Dieter Hecking speaks on another Bochum match delay: “I’m late for dinner.” | OneFootball

There was more trouble at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Sunday afternoon. German football fans found themselves experiencing deja vu as, once again, a VfL Bochum-hosted Bundesliga fixture was delayed due to banners from away fans blocking the emergency exits. The very same thing happened on matchdays 6 and 18 last year.

A 30 September 2023 match against Borussia Mönchengladbach only experienced a ten-minute-delay. The second half of Bochum’s 20 January 2024 encounter against Stuttgart was delayed for 45 minutes due to VfB banners creating such safety concerns. This time, banners from the Eintracht Frankfurt traveling supporters delayed kickoff for 50 minutes.

Back in January 2024, then Bochum head coach Thomas Letsch spoke at length about the issue afterwards. Letsch dropped a memorable German idiom to describe how he pleaded with supporters from both sides to forget about saving face. Letsch used the Swabian medieval expression “sich eine Zacken aus der Krone brechen lassen”.

Literally, the phrase refers to “a spike being knocked off a crown”. The fact that a not particularly ornate crown features little other than spikes to decorate it has presumed roots in the small medieval fiefdoms of the Holy Roman Empire. A sense of petty pride is embedded in the expression; the subject defends a small territory or small-minded idea.

Current Bochum head coach Dieter Hecking wasn’t exactly pleased with his team’s performance Sunday after the match finally kicked off. Visiting Eintracht took all three points via a 3-1 away win. After both Hecking and SGE coach Dino Toppmöller commented on the match itself, it was time for the two coaches to speak on the delay.

Hecking kept a wry sense of humor.

“I wanted to be at dinner some time ago,” Hecking noted without cracking so much as a smile. “That plan has also been spoiled. It was clearly communicated that it was about their own safety. I’d have liked it if they had been more cooperative earlier. That’s my opinion anyway.”

GGFN | Peter Weis