Site Update: After six years, it’s time for a new look

With so much time spent on maintaining statistical records and writing match reports, there have been very few alterations to the site since its launch back in the autumn of 2010 in the wake of the World Cup in South Africa. A font change here, and an image change there. As this year ends, it is time for an update, and I am sure some of you would have noticed the big change.

Yes, Schwarz und Weiß has undergone a complete transformation. In fact, one could now call it “Weiß und Schwarz”. The old black and dark grey design is gone, and has been replaced by a fresh and modern white design with black text and a little DFB-Grün trim. If you look a little closely, you will also see that the page background reflects the “patchwork” design of the new Nationaltrikot.

With the update comes a new site logo

Another significant change is the creation of the new site logo, which replaces the familiar “slightly askew Adler” from the previous version.

The updated logo takes the letters S, U, and W, and applies them in the style of an old school German club badge. The three letters are taken together to form a stylised eagle, with the W as the wings, the U as the body and the S as the head. The logo is adorned with the Nationalmannschaft’s four championship stars, and enclosed in a circle in the DFB’s traditional green.

The clubs I used for my inspiration: MSV Duisburg and SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

You might notice that the eagle icon still remains on all my articles. This will remain the case as it has become part of my signature on the other football blogs I contribute to.

The Mission

A number of other small changes will follow as we enter 2017, with hopefully a few more feature articles and regular pieces to fill the time in between matches. The mission is to make Schwarz and Weiß the ultimate resource for all fans of the German national team, not just a place to drop in from time to time for statistics and match reports.

The long term mission is to make Schwarz und Weiß the site of choice for all English-speaking fans and followers of the Nationalmannschaft. And maybe to win a couple of awards and book deals as well.

New writers needed!

As you can see from the content (now approaching some seven hundred web pages in all) there is plenty of information on here. Even now, I am not quite up to speed yet with some of the older archives. It all takes time, and is pretty difficult when trying to also do a normal day job, run a home and take the occasional holiday or two every year.

A way around this is to try an split the workload a little. The site has ticked along nicely as a one-man band for the past six years, but I am now looking for anybody who might be able to help with match previews, additional technical analysis, book reviews and the odd feature or two.

The criteria is pretty simple. Naturally, a good standard of English is a prerequisite, and if you can understand German so much the better. An encyclopaedic knowledge of the Mannschaft also helps. After all, you need to be able to tell your Gerds from your Dieters, Thomases and Nikolais.

If you can get 100% in the World Cup and Euro quizzes without having to google for answers, you might just be the person the site is looking for.

Most crucial however is your being a fan. In short, Schwarz und Weiß is as objective and as neutral as I want it to be. There is plenty of factual stuff, but part of the pleasure is never having to neutral when the German team are playing.

If you think you have what it takes, just drop me a line via the contact form.

Expanding further

With more writers and contributors in the pool, I can press on with making Schwarz und Weiß the best of the best. There will be scope to open the site’s remit to provide news and more in-depth coverage of the German youth squads and the women’s team as well.