On the field, things sometimes look different, but when it comes to attendance, these traditional clubs lead the way across Germany.
Whenever an attendance ranking is compiled in German professional soccer, the top two spots are practically guaranteed.
Borussia Dortmund boasts the country’s largest soccer stadium, the Westfalenstadion, with its 81,365 seats. And for years now, at least for home games, it has generally been sold out.
In second place is FC Bayern Munich with its Allianz Arena, whose 75,024 seats are usually also completely filled. In the current comparison of average attendance figures in German soccer, both teams also occupy first and second place with an average of 81,305 and 75,000 spectators, respectively.
In third place is the first second-division team, whose fans have had to endure quite a bit in recent years: FC Schalke 04. An average of 61,065 fans make the pilgrimage to the Veltins Arena every two weeks—though it’s usually the visitors’ section that has the last few empty seats. The Veltins Arena has a capacity of 62,271 spectators.
And things are looking up again for Schalke in terms of results: Coach Miron Muslic has the team playing intense, exciting soccer—and the fans are right behind them.
The latest proof: During the 1-2 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig at the end of the first half of the season, the Schalke Ultras displayed a banner thanking the team for their performance: “Finally, the pride of the city again—thank you!”
In fourth place is VfB Stuttgart, with an average of 59,500 fans per home game. Just behind them is Eintracht Frankfurt, with an average of 59,042 spectators. Sixth place goes to Hamburger SV, with an average of 56,887 fans.
Borussia Mönchengladbach secures seventh place with an average attendance of 51,258, followed by 1. FC Köln (an average of 50,000 fans per home game).
Ninth and tenth place then go to two second-division clubs. Hertha BSC welcomes an average of 48,451 fans to its home games. 1. FC Kaiserslautern follows in tenth place with 47,205 spectators.