Gelsenkirchen’s district Schalke, a former mining and steel industry neighbourhood dominated by unemployment and poverty, is the birthplace of one of Germany’s most popular football clubs, FC Schalke 04. Nearby the legendary Glückauf-Kampfbahn, the club’s first stadium, there is a microcosm of football enthusiasts called Schalker Meile.

Behind the dreary facades live rough but charming people who grow more and more apart from the shiny Bundesliga business. But nevertheless, they love their club. For 11FREUNDE.