"All-rounder" Micky accompanies Arminia everywhere

His most formative Arminia moment was more than 40 years ago. Nevertheless, Michael Schaal still remembers it well. "It was the foul on Ewald Lienen in 1981. I was there live in the Weser Stadium in Bremen," says the 55-year-old. The attack by Norbert Siegmann, which went down in the history of the Bundesliga as the foul par excellence, also shocked the boy from Bad Oeynhausen, as Bielefeld's Ewald Lienen suddenly lay on the pitch with his thigh slashed open after being kicked by the Bremen player. But as disturbing as the scene was, it sparked a huge passion for the DSC in Michael Schaal. He regularly accompanies the team to training camps with the Bethel fan club Arminenschmiede.

Whether in the Schüco Arena in Bielefeld, in the big stadiums in Dortmund, Berlin and Munich or on makeshift village sports grounds: Whenever Arminia plays, Michael Schaal is there. He, who everyone just calls Micky, says of himself: "I'm an all-rounder." Every weekend, members of the "Stadiontester" fan club give him a lift. Either to the home game in Bielefeld or across the country to the away game of his favourite club.

Micky also regularly accompanies his club to training camps. In January, he spent another week with the Arminenschmiede in Benidorm, Spain. "That was my 23rd training camp," he reports. Michael Schaal attended every training session, as well as a test match, and hung his banner with the word "Micky" clearly visible on the pitch. He always carries a pack of cable ties in his rucksack for this purpose.

"I've experienced everything with Arminia," he says. Even after more than 40 years, the club's constant ups and downs still affect him emotionally. "If they lose, no one needs to speak to me," he says. But Micky also remembers all the promotions and many other great moments. He travelled on the team bus and played "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" with former coach Uwe Rapolder. He got to know Ewald Lienen many years after the foul when he was coach at Arminia and advised him at the breakfast table during training camp to eat "oatmeal instead of those greasy sausages". Micky stuck with the sausages.

Such experiences are also at the heart of the training camp tours organised by the Bethel travel agency. Because fans like Micky gain new impressions in this way. And because in their passion for Arminia, their limitations fade into the background. "They feel that they are just as much fans and belong just like others. That does them good," says Reinhard Bücker, who accompanied the group this time.

Under the Spanish winter sun, the programme also included excursions to the mountain village of Guadelest, the beach and an ice cream parlour, as well as a football match with Arminia's coaches. An unbeatable mix, Micky thinks. "I just love everything about these trips," he says - and is already looking forward to the next one.

Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Photos: Sarah Jonek, Philipp Kreutzer