Darmstadt for example with both stadiums not even having 20,000 seats. For comparision the 2nd team from FSV Mainz 05 plays at the Bruchweg Stadion which seats 20,300 and Freiburg II play at the Schwarzwaldstadion which can seat 24,000 (First team stadion Europapark Stadion about 34,700

[@LoneWolf16000]

Something similar hapenned at the start of the Ligue 1 season when Lyon were bottom of the league and showing no signs of improvement. The head of one the ultra group took a megaphone and when players came to see them at the end of a home loss, he just read a speech he had written down basically saying that they were disrespecting the club by playing so poorly, that the fans did all they could by comming to see them play awful football and they, in return, diserspected them by by showing no sign of improvement and went on this for a few minutes and the players listenned. And if I rememeber well it received a pretty positive rresponse with a few people saying that they couldn't talk to the players like this but most agreeing that it was a good thing that the fans spoke out

[@imRehnzy]

I mean Lyon were rock bottom at the time so whatever that man said, good on him

[@seeyatsuki]

the tampa turtles vs mcdonalds snack wrap PSG

[@baileywhite5771]

Seeing Thomas Isherwood at 4:15 was wild, as a Bradford City fan that was a bit of a throwback to 2016

[@imRehnzy]

I swear he was the star player in my FM team at some point

[@reverendroar]

The fan had a meltdown to lecture and vent at Zealand about his abject failure to not being motivated to run everyday 24/7

[@ReSunDestin]

Something similar actually happened in ligue 1 earlier this season when Lyon was dead last, they just stood there in front of the stand while being berated by ultras for like 10min

[@kirdney04]

most normal fan interaction in germany haha

[@dkk9819]

Something like this happens a few times a year in Germany. No idea why this instance blew up.

[@jonasvieting8146]

I don’t know it exactly in Darmstadt, but in Germany we have guys called fan-speakers. They are out of the Fanclubs and represent the fans to the club. So often after a bad game at a bad time players are talking to the fan speaker. Most of the time it’s captain at the fence but sometimes the players are in the stand or the fan representatives are on the field.

[@frederiknurnberg7971]

Something like this happened to my team Odense Boldklub (OB) earlier this season. We were in really bad form, near the relegation places, and then we lost 3-0 in the cup to a team in the league below us. And after the game, the capo held a speech like this to players, coaches and sporting director.

[@iansmith5911]

Let’s not pretend that English fans don’t leave early when their team is doing bad let’s look back to earlier this week Arsenal versus Sheffield United 3 in the first 15 minutes and home fans were already leaving

[@Darilon12]

The Premiere League's football fan culture has been slowly killed over the years. All that is left are customers and delusional people.

[@Sikonful]

kinda crazy we had the same thing happen, with Hertha BSC this season seems to be genuinely happening in Germanys Leagues

[@kevinmack9980]

Yeah, agree, I think the most impressive thing is that the fan had a plan and knew what he wanted to say. I think most fans would dream of being able to do this but given the opportunity would be like Uhmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Like you said, it looks like he's giving a fiery half time speech.

[@adamthecailler1]

WHERE ARE THE TURTLES?!

[@maltep6586]

To be fair, a couple fans didn’t understand the situation and were angry at it. That led to some fistfights on the stands

[@azlanshaabdulkadir3304]

"that dude was like your plumber.." I was in the feel trip till this moment 😅..

[@manuelbarros4898]

A sports tribunus plebis… That’s one hell of a notion!

[@stanleyjohanson6720]

Fun fact: that match is the first Bundesliga career clean sheet of the Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen

[@gabrielima17]

as a brazilian i feel that those kind of ties to the community are pretty huge in south america too, but there is far too much violence from fans so this probably wouldn't happen

[@steelblink]

We had something similar at St.Pauli about 15 years ago, when we were in 3rd german league and kept losing and losing. Many players and the coach came to the fence and they knew this would not be a warm welcome, but they cared. They had to listen to a lot, but took it. It was a special moment.

[@yerrboi6842]

Just watching old zealand videos and finally saw someone else who has this jersey. I’m nyc born and raised and three years ago I got it at the adidas store on 5th Ave when I was 18 and now get complimented a lot for it

[@nb_nic]

I love German fan culture so much. Things like this and Union Berlin's fans bleeding for their team, there's just such a strong connection between the teams and their communities, so much so that the whole team will listen to an ultra with full respect. it's so awesome to see

[@ElkjaerTV]

This happen sometimes in Denmark too. Where if a team is doing poorly they will go down to the home stand and listen to the fans and usually one guy will speak on behalf of the fanclub. Granted the fan usually isnt on the field but everyone is quite and listens. Even happen in Champions League this year for FC Copenhagen, granted not because it was going badly but the fans wanted to personally apologize for getting an away fan ban for the last qualifying match and they wouldnt have fans behind them. My local club OB also had this happen this year, since they have not won a home game yet and the fans gave them a similar talking to.

