this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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I am not German so maybe I am missing something but I can’t really see the equivalence between Wolfsburg and Leverkusen against Hoffenheim and Leipzig. The former were initiated as clubs for the workers of the companies about 100 years ago, the latter two were bought by SAP and RB, respectively. I don’t think it makes sense to see Wolfsburg and Leverkusen in the same light given that their history is deeply intertwined with the corporations that own them, the people of those corporations and the cities they are in.
It’s absolutely normal to me that Wolfsburg and Bayer are owned by their respective Groups, even with the German rule of ownership.
Edit: obviously this ultra message from OP is horrendous and i’m not defending it all btw
in general the two broad categories of german clubs are "tradtionsclub"(tradition club) and "Kommerzclub" (commercial club, the plastics).
we do make further distinctions within that second category (Leipzig is seen as by far the worst, then hoffenheim and then wolfsburg and leverkusen) but what they all share is that they are controlled privately and undermine 50+1, so they are grouped together as plastic
I see, that's interesting. Thanks for the cultural context, makes sense.
They still have a big financial advantage for not being owned by the fans but by Bayer AG a ethicly dubious company at the least. Fans just don't like that, they take away a spot in the bundesliga from Fan-Owned Clubs, they take away International campaings from Clubs who would actually fill their stadium in these international games, who could actually use the money. All 4 clubs make the leage worse.
We funnel all of our profits back to Bayer and can’t nearly generate as much sponsoring revenue in parts due to our close association with another company.
The sponsorship is obviously a net positive for the club but there are drawbacks.
I see what you're saying, but intuitively it strikes me as a form of recency bias. One has a hundred-odd years of history, the other doesn't.
No youre not missing anything, youre spot on. They are in no way comparable. Both wolfburg and leverkusen are simply clubs situated in a city that is heavily influenced by a single company and naturally created football and other sports clubs. As you said, they are just worker clubs that have existed for a long time. In comparison redbull is a new brand that isnt even german.
There absolutely is a big difference between the two and people who call wolfburg or leverkusen plastic clubs are just clueless haters.