Alemannia Aachen not only celebrated promotion against 1. FC Bocholt, but also set a new regional league record.

A whopping 31,034 spectators found their way to the Aachen Tivoli on Saturday afternoon, April 27. What they saw pleased most of them: yes, a 2-1 defeat for Alemannia Aachen against 1. FC Bocholt, but what happened afterwards will be remembered by most for a long time to come.

The Aachen fans flooded the pitch and celebrated their return to the third division eleven years after their last relegation. And incidentally, Aachen and Bocholt also set a new attendance record. This is because 31,034 fans represent the largest crowd in the Regionalliga.

A record from 2015 was broken – also with Aachen’s participation. On February 7, 30,313 fans watched the match against Rot-Weiss Essen.

In the end, it was not enough for either team to be promoted. Aachen finished second in the final standings, Essen fifth. RWE is now playing in the 3rd division – Aachen will follow suit next season

Aachen coach Heiner Backhaus was once again delighted with the unconditional support of the spectators. “We always have finals now and we always owe it to the people who make this such a festive day that we give everything. That is the absolute DNA of the club. We can go into the game with a broad chest and know that we have the best fans ever behind us, who will forgive anything and are brutally behind us. We want to play with this energy. The first spark has to come from the team for the atmosphere and energy. A madhouse always needs a pace that goes with it. And the players have to exemplify that.”

That worked well in the end, even if it wasn’t enough to win against Bocholt. “I think if we hadn’t been drinking from 9 p.m. yesterday, we would have won the game,” Backhaus speculated at the post-match press conference. There were probably a few more beers opened on Saturday evening too