Everyone in the northernmost federal state used to be HSV fans – now Schleswig-Holstein has a first division soccer team for the first time. The rise of Holstein Kiel under coach Marcel Rapp is the result of serious work in which players like Lewis Holtby are finally blossoming again.
The German football map shows that the Bundesliga is a fairly federal affair. Federal is not the same as “fair”, because championship trophies are in most cases delivered to Munich, in the west there are a few of the most populated large stadium buildings, and in the east the former GDR citizens were at least presented with a glittering European Cup. Even the often overlooked Saarland was already represented by three clubs in the first division.