Almost exactly a year ago, Arminia Bielefeld also played at home against Union Berlin. It was the beginning of a new era for the East Westphalians, for whom coach Frank Kramer now has great sympathy.

It was 7 March 2021, a Sunday, when a new era began at Arminia with the home match against Union Berlin. The still fairly unknown Frank Kramer had replaced the long-successful coach Uwe Neuhaus in Bielefeld. The result of 0-0 against the capital at that time already indicated the direction of the future in two respects: Arminia have since played to nil more often than any other club in the league, namely twelve times. And the number of draws is also impressive: There have now been 15 of them in the 33 games played over the course of the year.

“We had a summer break in which we achieved our big goal of playing another year in the Bundesliga,” recalls sporting director Samir Arabi, recalling days in which he and his colleagues in management initially encountered a lot of resistance with the decision to change coaches. In the meantime, the scepticism is clearly within bounds – the management, coach and team have dispelled many doubts. Arabi: “We then had a big upheaval, the team needed a little time to find itself. Now you can see how they are developing day by day. We are satisfied with the last twelve months, even if there are always one or two setbacks.” The pandemic is also not making it easy for all the clubs, says Arabi, who is nevertheless satisfied: “Purely from a sporting point of view, we feel comfortable in this league. We want to keep scoring points like this so that we can play against Union again next year – depending on the fixture list. “

Many sympathies for the region of East Westphalia

Trainer Kramer, meanwhile, also has many private sympathies for the region of East Westphalia, which has meant a completely new environment for him. “I come from southern Bavaria, which is a different breed of people. But I feel very comfortable here, also because we have a very close relationship at the club. Although it’s the Bundesliga, it’s very family-like – despite all the ambitions and performance thinking that you have to have, of course. We are ambitious, but nonetheless the personal doesn’t fall by the wayside.”

And the 49-year-old also seems to like the city and the people. “The East Westphalians hide their light under a bushel a bit more than they should. In the vast majority of cases, I have met very nice people here. If you look behind the sober facade, there is always a lot of heart. A lot of passion also for this club and for this team.” He likes that, he says, because that’s what you think about a lot every day. “To steer it in the right direction, you can only do that if you live a unity. That’s the case here, that’s why. There is clearly more life and warmth in East Westphalia than is sometimes portrayed. “

But of course, for Kramer, it’s all about the sporting side of things. “We have 33 games now, almost a year, in which we have taken 39 points. That’s a good record for Arminia Bielefeld, we can all live with that and will remain ambitious so that we can continue and develop that.” After all, that too is typically East-Westphalian, says Kramer. His credo: Not only should last year have been good, but the next one should be too.