A turbulent year lies behind the Revier clubs. We look back at ten emotional moments.

Thousands of Schalke fans cheer last-minute madness in Mainz

It was a memorable comeback by FC Schalke 04, who were supposedly relegated after the first half of the season. One of the highlights, if not the highlight: the 3:2 away win in Mainz. Over 10,000 visiting fans colored large parts of the FSV stadium royal blue. S04 took the lead twice, but Mainz struck back twice. Everything was heading for a draw before Schalke were awarded a dubious penalty deep into stoppage time. It was already the 102nd minute when Marius Bülter stepped up, converted and caused complete ecstasy on the pitch and in the stands. With the win, Schalke even jumped to a non-relegation place – but still missed out on staying in the league in the end.

Schlotterbeck causes ecstasy at VfL Bochum in Berlin

VfL Bochum secured relegation in a dramatic end to the Bundesliga season. Defender Keven Schlotterbeck provided an emotional highlight on the penultimate matchday: Hertha BSC already smelled defeat. But in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the defender headed a corner kick into the goal to equalize. Hertha were thus relegated, while Schlotterbeck jumped over the bar and celebrated his important goal with team-mates and a five-figure number of Bochum fans. Thanks to the 1:1, VfL stayed ahead of Schalke and went into the season finale with a psychological advantage.

Preußen Münster celebrates promotion to the 3rd division

Nobody doubted that Preußen Münster would return to the 3rd division this year. There had been signs for months that Sascha Hildmann’s confident team would be promoted. And yet there was no stopping them when they defeated Fortuna Düsseldorf’s U23s in a sold-out Preußenstadion on April 22 and could no longer be mathematically displaced from the top of the Regionalliga West table. They celebrated first on the pitch, then on Mallorca. And fans were even able to relive the most emotional moments on the way back to professional soccer in the city’s cinemas thanks to a promotion documentary.

Borussia Dortmund misses out on the championship

The match point for the first championship after eleven years of Bayern dominance was handed to Borussia Dortmund on a silver platter. On the penultimate matchday, BVB had taken the lead in the table and a home win against Mainz 05 would have been enough to clinch the title. But then came the shock: an early 2-0 deficit and a missed penalty from Sebastien Haller. Borussia fought their way back and drew 2-2 in stoppage time, but Bayern scored a 2-1 winner in the parallel match against Cologne shortly before the final whistle, leaving the Signal Iduna Park in a hangover mood instead of a party atmosphere.

Rot-Weiss Essen win the Lower Rhine Cup

Criticism of the coach, separation from the sporting director, relegation battle deep into the spring – Rot-Weiss Essen experienced a turbulent last few weeks of the season. One week after the end of the 3rd division, all the noise was forgotten, at least for a day. RWE defeated Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 2:0 in the final of the Lower Rhine Cup and advanced to the DFB Cup. Deserving players such as Simon Engelmann, Felix Herzenbruch and Oguzhan Kefkir made their debuts in the final – Engelmann and Kefkir scored the two goals.

Aachen and WSV open the regional league season in front of a record crowd

During the summer break, Alemannia Aachen and Wuppertaler SV were already involved in a kind of arms race on the transfer market and went into the season as promotion favorites. As luck would have it, the traditional clubs met on the very first matchday. The fans had been eagerly awaiting the match for weeks, with over 27,000 spectators attending the game at the Tivoli on the evening of July 28. They saw hardly any match highlights, but a dramatic finish: WSV turned a deficit into a 2:1 with two goals in stoppage time and silenced large sections of the stadium.

RWE wins first league derby against Duisburg in 18 years

It was a special moment last season when Rot-Weiss Essen and MSV Duisburg faced each other in league matches for the first time in over 15 years. Both duels ended without a winner (1:1, 2:2). That was to change in the new season. On matchday 13, RWE went into the final phase with a 1-0 lead before events came thick and fast. In the final minute, the Zebras scored the acclaimed equalizer. But RWE struck back once again in stoppage time. Mustafa Kourouma headed in to make it 2:1 and give Essen their first league win against Duisburg since February 2005.

KFC Uerdingen knock MSV out of the cup

MSV Duisburg were eliminated from the Lower Rhine Cup four times in a row against lower-ranked opponents. This black streak was to continue this year. For a long time, the Zebras gritted their teeth against Oberliga side KFC Uerdingen. They even fell behind in extra time and had no answer. For Boris Schommers, this embarrassment marked the start of his tenure as MSV coach. Instead of a spirit of optimism, there was frustration and malice.

Schommers celebrates his first win as Duisburg coach

And it would be several weeks before Schommers celebrated his first success with the Zebras. At the beginning of December, the basement duel with VfB Lübeck took place, with enormous pressure on MSV. And it looked as if Duisburg would not be able to withstand it. But redemption came in stoppage time: youngster Santiago Castaneda scored the lucky punch, MSV gave a sign of life in the relegation battle and the arena experienced a positive outburst of emotion for the first time in a long time – even if there were scattered whistles from the fans after the final whistle.

Revier talents show off with the U17 national team

A few weeks after talented youngster Paris Brunner was temporarily suspended by Borussia Dortmund, the 17-year-old had a great moment. The striker celebrated the World Cup title in Indonesia with the German U17 national team – in an exposed role. Brunner scored in every game from the quarter-finals onwards and was named player of the tournament. It is probably only a matter of time before he makes his professional debut in Dortmund. When the DFB Juniors won the European Championship title in the summer, FC Schalke 04 talent Assan Ouedraogo was also in the spotlight. The youngster converted the decisive penalty in the final