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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: Germany

Auf Wiedersehen Pet

15 Wednesday Jul 2020

Posted by laurencereade in D

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Auf Wiedersehn Pet, Bundesliga, Düsseldorf, die Toten Hosen, Esprit Arena, Eurovision, Football, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Germany, groundhopping, Ingolstadt, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitchko

Sunday 13th February 2011 ko 13.30

2 Bundesliga

FORTUNA DÜSSELDORF 3 (Beister 45 Langeneke 52 64p)

FC INGOLSTADT 1 (Leitl 49p)

Att 20,700

Entry €24

Programme €1

Parking €3.50

In a sense this piece completes the triptych of my first independent groundhopping trip that started at Cambuur Leeuwarden and took in Spakenburg before hopping over the border to Düsseldorf to finish our weekend. As I said previously I knew nothing of how to groundhop abroad, so as  we headed east I wondered how we’d finish our weekend. We crossed from the Netherlands to Germany and immediately spotted a police car checking number plates ( a portent of a future trip to Banik Most?).  I marvelled at how close Düsseldorf is to the border and how I was completely unable to get the theme to “Auf Wiedersehen Pet” out of my head. Continue reading →

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Old Money

02 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by laurencereade in M

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

1860 Munchen, 1860 Munich, allianz arena, Bayern Munchen, Bayern Munich, Football, Germany, groundhopping, Hamburg, Hamburger SV, Munich, SV Hamburg

Saturday 25th February 2017 ko 15.30

Bundesliga

FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN 8 (Arturo Vidal 17 Lewandowski 25p 42 54 Alaba 56 Coman 65 67 Robben 87)

HAMBURGER SV 0

Att 75,000

Entry €70 (c£60)

Programme €1.50

Pin Badge €3.95

I remember exactly when I decided I simply had to visit the Allianz Arena. I was part of a party staying in Regensburg and we decided to take in an early morning Kreisklasse game in Munich one Sunday. En route to Viktoria München’s second string we passed through Fröttmanning on the autobahn and the space-age vision transfixed me. The question was how, and when? Continue reading →

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Another Octave

24 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by laurencereade in E

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Club Wembley, England, Germany, International, ladies, Wembley, Wembley Stadium, Women, women's football

Sunday 23rd November 2014 ko 15.00

Women’s International Friendly

ENGLAND 0

GERMANY 3 (A Scott 6og Sasic 12 45)

Att 45,619 at Wembley Stadium

Entry- Complimentary

Programme £5

It’s a fact of my footballing life that I don’t watch nearly enough women’s football. My cause in that respect was aided when a league I work with offered two Club Wembley seats, and I pondered how to get to the national stadium with the Jubilee, and Metropolitan tube lines closed for planned engineering work.

Continue reading →

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Adventure

16 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by laurencereade in H

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

FC Hennef 06, Germany, Hennef, Niki Lauda, Regionaliga, Rhein mittal liga, Schloss Allner, Stadion im Sportzentrum Hennef, TuRa Hennef, West

Saturday 11th October 2014 ko 14.00

Regionaliga West

FC HENNEF 05 0

SV RÖDINGHAUSEN 0

Att 418

Entry (Haupttribune) €12

Programme FREE

From Saarbrücken we headed north leaving Saarland and passing into Nord Rhine Westphalia. The two-and-a-half hour drive took us past the Nürburgring, scene of Niki Lauda’s infamous accident. I glanced over to driver Lee, then the speedometer showing below the speed-limit so no race influence here! Continue reading →

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Got me under pressure

15 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by laurencereade in S

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Bundesliga, Craig Dabbs, Germany, Kickers Offenbach, Lee West, Ludwigsparkstadion, Regionaliga, Saarbrucken, Saarland

Friday 10th October 2014 ko 19.00

Regionaliga Südwest

1FC SAARBRÜCKEN 1 (Döringer 13)

KICKERS OFFENBACH 1 (von den Burg 82)

Att 7,011

Entry (Haupttribune/Main Stand) €22 (€1 =80p)

Programme 50c

The alarm went off, it was 5.45am, and I was in a cheap hotel in Folkestone, its purpose only to get a car-load of hoppers to the Channel Tunnel as quickly as possible. I shuffled into the bathroom, and ran the shower only to watch the head extricate itself from the holster and hit my razor. The razor exploded in a spray of water, and I contemplated a hirsute weekend over a bacon roll and an Americano as the train travelled under the English Channel.