[@boujounomono]

Man United & Chelsea NEED THIS

[@kadaltv8811]

This Video includes almost everything that makes me love German Football

[@Msyfr]

It happened in Italy, it happened with PSG too

[@Bagster321]

I really hope this fan manages his own sunday league local team.

[@MaxMustermann-zk8bb]

happened a couple of months ago at the magdeburg hertha game in the second division (6-4, hertha led 4 times but lost) and one of the leading hertha ultras came on the pitch to motivate the team and told them that for the first time in like 4-5 years we have team that is willing and capable to fight for club. there was also another, more extreme and controversial move similar to this in 2022 after hertha lost the 4th or 5th derby against union berlin in a row. the players were "asked" to take off their jerseys in front of the ostkurve (supporter section) because they "werent worthy to wear them"

[@opossumperson6590]

this same thing happened in leauge 1 with OL

[@phantomdasilva]

This is equivalent of owner or board members interacting with the players and coach due to 50+1 rule. This is why Germany is unique

[@reverendroar]

As a Brit - I find it a bit insulting that Zealand thinks this wouldn’t happen in England or the UK. The Welsh, Scottish Northern Irish and Irish top leagues are more connected with the local community then you think. They regularly participate in local events and fundraise for local causes but also if fans wanted to vent at players they would be able to do this in these leagues. As for the top division in England- 20 years ago this was normal. You would see fans go into the Dell or Highbury pitches and give players ‘a bit of their mind’. This is only less common now in English PL because of what the PL has become - a model of corporation see football as: a money making machine. However in the lower divisions like the Championship or league 1 - this is common and the national papers don’t make it a field day. Literally the other week a Stoke City fan did something similar to this and there was no news about it - that’s how common this is in England. So don’t think that other nations or leagues don’t have this sort of intimacy with their clubs because English clubs were literally made and still sustained by their local communities- no matter how much money is pumped in by unengaged billionaires. Sure - U.K. clubs aren’t like Faroe island clubs but - football clubs are the last thing the U.K. has to connect people to their communities so they’ll always be passionate and engaged with them on a grassroots level

[@sheikyebouti184]

Think the nearest I can remember something similar to this happening in England was when Phil Brown was managing Hull City and he refused to let the players leave the pitch, at half time if I'm correct, and absolutely berated them in front of the fans in attendance. My memory is a little hazy, so I hope I have the manager/team right

[@reverendroar]

@@sheikyebouti184it’s a lot more common than you think in the U.K. - the Hull City example is in the premier league which is where it’s less common

[@SgtPatatoe]

it happened years ago in Split with Hajduk (Croatia)

[@imRehnzy]

This man needs to become assistant. Any FM player knows that holding a successful team talk like this is harder than winning the Champions League

[@holpin1676]

This video dovetails perfectly with your one on the fan protests in the Bundesliga to prove why, respectfully, you are wrong. If the Bundesliga gets investment (whether foreign or not), which is designed to further the brand, bring in more money and make the teams more successful in Europe, this guy may not have been in the ground. These ultras tickets for under €20 need to be protected. The other fans in the ground are able to buy tickets every week precisely because the Bundesliga is badly marketed internationally. The guys on the field are earning a lot but not so much that they aren‘t ordinary people any more and they have that connection to the fans because they can’t just transfer to a superclub when Darmstadt get relegated. Looking in people forget there are 18 teams in the league, not just the big three or four, and this is what football should be. Also massive respect for pronouncing Darmstadt properly.

[@CedView]

Doing this after every game would destroy this. It can only have an effect when it is something very rare so that the players understand that they fucked up big time. Celebrating or thanking for the effort is also communication. Talking to them face to face is the last option to take.

[@Skinny_Popeye]

He's an Ultra, it's not that easy for players in germany to ignore them, they have a lot of power in some clubs.

[@Theria_]

Reminds me of when ac Milan players got berated earlier in the season for not performing well by the head of the ultras at the San siro. I think this is a good sign, and definitely should be safeguarded from all this investment and political schemes going on right now in football.

[@runnerman1424]

I saw someone say that this wasn't just a random fan but the head of an Ultras scene for Darmstadt so he represents a large amount of the fans.

[@Bapa_nada]

He looks like young Adam Małysz imo

[@RobaMostarRoba]

I mean fans are majority owners of clubs in Germany so they have the right to complain to the players

[@zanguini]

How dare you call Vinny Testeverde a bad quarterback

[@PunnyPanther]

Gotta keep the meme running (Also, rest up Zealand. Proud of ya.)

