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| 200 metres past |
Sometimes, no matter what advance research you do, you;re best just following the pack. So much for my printing of local bus timetables, directions to the ground, etc...at the nearest railway station (Backnang) I noticed a huddle of Kicker fans. Just do what they do, I thought (but what if they were being picked up by their mates?) No worries, nevermind 'ordinary' public transport, there was a shuttle bus to the 'Mechatronik Arena'. The advantage of promotion to 3.liga for tiny Sonnenhof Grossaspach, a side with an average crowd of 600 last season. We're off to the COUNTRYSIDE! (Rushden and Diamonds, anyone?)
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| pre-match ticket queues |
Despite having the walking directions, you;d be insane to hike it. Not only is it miles away from the station, on obscure country roads, you wake a wrong turn and it'll cost you an hour. One hop on the shuttle bus and you're there, albeit in twenty minutes or so. But I was determined to see a game at this place, figuring they'll not last long in this division with crowds as they have. (Population: 7955 according to Wikipedia.) And even better, it was a local derby; Stuttgarter Kickers was possibly their biggest game of the season anyway.
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| The side stand (I don't think any have names) |
The Mechatronik Arena (nee Comtech Arena) is built on a hill, somewhere outside of town (Aspach?), surrounded by forest on three sides. With an hour and a half to kick off, I bought my ticket (home terrace) with minimal fuss and had a wander. It's an odd little stadium. Photos I'd seen of it don't quite do it justice. While three sides look incredibly staid and boring, even that's not the case. The back of the stand (imagine a 'C' shaped stand, covering all 3 sides) is mostly open at the back. All very nice in summer (which it was), but winter...?
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| How open is THIS? |
However, the ace in the pack in terms of this stadium is the 4th side. While the other three sides wrap around each in uniformity, the 'Main Stand' on the 4th side barely covers half the length of the pitch. Built into it is what looks like an alpine lodge, with the most perfectly formed 'executive area' - picnic tables with umbrellas on a balcony overlooking the pitch. And next to it, in the corner of the ground nearest the home end, sits a large beer garden covered with tarpaulin (one of whose ropes was tied to a crush barrier on the home terrace). While prohibitively for the business classes before and during the game, the Great Unwashed could venture in afterwards for a snifter.
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| THIS is what I call a 'stand'! |
Being a village team unused to Bundesliga culture, most fans appeared to want to sit. The (small) home terraced area had plenty of space, though a small group decided it was wise to stand right at the entrance/exit, presumably to get in as many people's ways as possible. The 'ultras' meantime consisted of one young lad (20?) orchestrating around 15 others. They generally did well for themselves and I felt sorry when no-one else joined in. Though given the relatively huge crowd (6,421) perhaps most had never been before. When the PA announcer introduced a Sonnenhof player, eg, 'Max ..........Weber!' hardly anyone would shout the player's surname, as is the norm. (FYI that was an example, I don't think any of the players shared the name of a 19th century sociologist.)
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| Let the orchestrating begin! |
I'd chosen to come to Sonnenhof for a few reasons. Firstly, they were a new team to the 3.liga and, as I said, probably favourites to go straight back down. It also looked like a difficuly place to get to (by train) which represented a challenge. And with a 10,000 stadium and 600 fans, a local derby v Stuttgarter Kickers represented the best chance of seeing this place have a crowd. Oh, and since I too was coming from Stuttgart, I thought this increased my chances of knowing whether I was on the right track.
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| The teams come out in front of the away end |
The first half was very open. Wingers were very much to the fore (had I stepped back to the 1950s?) with the Kickers left winger in particular giving his opposite number a roasting. Sadly (thankfully - I was cheering on the underdog) there never quite seemed enough forwards in the box to latch onto all the crosses and cutbacks.
With Sonnenhof only having occasional breaks, it was no surprise when Kickers finally took the lead. A ball was played out to the right and the cross was bundled in at the near post. I know not what part of his anatomy it came off, but it wasn't the foot or the head. I wondered if this would be the start of a landslide.
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| Koln have their goat, Hereford their bull...and 'aspach have a donkey??? |
It wasn't a landslide. Just before half time, Sonnenhof got a free kick, 25 yards out, to the left of the goal as you look at it. The wall was prepared, the keeper was ready, yet the ball sailed over the wall and and into the net, somewhere not far off the middle of the goal. The keeper must have coe out expecting a cross, because, given where the ball hit the net - and he never got close - he was miles out of position. Then the ref blew for half time.
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| The big cheeses and their beer tent (I need to earn more money) |
The second half was a bit of damp squib with few chances. Indeed, the 'highlight', such as it was, was how the match ended. With there blatantly being a minute or so left, a Kickers player got injured. However, as he was led off the pitch he appeared to collapse, giving everyone cause for concern. Cue 'proper' ambulancemen running onto the pitch and getting the stretcher out. With people all around looking shocked, after a couple of minutes delay, the ref decided enough was enough and simply blew for full time. The player by then had his head up and was rubbing it, so I presume he was ok.
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| Heath and Safety would have a field day with this |
After the game, I jumped on a (free) shuttle bus, which traversed a different part of the countryside. I expect it was all part of some one-way system they run after the match. However, with one country lane and numerous cars parked in adjacent fields, it shouldn't have been unexpected that we got caught in traffic. You miss those fast getaways sometimes, especially when you're standing up surrounded by chain-smoking Kickers rebels. Rock and roll!
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| Come on Sonnenhof Grossaspach! (catchy) |
I also found myself on the middle of two English-language conversations. In one, a young lad flirted madly with some blonde he'd never met before, while in the other, a 70 year old Scotch bloke in full Kickers regalia chatted to a younger English bloke. It could have been his son (but I don't think so) who it seemed lived in Stuttgart and knew a little German. Anyway, he described his description of our sojourn to the countryside as thus:
'You've heard people describe a place as in the arse end of nowhere? Well, this place is the arse end of the arse end of nowhere.'
He had a point.
The Damage:
€10 ent
??? beer and wurst. I can't remember. Useless.
The tunes:
Strange Cargo III (William Orbit)
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| Backside of the longside |
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| Back of the away end (spot the clues) |
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| The away end |
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| I'm a sucker for a team coach... |
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| THAT stand again. Beautiful. |
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| Match action |
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| Plan of stadium |
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