Continue reading →

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Meine Freunde Deutsch

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by laurencereade in M

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Tags

1FC Bruchsal, Fernmeldeturm Mannheim telecommunication, Germany, Mannheim, Meisterschale, Oberliga Baden-Wüttemberg, Regionalliga Süd, Rhein-Neckar Stadion, SV Waldhof Mannheim, VfR Manheim

Sunday 6th April 2014 ko 15.00

Oberliga Baden-Wüttemberg

VfR MANNHEIM 2 (Erdogu 3p Kyei 85)

1FC BRUCHSAL 0

Att 550

Entry €11 (Haupttribüne/Main Stand)

Programme FREE

Steak Roll €3.50

It was fitting that I arrived in Mannheim by car, the city is after all where Carl Benz produced the world’s first car powered by the internal combustion engine in 1886. I note that he used his wife, Bertha as the first passenger which shows either confidence in his invention, or his marriage! The running theme on this tour of clubs with neighbours continued with SV Waldhof Mannheim’s Carl-Benz-Stadion dominating the skyline, along with the 212.8 metre Fernmeldeturm Mannheim telecommunication tower complete with observation deck. But if you head down the driveway to the right of the Chinese restaurant a cornucopia of delights awaits you.

Continue reading →

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Sunday Morning Coming Down

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by laurencereade in A

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1898 Partenheim, Akso-Diyar Mainz, B, Germany, Klasse, Kreisliga, Mainz

Sunday 6th April 2014 ko 10.30

B-Klasse Mainz-Bingen West

FC AKSU-DIYAR MAINZ 9 (Kisala 15 33 40 62 79 Cesario 58 77 Ghamkor 64 Onuc 90)

SG 1898 PARTENHEIM 2 (Matischek 79 Jung 87)

Att 14 at Pitch 3 Bezirkssportenlage, Mainz-Mombach

Entry FREE

Programme NO

A few years ago a groundhopping snob on an internet forum decried watching German Kreisliga football. Apart from the maxim of not inflicting ill-thought-out opinions on others, our little keyboard warrior would have had a fit on what I watched here. Normally speaking Kreisliga is the local league, in less built-up areas the lowest rung of the pyramid, and in more urban area the Kreisklasse tucks in beneath that. Like any national organisation there will always be quirks and in Mainz there is no Kreisliga, the A to D Klassen in effect does that job for them. Of course what you miss when you become a status-snob is some hugely enjoyable visits, but then ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?

Continue reading →

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Filtered Football

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by laurencereade in W

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Germany, Hessenliga, Sportpark Helmut Schon, SV Wiesbaden, Viktoria Griesheim, Wiesbaden

Saturday 5th April 2014 ko 18.30

Hessenliga

SV WIESBADEN 1899 0 Pajic sent off 85 (dangerous play)

SV VIKTORIA GRIESHEIM 1 (Starck 27)

Att 290

Entry €7 (all areas)

Programme FREE

Imagine, dear reader you were to settle in the capital of the German state of Hesse. Perhaps you’d be connected to the US military, there are many bases around here, Elvis himself visited here many times during his National Service. You’d be attracted no doubt by the spas, there are still 14 springs flowing today, and the wide boulevards. It is a thoroughly pleasant city, although an essential stop should be the Jewish Memorial on the site of the former Synagogue destroyed in the Kristallnacht pogrom on 10th November 1938. But given that you’re reading this you’ll want to watch some football, and you will have a dilemma.

Continue reading →

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Hop(p)s !