[@daviebananas1735]

I can’t disagree more on this. It’s happened a few times and it’s embarrassing. The “ultras” are usually the most idiotic fans, although certainly dedicated. To have a fan admonish the players on the pitch is just silly. Fans know fuck all about football and to pretend that his passion will translate to a group of players who are not full time fans of the club is ridiculous. The players just looked awkward and understandably. This makes out that the coaches and the players are clueless and the fans know better. They don’t. Pure fan service and absolutely performative. The players listened as they knew to walk away would be bad PR.

[@AndreyChichagov]

Sunderland needs this lol

[@Jon_FM]

100%

[@oikhena]

I have a feeling that a fan do talk to players or give team talks every now and then at teams in the Premier League. It just tends to be a club's member of staff, behind closed doors, and then occasionally the story gets out into the media. For example Stuart MacFarlane gave a team talk for Arsenal 2 seasons ago before a big match and he is a massive fan but also the club photographer. I am sure a Chelsea member of staff gave a team talk during Mourinho's stint but I can't remember the details.

[@Flava2Sava1]

we had this in Denmark a few months ago

[@friederf7695]

something similar happened at union berlin earlier this season in the bundesliga

[@spikyturtle54]

happened with lyon too

[@koza8018]

Love the videos unc ❤️

[@williamcarney8389]

Regardless of the reaction that dude is permanently banned

[@StandardRossoneri]

This happened with Milan a year ago as well.

[@poppyharlow4448]

Zealand was orange in the video. You went on your run, didn't you Big Z?

[@Burpingtogheter]

Similar stuff happens in Italy, usually with Milan, whose fans are often the most outspoken and loyal. But that's besides the real question which is clearly, can this happen in fm?

[@careychurchillkenarthur5478]

i'm managing this team in my next fm save

[@TheFradFitt]

@Zealandism - next one should be about Magne Hoseth, former manager of your idealic visit to KÍ Klaksvík who just got fired at his new club after 50 days, 50 DAYS, because he was too introvert!

[@flugan001]

I really think you should check out the swedish league more. Despite not being a top 20 league in europe it easily have top 5 fans. Still have the 50+1 rule. Don't have VAR because of that and it's an ongoing war between SvFF(swedens FA)/police and the fans

[@pulleyfm8585]

Athletic Club Bilbao have 8 LaLiga titles and 23 Copa's with their restrictions and ties to the community. Marseille has ultra's that can and will do this all the time, part of signing for Marseille requires understanding their ultra's or you'll be in big trouble there.

[@hahnschwegwe]

Greetings from Darmstadt 🙋‍♂

[@thehellyousay]

50+1% any owner in any other league would feel a right to scream at their team, even publicly, and no security would stop them. sure, they'd do so privately, but it would all depend on how drunk they were. this has happened before in my lifetime, almost always in the german leagues because of that 50+1% public ownership by the fans of the club. i've seen fans give teams the "what for" before, and i don't mean that disgusting display by arsenal fans, either.

[@TyrionHoA]

This happens basically everywhere on the Continent, I remember Milan losing 0-2 at home last season and one of their ultras doing this from the stand where the team came over and listened to it for several minutes. I know Z has just made this video for clicks but is there some% of people in here who don’t play FM or something who are just like learning what Darmstadt is for the first time?

[@atlantanknight7]

I know that the guy is a fan, but with (almost) all of the clubs in Germany being fan-owned, I viewed this more as an angry boss chewing out his employees

[@birni3078]

The fans and the players should work together. The Players for the fans und the fans for the players.

[@friederf7695]

unfortunately i have to destroy your faith in humanity again, because after this situation happened some of the darmstadt fans weren't happy with how this ultra behaved that gave the speech. apparently the ultras (organised fan scene) of darmstadt didn't like that and then a brawl between different fangroups started. it is currently beeing investigated by the club.

[@MrRadioMuffin]

Can you do a video on the Real Salt Lake vs LAFC match in the snow, it looked absolutely hillarous

[@aldobonaso3481]

ZEALAND, search for Milan ultra's speak to players. You will find a very similar situation...it doesn't only happen in Germany.

[@ferrousallotrope]

Zealand I really don’t wanna hear it about the bucs any more. I’m a Detroit lions fan and (minus this past year) WE have always been bad. Bucs have some super bowls and playoff wins to their name. Also the rays have been good the last few years. And the lightning won the Stanley cup in 2021. So come to think of it WHAT DO YOU MEAN TAMPA TEAMS ARE BAD???? Love your videos!

