This Saturday, VfL Bochum will host FC Schalke 04 in a relegation thriller. Former player Heiko Butscher has fond memories of the Bochum derby victory in 2007.
The situation in the bottom of the Bundesliga is getting worse and worse for VfL Bochum. After three defeats in a row without scoring a goal, the big clash against FC Schalke 04 is coming up next Saturday (15:30). Of all things, the small Revier derby will be a trend-setting game for both teams.
The Vonovia Ruhrstadion has been sold out for weeks. The Bochum supporters are eagerly awaiting the first home game against their city neighbours in 13 years. The blue and whites remember the legendary 2:1 derby victory against Königsblau under the direction of coach Marcel Koller on 27 April 2007 all too fondly. The goal scorers back then: Kevin Kuranyi, Zvjezdan Misimović and Theofanis Gekas.
Butscher: “We ruined the championship for the Schalke team”.
Today’s VfL Bochum U19 coach, Heiko Butscher, was on the pitch at the time and still likes to reminisce: “I played as a left-back. Gerald Asamoah was my opposite number. There was always a lot of noise, it was nasty. With the victory, we even ruined the championship for the Schalke team. And the atmosphere was incredible!”
The Knappen came to Bochum on the 31st matchday of the 2006/07 season at the top of the table. From Schalke’s point of view, a win against the eleventh-placed team in the table was a must. “Butscher had “rarely experienced such an atmosphere”. The euphoria on both sides was palpable: “There was a real buzz. Friday evening, 8:30 p.m., floodlights – and the entire stadium in blue and white. We were dressed in white, the Schalkers in blue. That was a brutal picture,” the former defensive man recounted.
The defeat in Bochum was a heavy blow for FC Schalke 04. In fact, at the end of the season, they were only three points short of finishing above the then champions VfB Stuttgart. To have given their great rivals a decisive leg up in the title race – the crowning glory for VfL. “We celebrated the victory afterwards extensively in the Bermuda3Eck,” Butscher recalled.
Schalke can draw level with a win
The starting position before the clash in the current season is quite different. With 16 points, the Gelsenkirchen team is bottom of the table, while VfL Bochum is only one place ahead with 19 points. In addition, Schalke coach Thomas Reis, a Bochum veteran, is on the sidelines.
Butscher thinks the situation could hardly be more explosive: “The situation is brutal. Still, it won’t be a final for either team. There are still enough games left. If Schalke win, they’ll be back in the mix. If VfL get the points, the 6-point gap on Schalke can be restored. That’s madness. “