Schalke and Dortmund fans wouldn’t mind playing against each other every week. They would never get bored, for two reasons, the first being the obsession with football throughout the region.

Because the Ruhr is not only the royal blue and black and yellow, in that area also lower-class clubs like Essen and Oberhausen, or the more established Bochum can count on an excellent visit in the stadiums.

The villains from the wealthier parts of Germany will notice that there is nothing else to do there but watch football, however, it must be said that both in good times and in bad times of the German economy, the sacrifice for the club remains unchanged.

And the clubs themselves know how to appreciate it, unlike most, by not putting their hands into the fans’ pockets, nor trying to take advantage of those in love with the color. The proof is the price of the tickets, the lowest in Europe, counting serious football countries of course.

Read: Who is BVB biggest rival in German football?

Another reason for the great rivalry is the cyclical ups and downs associated with the two biggest clubs. Borussia has to be recognized for their persistence, from the first derby in 1925 to the war in 1943, they tried to win, 18 years of waiting paid off.

Although in everyone’s perception Borussia stands as better, the real truth is that Schalke has more victories, although this difference has decreased to a great extent.

When Borussia reached their first European title in the second half of the nineties, their first thought was to rub it in their rivals’ noses.

“I think that with this triumph we have moved from locals to the group of heavyweights teams of European football, the only ones in the region,” stated their president back then.

Schalke inherits a mining tradition, although the shafts were closed at the end of the eighties, immigrants from East Prussia attached to the local brewery were attracted to Dortmund.

Only a few players wore the jersey of both clubs, you know about goalkeeper Lehmann, he also managed to score a goal in stoppage time in the derby for Schalke, which did not prevent him from wearing the Dortmund jersey later. The legend Andreas Möller, Metzelder, Felipe Santana, then Freund, as well as Stan Libuda, and more recently Prince Boateng played on both sides.

When Dortmund fans come to Gelsenkirchen, they are greeted by the visitors’ entrances sprinkled with pig’s blood, and they declare the biggest victory in Dortmund to be the one in 2007, when they won a derby that meant nothing to them, but also prevented Schalke from winning the first title since 1958.

A few years ago, Dortmund football player Kevin Grosskreutz said that he would give up his child if he chose to support Schalke.

The derby is often violent, which is explained on the one hand by its social origin, on the other hand by the proximity of the two clubs, which increases the feeling of animosity and rivalry between the two neighbors. Interestingly, the “royal blue” are better, they won 71 matches, the rival 62. Don’t be fooled by this relationship, in the fifties and sixties Schalke was dominant.

The biggest attendance in Gelsenkirchen was recorded in 1996 when more than 71,000 people watched the match at Schalke’s stadium. Schalke recorded the biggest victory of 6:1, but the absolute record holder is Borussia with 6:0.

In this century, Dortmund is certainly much better, and Schalke is facing a nightmare on all fronts. They don’t remember this kind of crisis, it’s been going on for years, it’s enough to say that they were even relegated to Bundesliga 2. Due to the financial crisis and reduced payments from Gazprom, “Miners” or “Royal blues” have to sell players and change coaches, but no one has a magic wand.