Mainz 05 1-0 Asteras Tripolis, Thursday 31st July 2014

Come see the Roman ships!

Mainz (Germany) 1-0 Asteras Tripolis (Greece) Europa League 3rd qualifying round, 1st leg, att: 18,287
Okazaki 45’

In a field, far, far away...

Note to self: If the train to Mainz is 12:25 and there’s only one train leaving Frankfurt at 12:25, QED that does NOT mean that train is going to Mainz. Instead, you’ll have a half hour meander into the countryside and back. Good job I had time to kill. I still got to Mainz about 6 hours before KO. Time enough to walk to the stadium if need be (it’s miles away) or have an amble to their old ground (about 10 mins from the station). Handily, for tonite’s Europa League qualifier, I was able to buy a ticket at the old ground before having a look around Mainz.

Have no doubt where you are

Despite it’s Roman heritage, Mainz didn’t turn out to be as interesting as I expected, though you can look at some old Roman boats dug up relatively recently (I did) and the Gutenburg Museum, home of a very old bible (I didn’t). However, too much of the town is ‘precinct-y’ a la Kaiserslautern, though with the odd grand building thrown in. You’re better off having the day in Frankfurt, to be honest. Now, if I walk at 3 miles an hour, I must’ve done 12 miles around Mainz (and the rest). So, deserving of a pre-match pint, I headed towards the station, where shuttle buses take fans to the new ground (the Coface Arena). So here’s a tip – right opposite the station is an excellent tapas bar where one can also enjoy the delights of Schöfferhofer weizen.

One of the corner blocks

Dunno about you, but I love a good wheat beer. Then a thought hit me (it helped that I was looking at the menu): I don’t wanna be at the ground hungry – what if it’s got one of those modern fandangled card payment things? So, ‘chorizo’ was my wurst of the day. The Coface Arena is MILES away but a 10 minute trouble free journey by (free) bus. German efficiency, etc. But the stadium is so far away, it got me thinking – what was the last ground I went to which was the last building in town? Wycombe? Furthermore, the Coface is even built in the MIDDLE of farmers’ fields. You have to walk side by side with crops to reach their new cathedral – it’s (supposed) architectural magnificence celebrated in a book in the club shop (€29).

Listen: you have all the space you want, unimpeded by stuff like other buildings…sewers…tube lines..rivers…and this is the best you can come up with? Another concrete carbuncle with splashes of red coating it. Inside, both ends are single tier (good for noise), with one being the home terrace for Bundesliga games. Tonight, Matthew, I’m seating. At the opposite end there is a corner for the visitors’ terracing (not tonite, Josephine) while the main stand has two rows of exec boxes. There are no more boxes. The areas at the top of each stand are taken up with concrete pillars, the inbetween of which look perfect for boxes, yet are merely the frontage to the concourse. This all gives it a cheap and unfinished look. And being in the middle of fields, whilst I’m jolly pleased there’s a shuttle bus service, you still face a walk of 500m to get to the stadium.

A stadium with its own exhaust pipes!

For a Europa League qualifier, it was a decent turnout – just over 18,000. And as the teams came out, it occurred to me: I had no idea who Mainz were playing. Turns out to be a Greek team I’ve never heard of (I looked it up later). Despite this, they looked pretty slick and threatened several times, invariably through their right winger Badibanga, who looked (and played?) like Gervinho, the ex-Arsenal guy with the interesting hairstyle. I wondered if it was partly Badibanga’s look which got him noticed (thinking of Alex Ferguson’s claim once that blond players were over represented in his team’s scouting cos they stand out). However, when Badi was subbed with ten minutes left, the home support cheered him off and he milked the applause, waving to all sides. (Note: turns out he’s a 22 year old Belgian and has played for the national under 21s).

The banners go up...

Until...

Mainz won 1-0. A tale of backpost finishes, as Okazaki stabbed home a loose ball from a header in the last minute of the first half. The Greeks, hard done by, later missed their own chance as Badibanga beat his man (again) and banged it (sorry) across for an onrushing forward to slide wide. One of these two players will go onto better things. Both sides hit the woodwork, the Greek effort being a 20 yard thunderbolt which smashed against the bar and landed outside the box. Something else I noticed: the lack of can/bottle collectors at the stadium, a ritual anywhere else in Germany as folk take advantage of the deposits to be had. Is the stadium really so far away that no-one can be bothered? Or is Mainz more affluent than other German cities? Thus, there’s more for the council/football club to clean up. I bet they never thought of THAT when they designed this stadium.

Will these one day be exec boxes?

The Damage: 
ent: €15
badge: €4

Today's tunes:
Heaven or Las Vegas (Cocteau Twins)
Wakin on a Pretty Day (Kurt Vile)
Ferment (Catherine Wheel
Zing Zong (Kanda Bongo Man)

Match action

Not so busy on this side (the expensive side?)

Early evening sun at the Coface