Germany awash with Ruhr emotion

A way of life
Black and yellow or royal blue is the big question in the west of Germany, with former UEFA Champions League winners Dortmund and one-time UEFA Cup holders Schalke remaining the most passionately supported clubs in the Bundesliga. As Schalke general manager Rudi Assauer said: "Here people still live the game."

Close contest
Dortmund and Schalke have a lot in common, not least their ongoing rivalry with southern German titans FC Bayern München. However, what unites them also lies at the root of their rivalry. For fans of both BVB and S04, such a tiny region can never be big enough for two such massive sides.

Key issue
This Saturday sees the 172nd Ruhrgebiet derby between the teams in Gelsenkirchen. With emotions always high, it is often nerve and willpower that settle these games rather than skill alone. New Schalke coach Mirko Slomka has certainly noted the change in his players as the match approaches. "They are definitely more focused than usual," he said.

Sell-out game
The fixture has been sold-out for months. "This derby is as popular as our home game against Bayern," Schalke's media officer Thomas Spiegel told uefa.com. "Our fans could get seats for between €6 and €51, excluding corporate seats, but only club members could get tickets and 43,000 season-ticket holders already had seats. Dortmund have received 6,000 tickets."

Busy trains
Such a large travelling contingent will put pressure on the local transport network. "All the train carriages will be full of fans in black-and-yellow shirts singing throughout the whole trip," said Spiegel. "I know that because it's the other way around when we play there."

Payback time
Schalke journeyed back to Gelsenkirchen in triumph earlier this season as they won 2-1 at the Westfalenstadion, but Dortmund supporters can take consolation from the fact they prevailed by the same margin on their last trip to Schalke. "We will have to go looking for payback because our fans do not forgive losses against them," said Schalke sporting director Andreas Müller.

Practical realities
Prestige aside, both sides could use a victory to keep them in the race for a place in Europe next season. Having invested heavily in players, fourth-placed Schalke can ill afford to miss out on the UEFA Champions League, while Dortmund - in eighth - need to climb to fifth to be in contention for the 2006/07 UEFA Cup.

Goals not 'Kohle'
However, while the focus in the club boardrooms in the coal-mining region may be on 'Kohle' - the German word meaning both 'coal' and 'money' - fans will be dreaming only of glory. "This derby is still my personal highlight of the season," said Müller. Supporters all over Germany would doubtless agree.