Capturing the Passion of FC Schalke 04 Football Fans | Yannik Schilli

Yannik Schilli is a passionate photographer hailing from the serene landscapes near Freiburg in southern Germany. With a keen eye for emotion and a heart devoted to FC Schalke 04, Yannik’s photographic work from life around the VELTINS-Arena is a heartfelt tribute to the spirit of football culture and his fellow Die Knappen supporters.

Yannik Schilli: I come from near Freiburg (southern Germany) and still live there in a small but beautiful village and support FC Schalke 04. 

Lower Block: Tell us a little about your love for Schalke and how you came to support them… 

YS: It was the easiest thing in the world for me to become an FC Schalke 04 fan. My dad, my uncle, my grandpa – they are all Schalke fans. The whole family are Schalke fans. If I had become a professional footballer, the saying ‘I slept in Schalke bedding as a child’ would actually have been true. 

I am glad to have received this passion for the club from my family… But perhaps I also feel a little guilty towards my father. He missed the UEFA Cup final against Inter Milan in 1997 due to my miscalculated birth date!

LB: What does the club mean to you? 

YS: ‘A love that never ends’ – that’s the 4th line of the Schalke song ‘Der Mythos vom Schalker Markt’. And it’s right. It may not always be the easiest love, but it is faithful. And I think that’s what makes the club. It should be like that with all clubs. You go through good times with them and you go through bad times with them.

I had a few football idols as a child, the list would be too long now. But I have fond memories of the time when ‘Raúl González Blanco’ wore the FC Schalke 04 jersey. When Raúl, the Real Madrid icon, moved to Gelsenkirchen, it was insane. A player who ran around the pitch with brilliant ease, but who nevertheless embraced one of the club’s most important values. And that was to fight to the end. For this reason, he is still revered by S04 fans today.

LB: What drew you towards football and the culture around it? 

YS: This was definitely my first visit to the VELTINS Arena. Standing in the North Curve for the first time was a very special moment. To see how the fans whip their team and the club forward. It makes you realise why the song line “1000 friends who stand together” exists.

LB: What inspired you to take these photos?

YS: It’s clearly the fans. Football belongs to the fans. You noticed it during the pandemic when matches were played behind closed doors. It just wasn’t the same anymore. The passion was no longer transferred in the way we were used to.

All my pictures are created out of emotion. My goal is for the pictures to tell their own story without me having to write words for them. I always prefer to use my Olympus mju-1 with a Kodak gold 200 or Portra 400 film.

I generally found my way into photography because of old street photography pictures like those by “Vivian Maier”. She was blessed with an incredible talent. The exciting thing about her pictures is that she never published them, her photographic works were only found by luck. And this only after her death.

Football captivates, it sparks emotions and passion. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at home or in the stadium. It doesn’t matter whether you’re surrounded by friends, family or complete strangers. You share a passion for the sport and the club. No matter what social class you come from.

There’s also a lot to see in terms of fashion in football. Hooligans shaped the style in the 80s. Designer fashions like Fred Perry and Stone Island were suddenly being worn.

A stadium is like a huge pot, seasoned with a lot of passion and a lot of dopamine. As a photographer, there are endless exciting things to photograph. I love spontaneity. All I need is a stadium ticket and my camera.

With every photo, Yannik Schilli immortalises the essence of Schalke football fans – their dedication, passion, love and loyalty for their team. Keep up Yannik and say hello via his Instagram.

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