Where it began: a European night in Edinburgh
In November 2004, the UEFA Cup takes Schalke 04 to Edinburgh. The match against Heart of Midlothian was played at Murrayfield Stadium. For the travelling Iron Blue supporters, the connection with Hearts also began away from the pitch: meetings with Scottish fans in the city’s pubs and around the stadium created the first contacts. Over the years, an encounter on a football night grew into a friendship.
Standing together through difficult times
The friendship takes on particular significance when Heart of Midlothian faced a financial crisis that threatened the club’s survival and entered administration. The supporters stay in touch. Through the Foundation of Hearts, fans come together to help preserve their club. Support also comes from within the Iron Blue community through regular financial pledges to the Foundation. The connection now reaches beyond attending matches together.
Keeping in touch and visiting each other
Facebook helps keep those contacts alive and brings the supporters closer. Hearts fans join Iron Blue’s traditional end-of-season trip to Schalke’s final home match and discover the Schalker Meile, the streets at the heart of Schalke fan culture. Further trips take Iron Blue back to Scotland, including a Boxing Day visit to support Hearts in their battle against relegation.
A connection that continues
Since 2015, it has become a tradition for our Scottish friends to join our end-of-season gathering, held on the final or penultimate matchday of each season.
We celebrated our 40th anniversary together with a stay of several days in Edinburgh. The day after the match, we were invited to a Foundation of Hearts recognition ceremony at Tynecastle Stadium. Afterwards, we also had the chance to visit the pitch and the players’ dressing rooms.
In 2026, following a successful season for Hearts, we were also able to support them away from home in European competition – a fantastic experience.
