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Philipp Köster is the managing director and editor-in-chief of "11 Freunde". He himself founded the magazine for soccer culture in April 2000, so his baby recently turned 25. A quarter of a century of "11 Freunde" by and with Philipp Köster, a man who lives, loves and writes about soccer. There is probably a hint of melancholy in Köster's scathing assessment of the wretched state of soccer, or rather the reporting on the not-so-round leather made of polyurethane and other high-tech plastics, in an interview with the media magazine Kress [1]. 

"Large sections of the soccer establishment no longer even have contempt for independent journalism. From the perspective of many functionaries, advisors and managers, newspapers, magazines and news portals are now nothing more than disdainful outlets for flat PR messages. Critical inquiries and independent reporting are unwelcome. Those who make cuddly inquiries and dutifully spread the PR narrative are allowed into the kitchens and living rooms of the stars and comment on their platitudes with a servile touch (goosebumps!)."

Köster's analysis of the current situation speaks to me from the heart of soccer. Just PR instead of critical journalism. Shallow stories at jungle camp level instead of articles with professional depth. You can clearly read between the lines of the account that the establishment, i.e. the clubs, see themselves in a position of power in which they can pressure the writing guild into this submissive behavior. What kind of behavior? 

Dear media professionals. Write about us the way we want you to or don't write at all!

The exciting question is how this status quo came about. The topic is also interesting for sports enthusiasts because  sports journalism has always been an indicator of trends in journalism as a whole. What has changed since "11 Freunde" was founded at the turn of the millennium? I'm going to attempt a tour de force of soccer journalism over the last 25 years.

In the 2000s, the soccer world was still largely analog. Fans informed themselves via specialist magazines such as Kicker, Sport Bild, 11 Freunde and the sports section of the daily newspaper they subscribed to. If there was a barrage of calls for a coach to be sacked, it usually happened. This public pressure still exists today, but many things were different. The power of the traditional media was many times greater. In contrast to the current situation outlined by Philipp Köster, the clubs at the time strove to maintain a positive relationship with the sports press out of understandable self-interest. The better the relationship, the more calmly a professional club could work, even after three defeats in a row. The media itself still acted as a critical control organ. The fact that Borussia Dortmund was on the verge of insolvency in 2003, for example, was the result of investigative research by two journalists. Thomas Hennecke (kicker) and Freddie Röckenhaus (Süddeutsche Zeitung) were initially criticized for this before the club had to meekly admit that the research was correct [2].

A leap into the 2010s and thus a leap into the already digital world. The professional clubs slowly developed their own channels, their social media platforms. The clubs slowly but steadily became their own medium with a growing readership. As a result, clubs became less dependent on traditional sports media, reducing the need for the most benevolent external reporting possible. Something else changed at that time. For the first time, soccer fans were able to obtain information at the source. Press conferences have always been held before and after soccer matches, at which the coaches face the assembled sports journalists. Anyone interested could now watch these press conferences live on the club's website or on YouTube & Co. There was no longer any reason to read an additional article about it. Unless you felt the urge for a sporty Nine-Eleven moment. In my experience, many articles about a press conference still have little or nothing to do with what was said there. Harmless criticism is often turned into a slur, the formulation of a sporting goal into a challenge and - even worse - it is not uncommon for articles to put words into the mouths of the protagonists on the podium that were never actually said.

A final leap on a fast ride through the journalistic soccer era. A leap into the present of the year 2025, which is analyzed by journalist Philipp Köster in a way that is as sobering as it is frightening. What has changed in the last ten years? Well, what was still in its infancy in the 2010s has grown up. The clubs on the one hand and reporting on the clubs on the other? This duality is a thing of the past. 

The professional clubs have become their own reporters. 

This in turn means that the traditional sports media, which used to write critically, are submissively grateful when at least a few crumbs of coverage fall off. My thesis can be backed up by bare figures. A total of over 70 million followers on Facebook, X and Instagram! That's a media universe with infinite reach. Germany's industry giant FC Bayern Munich can be happy about that [3]. And these are just the club figures, because after all, each of the footballing pop stars represents a media ego. Last year, superstar Christiano Ronaldo broke the sound barrier of over one billion followers [4]. By comparison, the specialist magazine "kicker", which is published on Mondays and Thursdays, only has a circulation of around 60,000, and the trend is falling. 25 years ago, it had more than 200,000 [5].

"That's the way of the digital age", you might say with a shrug. I take a more critical view. I see it like Philipp Köster. What followers on social media, and increasingly also readers of traditional soccer media, receive in the way of intellectual nourishment is a bland mishmash of advertising and easily digestible content instead of journalism. Call it anecdotal evidence paired with arrogance, but as a person interested in soccer at the age of Philipp Köster, I can say the following in conversations with younger fans. This generation knows almost everything about a soccer star - from their favorite food to their pet to their wife's latest tattoo. But my counterpart often knows very little about soccer. And this phenomenon also applies to political topics. Packaging beats content! I can't put my fears into words any better than Philipp Köster.

"Don't worry, dear friends, soccer will always be full of wonderful stories. There will just be no one left to tell them."