[@tolstoy8472]

Still running from your responsibilities Zealand? Or not…well…you know what I mean

[@alehlete830]

ac milan guy did that also

[@ethkatz]

thats cool but have you gone on a run today

[@houseofvenusMD]

We are winning the next four World Cup Finals. Tell your friends.

[@babylol8]

They're in a rough spot on the table, but didn't Lyon get a burst of form after their ultra berated them? Sometime all you need is a wake-up call.

[@NickyG_vz]

Did you go running Zealand?

[@SkylineAssasin]

Calm down Z they have loans.

[@andreaslindstrom877]

Sorry, but I can’t agree. Name one other workplace where this would be acceptable? Imagine getting the wrong order in McDonalds, would it be ok to stand at the cashier in that way? Never! I agree that the security did the right thing letting this go on - but sorry, this is the problem with supporter, er think we can do anything just because we pay money. Besides this, great work on the videos, keep it up!

[@HouseOfNaturAl]

50+1 rule basically ensures that fans always own the club they run. (aside from some exceptions). This is akin to a boss being angry at his employees and not that silly customer analogy.

[@lekkerkoffie8605]

As if all workplaces are the same and should be comparable to each other whahahaha

[@lazzyboyhd5862]

Could you talk about heidenheim?

[@DylanFootball8]

As an American I can still never fathom this. American athletes would probably feel disrespected or like the fans know it all. Having played American football collegiately and now having to hear the worst takes from fans every Sunday who have never even put on a helmet, I’ve always been curious what value fans can bring while scolding professional athletes and clubs who work 7 days a week training and game planning?

[@mihaipopa5139]

fans don't scold you about tactics and technique, they scold you about passion, heart and sacrifice that you are lacking, is not the bad result as much as the attitude when the result happens. They try to remind you that you started to play football as a dream when you were a kid, not just for money.

[@DylanFootball8]

@@mihaipopa5139thank you for the insight. That makes total sense. I think it comes down to culture more than anything. I could be wrong, and it will of course vary by individual team, level, and delivery, but I think that American athletes would be insulted by fans questioning their passion or work ethic. I feel like it would create more resentment than it would be motivating. Either way I love the passion and if it helps remind the players of things and helps them play better overall, then even better

[@mihaipopa5139]

@@DylanFootball8 well moments like this are usually an all in, sink or swim, it either lifts you up and galvanizes the players, or the relationship between most of the players and fans ends there and there is no way back. Also, when I was referring to passion and work ethic, is not the passion of the player for the sport/craft...is the passion for the team. :)

[@jldch26]

​@@DylanFootball8In NY one of our players (James Sands) went over and listened to one of our supporters and by the end he wasn't happy because as a lot of us feel, he felt disrespected that he said they were out there playing with no heart. NYCFC however does just go out there and play cause they have to from it feels like, and they've started off the season the same way tbh. So I can say for a fact questioning the players commitment and passion can definitely piss them off. They'll listen, but they'll give you their mind right back too if they find something disrespectful.

[@thehoyle86]

You should check out Union Berlin earlier in the season when they lost all 10 of the first 10 matches

[@depressedkung]

this is a great video but go for your run :)

[@torpeda0665]

meltdown

[@jakef6647]

Am i the only one who watches these videos to find out if he went on a run?

[@FieldMedic4077]

How has security not dragged that guy off the pitch?!

[@1gunni834]

Because they let him on there?

[@Darilon12]

Why should he be? He's a massanger of the supporters. He represents a part of the club.

[@soccercrazed13]

This is a thing of beauty. Normalizing this relationship between players and fans would be ideal but only works when both parties respect each other like in the clip.

[@rucdoc]

Run Z

[@MOR54DA7H30S]

Not rare just not usually recorded...

[@nelsoncarvalho6338]

You want embarrassing. Benfica lost 5-0 to Oporto this weekend.

[@jojoohyeah4761]

As nice as this is, let’s be real the fan yelling at the players won’t get them out of the bottom of the league lmao. I think it’s a bigger issue with Darmstadt then player effort

[@leonesushi]

Bundesliga rocks 🎉

[@betterscotch]

I do nazi any potential problems here...

[@DoctorEvilPhD]

this channel is a good idea but your videos are a bit too long. You should do it more like Eck the hockey guy

[@sambenham1945]

10-15 minute videos are not long lmao

[@DoctorEvilPhD]

@@sambenham1945 there is a reason why tiktok is big right now. People don't want to wait 15 minutes for a somewhat interesting tidbit

[@betterscotch]

Watch some, save rest for later

[@jldch26]

​@@DoctorEvilPhDthere's also a reason a lot of us don't on Tik Tok and are around too listen to videos like this. This isn't a long video. If it isn't for you, it isn't for you but that doesn't make it long.

[@FireCoonHD]

Supporter, not fan.