Fact File: Borusseum

Borusseum is the Club Museum, of the German Bundesliga club Bourssia Dortmund.

Location: In the North-East-Corner of the Signal Iduna Park, in Dortmund.
Opening year: 19th of December 2008 (the 99th anniversary of the club.)
Annual visitor number: 29 000 (2010)
Collection size: Several thousand, and increasing (about 10% is on display)

One of the great clubs of German and European football, Bourssia Dortmund enjoy a massive support in their home stadium. Currently defending champions of the Bundesliga and has got both a successful history from the game but also troubles with finances.

The Borusseum is a museum from supporters for supporters it partly focuses on the history of the supporters. A museum feature is for instance movies about the choreographies of the supporters.
In the special object exhibit there is the tricot from Lothar Emmerich, which shows spoors of usage of the final match of the European Cup of 1966 against Liverpool FC.
The treasure in the Borusseum treasury is certainly the Champions League Cup (right now the original trench coat from Ottmar Hitzfeld, which he wore in the Champions League final in Munich, is displayed in an exposition in the Wembley stadium).

Other players’ related objects are: the floodlight-tricot, which Reinhold Wosab wore in 1963 against Benfica Lissabon, has its own history (Dortmund won this match in his old stadium, called “Rote Erde”/ “Red Earth” 5-0);  the top scorer trophy Lothar Emmerich got together with Gerd Müller 1966/67; and Emmerich’s shoes he wore as top scorer in the Bundesliga as well as top scorer in the European Cup Winners’ Cup which’ve been gilded later on.

Another object related to the joy of winning are the broken glasses of manager Jürgen Klopp: they were damaged after the match against the FC Bayern Munich in February 2011. Nuri Sahin was so happy about the 3-1 success of Dortmund, that he jumped on the back of Jürgen Klopp so broke his glasses.

As for a classic Borussia Dormund anecdote: the Werner Erdmann brassiere is also on display. In 1947 the whole team of Dortmund was in training camp, because they wanted to be well prepared for the new season. They trained very hard, but they also had a lot of fun. Before the departure back to Dortmund the keeper Willi Kronsbein stole a brassiere from the clothesline of their hotel and put it in the suitcase of his teammate Werner Erdmann. Naturally, he didn’t suspect anything but back at home his wife opened the suitcase and found the brassiere. She immediately thought her husband had had a love affair. Werner Erdmann told her that he was innocent of such allegations, but Mrs. Erdmann was really angry and she went directly to the team meeting and wanted to hear the truth about the bra. After a lot of discussions Willi Kronsbein told her the truth and Werner was no longer suspected by his wife having a love affair. This was the first and only team meeting in the whole history of Borussia Dortmund where ever a woman participated. Therefore the brassiere is in the exhbition.

The Borsseum keep temporary exhibitions once or twice a year. For 2012, one is planned with the topic “The singing of the supporters”. For this exhibition the museum works scientifically together with the University of Paderborn and creatively with the FH of design in Dortmund. 

The museum is run and paid for by the club but also has some sponsors. They bought a tile with their names on it, on the bridge in the entrance hall. The Club’s special department for advancement and supporter activities has also been crucial to the foundation and current activities of the museum. Furthermore private people of fanclubs can donate a sum of 109,09 euros and get a plate, also with their names on a wall in the Boursseum. The thought is that they’ll become a part of the museum forever.

Thanks to Kirsten Behnke, of the Museum Direction (Museumsleitung)

Fact File: Norwegian Football Museum

Fotballmuseet is the Norwegian Football Museum, of The Football Association of Norway.

Location: in the Norwegian national stadium Ullevaal, Oslo
Opening year: 2002 (when the Norway FA had their 100-years anniversary)
Annual visitor number: 12 000
Collection size: 250 objects (about 80% is on display)

Although not one of the great footballing nations, Norway's genuine passion for the game is consistent and admirable.
The Norwegians are, as other Scandinavians, generally great anglophiles and the English Premier League has a tradition of immense interest, just like in Sweden. Therefore objects related to the Norweigan players who have made it in the UK are of special interest to the museum such as the shirt and boots of Morten Gamst Pedersen.
The most important object in that category is undeniably the FA cup medal of goalkepper Erik Thorsvedt who won the cup in 1991 with Tottenham Hotspurs.

Unarguably the biggest success of the Norwegian National Team is the third place from the Berlin Olympics 1936, having beaten the host nation Germany in the quarter final 2-0. A splendid achievement. The bronze medals from 1936 (beating Poland in the bronze game 3-2 after a Brustad hat-trick) are rightly regarded as the museum's finest objects alongside the very ball from the bronze match:
The ball belonged to the goal keeper, Henry Tippen Johansen. He gave the ball away to a friend in the 1950’s and the ball laid in a garage for over 30 years. When the ball was found again, the family’s dog used it as a toy until they realized that this was one of the most precioused footballhistorical items in Norway. The museum got the ball when the Football museum opened in 2002.