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by laurencereade in S

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Bundesliga, Dietmar Hopp, Germany, Hardtwaldstadion, Hoffenheim, Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, Sandhausen, Sankt, St Pauli, Waldorf Astoria, Walldorf

Saturday 5th April 2014 k 13.00

2 Bundesliga
SV SANDHAUSEN 2 (Blum 50 Adler 69)
FC ST. PAULI 3 (Gonther 55 Schachten 77 Rzatkowski 78)

Att 8,050

Entry Complementary (would have cost €11) for Stehplatz or terrace

Programme FREE

Badge €4

I’m not saying that the Baden-Württemberg town of Sandhausen is low-key, but when you turn off the autobahn and follow the football signposts, you end up at the stadium of FC Astoria Walldorf, who play in the 5th tier Oberliga Baden-Württemberg! It was enough to fool a significant number of St Pauli fans including one group who’d parked up their VW van, lit their barbecue and a cracked open a beer. We found the ground, spotted the error, and trusted the satnav and travelled the 4-or-so kilometres to the correct ground. It proved to be an interesting detour if you understand the recent history of the club.

Sandhausen is a small town that grew up around the growing of hops for beer and tobacco, although the latter is now restricted to just the one district. The Hardtwaltstadion is on the south-western edge of the town and the surrounding streets are shut-down by the Polizei on match-days so it pays to be early as there’s only street parking. Another tip for photographers is that many Bundesliga clubs do not allow SLR cameras in the ground. I took my compact, and immediately spotted a SLR being used, so it isn’t a hard and fast rule.

I joined the queue for a ticket, and was debating whether to go for a seat or to stand when I was tapped on the shoulder, and a complementary handed to me. That made my mind up I suppose! The ground reflects the club’s rapid rise through the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, and the then third tier Regionalliga Süd. The club were founder members of the new 3 Bundesliga, and won it in 2012. The main stand has had a large terrace added to the right of it, and a huge temporary seated stand behind one goal. Floodlights arrived as late as 2011 and the result is a stadium that is functional rather than beautiful. What makes it remarkable is that is so very nearly never happened.

In 2005 the owner of SAP software, and TSV 1899 Hoffenheim, Dietmar Hopp wanted to merge Hoffenheim with Sandhausen and yes, Astoria Walldorf. ( I wonder if the St Pauli fans made it to the game?) His idea was to create a Heidelberg-based club with the capability of establishing themselves in the 1 Bundesliga. There was plenty of history within Walldorf, the club is after all named after Johann Jacob Astor who was born in Walldorf in 1763 and later emigrated to the United States where he became a successful businessman. His descendants, founders of the Astoria and Waldorf hotel chains supported the town of Walldorf and the new football club, formed in 1908, was named Astoria in his honour.

That history was not likely to be lost easily and when Sandhausen and Walldorf rejected Hopp’s approach, he concentrated his efforts on Hoffenheim funding both their new stadium, the Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim 22 km away from Hoffenheim, and their meteoric rise through the divisions to the top-flight.

Despite the ground being nowhere near its 12,100 capacity the walkways seemed full, and the queues for food (7 types of sausage available!) and drinks long. Sankt Pauli are always a draw at this level, people being attracted by their fans social conscience and Ultra culture. Certainly the visiting fans were right behind their team throughout the game, and produced a stunning display of pyro’ and banners before kick-off.

The catch was is that for the vast majority of the game those fans had little or nothing to cheer. The first half was a litany of missed passes and lack of ambition, but the second was a different matter altogether. Sandhausen’s best player Danny Blum took advantage of a defensive howler to fire his team into the lead. St Pauli soon equalised, Gonther heading home, but Sandhausen regained the lead through Nicky Adler taking full advantage of a suicidal Jan-Philipp Kalla pass.

That could, and maybe should have been it, I certainly thought it would be but two goals in a minute won the game for the visitors. St Pauli counter-attacked and a diagonal ball found Marcel Halstenburg on the right. He looked more than a little off-side as he took the ball, but carried on forward before his cross found left-back Sebastian Schachten working the  left channel beautifully. He volleyed home for the goal of my weekend, never mind the game.

That shell-shocked Sandhausen and their misery was completed a minute later when Marc Rzatkowski was on hand to tap home after Manuel Riemann could only parry Halstenburg’s cross out to him. It was quite a turn-round but the anger on the faces of the home faithful was a reminder of how they felt about the genesis of St Pauli’s second goal. I strolled over towards the away end, where the party had started. Not for too long you understand, there was another ground to find, a game to see, and a story or two to discover. I returned to the car with a real sense of two clubs with identities, St Pauli’s wrapped up with what they stand for and Sandhausen’s with their town. That is something that the likes of Dietmar Hopp and others in the higher echelons of football should consider more deeply.









