Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04: Fourth division derby of destiny set for record crowd as it captivates the Ruhr region
ByTNT UK
Published 25/04/2025 at 10:32 GMT+1
Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04 - a fixture could hardly be more euphonious, historic and emotionally charged. Next Sunday, the women's teams of the two Ruhr rivals will duel in the time-honoured Rote Erde stadium - in front of a record crowd. A glance at the table shows that there is much more at stake than the prestigious derby victory.
'Not nice to see' Ancelotti criticism - Flick
Video credit: SNTV
Set into the sand-coloured quarry stone facade, a large, galvanised gate points the way inside. The tartan track and pitch are surrounded by sparse steps and a modest stand.
Here, in the Rote Erde stadium, generously shaded by the football temple known as Signal Iduna Park, every stone breathes sporting history.
Until 1974, the first team of Dortmund's football club played their home games here; the building now serves as the living room of BVB's second team (in Germany's third division) and the women's team, which was founded in 2021 and has marched through from the Kreisliga (basement league) to the Westfalenliga (fourth division) in just three years.
But that's not the end of the story; the fourth-highest division is merely a stop-over. Four matchdays before the end of the season, coach Thomas Sulewski's team had its sights firmly set on a fourth promotion in a row.
Almost every opponent has been resoundingly defeated throughout the campaign. Dortmund sit proudly at the summit of the league table with 61 points from 22 games and an impressive goal difference of +85 (conceding just 12 goals).
The path to the next division is presumably paved. Almost
Because a very special opponent, just one point behind, is also still fighting for the only place that entitles them to promotion: FC Schalke 04, the biggest rival of Dortmund, who will play BVB on Sunday afternoon.
Black and yellow against royal blue, on a green field, in the Rote Erde stadium. A clash of colours for prestige, a duel of destiny on the long road to Germany's top tier of women's football. But above all: a competitive derby at eye level (the first leg ended 0-0). A constellation that simply cannot be realised in the men's game due to the different league affiliations.
Just how much people are thirsting for the Revier derby can be seen from the number of spectators expected. The 10,000 on offer tickets were snapped up within a few days, and Dortmund can look forward to a sell-out crowd for the first time since the women's team was founded.
It is possible that many more tickets could have been sold, but according to Svenja Schlenker, head of the women's and girls' football department, a temporary move to the neighbouring, much larger Signal Iduna Park was not an issue, as she clarified in an interview with Eurosport Germany.
"The Rote Erde stadium is our home ground, we feel very comfortable there," she said, adding with a wink: "We're saving Signal Iduna Park for the future."
Free-flowing goalscorer Dana Marquardt also made reference to the Rote Erde fortress: "This is where we play our home games, this is also where we want to play the derby."
Of course, Signal Iduna Park is "impressive and hopefully an alternative in the future", but for the clash with Schalke, Rote Erde is "the best stadium we can imagine."
The protagonists are clearly relaxed about the unusually high number of fans. "We see it more as a pleasure than as pressure," Dortmund captain Marie Grothe explained, adding: "Playing in front of 10,000 spectators in the fourth division - what footballer can claim that? Even in the Bundesliga, that's the exception rather than the rule."
Indeed, the club with the highest attendance in the women's Bundesliga, 1. FC Koln, averages 5,700 spectators per home game.
Coach Sulewski's main concern is not to lose sight of the essentials despite all the euphoria. "You can't completely ignore everything else," he said. "But it's the job of our coaching team to get the players to concentrate on the 90 minutes on the pitch on Sunday.’
However, the pursuers from Gelsenkirchen must be highly focused if they want to have a decisive say in the battle for a ticket to the Regionalliga West. Accordingly, captain Grothe is passing on the burden of having to win to the visitors.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/04/24/image-138bb77d-80c2-43f0-bd58-208c409db88d-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Kapitänin Marie Grothe (r.) bleibt vor dem Derby gelassen
Image credit: Getty Images
"We're going into the game as front-runners, our opponents have a lot more pressure than we do. We don't have to, but we want to win," said the 28-year-old.
The irrepressible will to win that has carried Dortmund through the entire season should also pave the way for victory against Schalke and thus almost certain promotion.
But promotion is not the end-game for BVB's women; as already outlined, their focus is on the Bundesliga. "That's in line with Borussia Dortmund's ambitions; it was the goal from the very beginning to play in the Bundesliga at some point," reveals department head Schlenker.
The squad's ambition has been matched by investment from its hierarchy. A separate training centre is to be built in Dortmund for the girls' and women's teams, and a well-known coach, Markus Hogner, who is currently in charge of Bundesliga club SGS Essen, has been hired for the coming season.
‘We take the topic of women's football very seriously and are convinced of our path,’ BVB Managing Director Carsten Cramer told Eurosport Germany.
He added: "In addition to our sporting success, we are particularly pleased with the positive perception we have received in every respect. That gives us additional motivation to continue on this path."
Wherever this path takes the Borussia Dortmund players in the long term, they will write new stories as they go. Stories that will be preserved within the stadium walls of the Rote Erde and told one day.
Watch the Premier League and Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+
React to this story
Share this article
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement