Xiaobian just released an article about the improper transfer strategy of Schalke 04, and in the Bundesliga, the most intense and topical derby is the "Ruhr derby", which is composed of Schalke 04 against Borussia Dortmund, which is also located in western Germany, North Rhine, and even the "infighting" of the remaining North Rhine team can only be called "Little Ruhr Derby".
The Ruhr region is famous for its abundant coal resources, so it is also an important industrial area in Germany, supporting Germany's rise to the rank of world power through two industrial revolutions, and even launched a world war twice, and even the subsequent rise of West Germany, the Ruhr region is also very important. Therefore, the Schalke 04, founded in Gelsenkirchen in 1904, has a deep heavy industrial color and the nickname of "miner". Dortmund was founded in 1909, the city of Dortmund compared to Gelsenkirchen, has a more diversified industry, in addition to coal mining, beer brewing and steel manufacturing are the main industries of the city of Dortmund, some of which are the trade centers of Westphalia, so that the city of Dortmund is full of "commercial" colors, in the eyes of the older generation of Gelsenkirchen, industry is the symbol of the Ruhr region, so the city of Dortmund, which attaches importance to commerce, is regarded as a "traitor" and "outlier". The differences in culture and industry between the two places are indirectly leading to the feud between the two teams Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund.
In addition to the difference in production methods, there is also some incongruity between national cultures, and the predecessor of Germany, Bruce and Germany, were established by the Germans. The Germans emphasized the supremacy of collective interests and obedience to superiors, while the workers of the Ruhr area, because of their long-term factory management, performed their duties according to instructions and paid attention to work efficiency, and even had the shadow of the Germans. On the contrary, the city of Dortmund is mainly commercial, but also pursues personal interests and actively communicates with the outside world as its primary goal, so it is considered to have lost the Germanic spirit.
It is precisely because of the prejudice against the city of Dortmund, this sentiment has also been brought to the stadium, so the first generation of the "Ruhr derby" was formed by Schalke 04 against another North Rhine team Bochum, and its bochum city is a city dominated by steel manufacturing, so it is called a "door-to-door match" with Schalke 04, but because Bochum has not been able to win the top league, coupled with often struggling in the middle and lower reaches of the position, it is gradually replaced by Dortmund.
Schalke 04 has won the German top flight seven times, while Borussia Dortmund have eight. But five of Dortmund's league titles are today's Bundesliga, but Schalke 04 is all German championships, the predecessor of the Bundesliga. As a result, many Dortmund fans satirized that the "sworn enemy" had never won the Bundesliga title. Schalke 04 was quite close to the team's first Bundesliga title in 2006/07, when Schalke 04, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen launched a clash on the Bundesliga title, and as of the thirty-second round, Schalke 04 was still at the top of the table with a one-point advantage, but in the thirty-third round, it lost to Borussia Dortmund by two goals in the "Ruhr derby", and Bremen lost at the same time, allowing Stuttgart, who won 3-2 away to Bochum, to rise to the top of the table. In the end, the three teams won the 34th round together, which allowed Stuttgart, which was played by Mario Gomez at the time, to win the Bundesliga. As a result, Schalke 04 missed the first Bundesliga title in the history of the team, and lost to Borussia Dortmund, who was only in the middle of the ranking at the time, in the city derby.
However, Schalke 04 failed in relegation last season, and this season's performance in the Second Division has not been outstanding, and if fans want to see the "Ruhr derby" again, it will take some time in addition to hoping for the German Cup.