It is the equivalent of Haslemere having a Premier League club. Or Beaconsfield, Uttoxeter or Knutsford. Or Milford Haven, unless they targeted the Welsh league, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, were they not actually in the Scottish football pyramid. Spiesen-Elversberg is the 30th biggest town; not in Germany, but in the Saarland, one of the country’s 13 states, without even mentioning the three city states.
And, if only after two games, Elversberg, its club, is level on points at the top of the Bundesliga. This weekend, they host Bayern Munich; as compete opposites, as equals and arguably, if the table never lies, as superiors. Elversberg were in the German Regionalliga Sudwest when Bayern last won the Champions League. Now they are both in the German top flight, but Elversberg are above Bayern – with six points to the Bavarian giants’ four. Which may prompt a question: who?
