It is approaching crunch time for many clubs around Europe, but in one of the lower echelons, a true fairytale could be in the making. Bundesliga 2 is the setting, where 1860 München are on the brink of a long-awaited return to the Bundesliga proper.
The traditional German club, one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and national champions in 1966, is seven points from third place and coming into a fine run of form.
Four wins in their last five games before the winter break put them in good stead, and a recent 2-0 victory over Cottbus on the weekend must have a buzz going around the blue half of München.
Always in the shadow of fierce rivals Bayern München, Die Löwen are the closest they’ve been in a long-time to returning to the top since relegation in 2004.
Severe financial difficulties have crippled their efforts to make a concerted challenge for promotion, yet their fortunes could be changing.
Saved twice in the past five years by Bayern, the club were recently propped up by a Jordanian investor and also announced a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with automobile giants Aston Martin.
A club that once boasted the talents of Abedi Pele, Ned Zelić, Rudi Völler and Davor Šuker, now has a brighter future and a passionate and loyal fan-base that could take them back up.
Club icon Benny Lauth is leading the way with fellow club favourites Daniel Bierofka and ex-Crystal Palace keeper Gábor Király to provide the backbone of the side.
Joining them is exciting prospect Kevin Volland and youngsters Kai Bülow, Stefan Aigner and Dominik Stahl.
The mixture of young and old could be a recipe for success this season.
Their home form is going to have a lot to do with their chances of making the top three, and with it, a shot of promotion. Crowds averaging 22,830 have cheered them on, including a 39,500 crowd against Dynamo Dresden.
They are joint third in goals scored this season and have posted a number of convincing victories, yet their defence has been breached too often at times.
They must play Fortuna Dusseldorf, St Pauli, Fürth, Paderborn and Eintracht Frankfurt, teams above them as the table stands.
Their prospects will rest on these games, where they only managed a possible three out of 15 points in the corresponding fixtures.
If they can grab a few wins from their direct rivals and continue where they left off against mid-table and relegation-threatened opponents, the dream could well turn into reality.
To see the side once again rub shoulders with the top clubs in Germany would be a fantastic sight. The potential of reigniting the Münchner Stadtderby would be a great boost for the city.
The blue against the red, a fixture that hasn’t been played competitively since February 2008, would be the final step towards giving loyal Die Sechziger’s something to shout about.
The next five games will be crucial and I hope anyone and everyone who likes to see tradition reinstated in the game of football will look out for their results over the rest of the season.
Of course there are other potential fairytales out there, such as Southampton and Torino, yet the story of Die Löwen is the one I am most looking forward to. I began following 1860 one year ago – you can read why here.
The passion, loyalty and proud nature of the club’s supporters fascinates, and I sincerely hope the home crowd can use their vocal power on a bigger stage very soon.
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