In recent years Norway has performed with mixed results in the big tournaments but made a great upset in the World Cup of 1998 when they beat Brazil 2-1 in the group stage. The yellow shoes of Kjetil Rekdal who scored Norway's second from the penalty spot is a symbol of the Norwegian National Team peak of success in the 1990's.

Football boots of an amusing alternative kind: The National team manager Egil "Drillo" Olsen always used a special pair of green rubber boots in the 90’s. The boots became sort of a trademark for the Norwegian team. The museum has these boots in the museum and they have also been used as a logo for the Museum.

Future plans for the Norwegian Football Museum include a school project and an exhibition about Ullevaal stadium and a smaller exhibition about about the work that the Norwegian football federation are doing in Vietnam (“Football for all in Vietnam”-project) opened in May 2011.

Thanks to Tommy Christensen, director, Fotballmuseet.

At this time our deepest sympathies goes out to the Norwegian people after the tragic events of July 2011.

Fact File: Real Madrid Museum

The Real Madrid Musem

Real Madrid C.F is a Spanish club, founded in 1902, playing in the Primera division, also known as La Liga.

Location: in their home ground Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Opening year: 1999
Annual visitor number: 700 000
Collection size: 8000 objects (about 5% is on display)

For successful football campaigns it is hard to find any club that has a greater record than the Madrid whites of Real. Even impossible. And Real has the trophy to prove it in their museum: FIFA awarded them a grand trophy for being voted "the Best Club of the Century". Other priceless trophies are the original European cup and the first victory, the 1905 Spanish Cup.

Perhaps not the biggest win but surely the biggest and heaviest trophy is one made out as a castle, wighing 75 kg and 1,5 metres high.

Two players really stand out in the Real Madrid saga, both are represented in the museum collections and exhibitions with numerous shirts and boots: Alfredo di Stefano and Rául.
Especially legendary are the last boots of di Stefano. Other player-related objects are gloves of keeper Iker Casillas and the boots of Peda Mijatovic, worn in the 1998 Champions League final.

The museum's collections also holds objects and archive material of the 25 other sport sections of Real Madrid.

Thanks to Rubén Rueda, Real Madrid

Read more about the Real Madrid Museum at their website

Fact File: Arsenal Museum

The Arsenal Museum

Arsenal FC is an English Premier League club, founded in 1886.

Location: in their home ground Emirates stadium, Islington, north London
Opening year: 1993 (in old Highbury stadium, closed in 2006) and 2006 in the new Emirates stadium
Annual visitor number: 120 000 ca
Collection size: 10 000 objects ca (about 10% is on display)

Among the many trophies, one shurley stands out: The unbeaten trophy from 2003-2004. Arsenal is the only Club since Preston in 1888/89 to have gone through an entire League campaign without losing a match.
A less prestigous one although typical Arsenal is the trophy for the best golfer at Arsenal FC. Since the 1930s under Herbert Chapman, Arsenal FC players have played golf to relax. This trophy was last held by Len Wills (1953-62).

Another fine piece is a silver shield commemorating the hat-trick of League Championships 1933 - 35 .

Other museum objects include club player related artifacts of Arsenal legends like: David Rocastle, Charlie George, David O’Leary, George Armstrong and George Graham.
As for famous Balls and Boots, the two stand out items are the ball from the 1936 Cup Final and Michael Thomas’ boots which he wore when he scored the second goal against Liverpool at Anfield 1989, possibly the most famous goal in Arsenal’s history.

The Arsenal Museum plans to get a temporary exhibition display area and getting more of the collection display around the stadium.

Prices: £6 (£3 concessions) or as part of a stadium tour.
Museum Opening Times:
Monday to Friday: 10am-6pm (last admittance 5pm)
Saturday: 10am-6pm (last admittance 5pm)
Sunday: 10am-5pm (last admittance 4pm)
Matchdays: 10am until half an hour before kick off. The museum will not be open after the match.

Thanks to Samir Singh, Museum and Education Assistant, Arsenal

Read more about Arsenal Museum on their website

Fact File: Queen of South Museum

Queen of South Museum

The Queen of South is a Scottish league club, founded in 1919, currently playing in Division One.

Location: in the main stand of their home ground Palmerston Park, Dumfries.
Opening year: 1994
Annual visitor number: 400 to 600
Collection size: 1000 objects (almost all are on display)

Museum objects include club player related artifacts like the Scotland top of Billy Houliston and boots of Bobby Black, both local legends. They also have a match shirt worn by Brazilian star Zico in the 1982 World Cup Finals.
The most impressive object among the silverware is the Southern Counties Charity Cup that dates back to the 1880’s. Queen of South has won that cup no less than sixteen times.
One of the less predictable objects in the collection is a piece of fire damaged wood from the old stand fire from 1964.

Queen of South is struggling severely with their finances at the moment. If the club can succeed with their plans to build a new stand, more room will be given to the club museum.

Thanks to Ian Black, Museum Curator, Queen of South

Read more about Queen of South on their website
and about their financial situation on BBC, here and here