Looking at the table, you can tell that things certainly suck for Alemannia Aachen. 14th place in the 3.Liga, not what they were hoping for. They probably have enough to avoid dropping even further, but things could get worse quite soon.

The club is heavily indebted, (rumours of around 42 million euros) and only avoided a fiasco by getting a 19 million euro loan from the City of Aachen. This was partially to fund the stadium costs, and the agreement was that in the 2.Liga, Alemannia would pay back the city 2 million euros a year, and in the 3.Liga, it would be reduced to 1 million a year. However, apparently even this reasonable amount is causing major problems. One wonders were the money is going, as despite sucking, Alemannia is by far the attendance leader in the 3.Liga, averaging a quite respectable 14,500 a match. The main reason is apparently the Alemannia squad is the most expensive in the 3.Liga, and since they’re stinking up the league, they’re certainly not getting value for the money.

So what’s next? If Alemannia were to get relegated to the Regionalliga, it would be a total disaster and might sink the club. The city would be unlikely to hand over more funds, despite the club being the flagship of the region. (BTW, the city actually checked with the state government before extending the loan, to avoid any potential pitfalls).

Alemannia has been through the roller coaster, having been in the Bundesliga as late as 2007. Relegation would mean 4th division status for the first time, and it might not stop there due to finances. So let’s hope they get their act together and at least stay in the 3.Liga….