49.332490 8.648840

Masticate

07 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by laurencereade in U

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1860 Munchen, 3 bundesliga, Bayern Munchen, Christoph Langen, dritte liga, Germany, Kickers Offenbach, Mathias Fetsch, sportpark unterhaching, Thomas Rathberger, Unterhaching

Sunday 30th September 2012 ko 14.00

3 Bundesliga

SpVgg UNTERHACHING 0

KICKERS OFFENBACH 3 (Fetsch 25 53 Rathberger 53)

Att 2,450

Entry (Haupttribune/Main Stand) €18

Programme €1

Badge €3

Bratwurst €3

Teamsheet FREE

The last game of our tour saw a 10km trip south of Munich to the municipality of Unterhaching, a location utterly dominated by it’s larger neighbour. The town is notable for being the German base for chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley, these days a divison of the Mars Corporation. The Wrigley factory is a few hundred yards from the Sportpark Unterhaching, in fact if we’d have watched Fortuna Unterhaching, we’d have been opposite! On a more ecological scale the municipality has become a centre for geothermal energy with two deep boreholes providing super-heated steam to drive turbines. To prove that we do live in small world Unterhaching is twinned with Witney, in Oxfordshire just a short drive from where I live in Oxford.

The Sportpark Unterhaching was built in 1992 to accomodate the club’s elevation to the 2 Bundesliga. Its been extended since then, and further expansion plans are afoot, but with the club’s demotion to the Dritte-Liga, the current 15,000 capacity is clearly sufficient. The club were second in the table at kick-off, so to draw as few as 2,450 spectators must have been highly disappointing for the club. Clearly the lure of 1860, and Bayern Munich is too much for a club this close to the big city.

There’s more to SpVgg Unterhaching than just football though. As the club badge betrays, the club has a highly successful Bobsleigh team. Multiple Olympic medalist and National coach Christoph Langen represented Unterhaching at his chosen sport. Graeme and I also discovered an active Curling club tucked behind the away end. Clearly there is no lack of sporting choice in this part of the world.

With the time so tight between games, I’d eaten nothing. The pizza stalls looked tempting, but there was the vexed question of nabbing a teamsheet from the press office. Eventually I found a 500ml glass of apfelsaft and a bratwurst and made to with that until we could stop somewhere between the ground and Frankfurt Airport.

The surroundings weren’t half as boring as a new-build ground can be. I liked the wooden roof on the main stand, and the quite bizarre hospitality area in one corner. The two sets of fans did their best to create an atmosphere but the empty spaces made that aim difficult.

What none of the 4 us expected was a massive away win. Unterhaching would have gone top with a win, but at no time did that look likely as Offenbach quickly took control with Mathias Fetsch looking a class apart from everyone else on the field. He scored two poacher’s goals which provided the intro and coda to Thomas Rathberger’s wonderful header for the second goal.

The Unterhaching manager Claus Schromm had no answers save for a rather contrived argument with referee Bibiana Steinhaus after the final whistle. The truth of the game was that Unterhaching hadn’t turned up, and Offenbach had taken full advantage. We made our way back to the car and followed the away fans more or less the entire 400km to Frankfurt. That bit, on the autobahn should have been straightforward but as befits our weekend, we got caught in several traffic jams and were glad of the live traffic feature on the hire car’s SatNav for reassurance. We handed back the car at the airport and dashed over to the terminal. We had 45 minutes to takeoff, enough, but not comfortable. That seemed somehow to be a metaphor for our weekend.

It remains only to thank my companions on this weekend, Lee, Martin, Graeme, and Andreas. Andreas in particular for his help explaining groundhopping to two border Polizei who weren’t minded to understand such subjects. The real star of the weekend was Lee, for planning this, finding the hotel, and for a positively mammoth driving stint. Many thanks mate, and when’s the next one?







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