TITLE = Die Untoten vom Millerntor: Der Selbstmord des FC St.Pauli und dessen lebendige Fans AUTHOR = Christoph Ruf (editor) PRICE = EUR 14.80 SIZE = 236 pages YEAR = 2004, PapyRossa Verlag SOURCE = www.amazon.de RATING = 3/5 stars
The Undead from the Millerntor
A collection of essays, articles and interviews chronicling the decline of
St.Pauli and it's fan culture.
Ruf actually writes about 2/3 of the book, as he chronicles the problems
with St.Pauli starting with the relegation from the Bundesliga in 2002.
Given that it's entitled "On a Highway to Hell - Der aufhaltsame Abstieg",
you get a pretty good idea of it's contents. One of the chief villians is
the Club Business Manager, Stephen Beutel. "Without Stephen Beutel, many
of the talented players developed at St.Pauli over the last 15 years would
still be playing for the club, or brought in so much money in transfers
that the club could invest in the future."
There are a few guest writers, who bring out their personal connections
with SP, along with a few interviews. In general, the ones with the
ex-players or coaches are the most interesting.
There is no mention of the older tradition of the club, the original fans.
Perhaps this is because this book is really about the most recent crisis
in the club. Some of fan change is touched on, ironically, from the
article of a (relatively recent) fan. He wonders whether the oldtimers are
resentful if the aura surrounding the club has become less about football
and more about partying and politics.
The suicide of FC St.Pauli and it's living fans (In German)