FSV Zwickau 2-0 Carl Zeiss Jena, Sunday 4th August 2019

FSV Zwickau 2-0 Carl Zeiss Jena, 3.liga, att. 7,342 (GGZ Arena)

Welcome to ...

For a long time I'd wanted to visit Zwickau - but not necessarily to see FSV and their new stadium.  No, for years I'd failed to reach Zwickau to see them play at their old (old - they played somewhere else inbetween) stadium, the Westsachsenstadion.  This was a stadium when, at Zwickau's peak (as BSG Sachsenring Zwickau), 55,000 attended a European Cup Winners' Cup quarter final with Celtic in 1976 (winning 1-0 and going through 2-1 on aggregate).

Look at this beauty...the Westsachsenstadion.

By the early 2010s though, the terracing was crumbling and capacity was limited to 4,999, on small sets of 'temporary' metal terracing, on scaffolds.  Only the entrance tower retained its glory.  Then, as local politics took hold, the fans wanted to see the stadium rebuilt.  €5m was invested/wasted on an underground reservoir to provide water for the pitch, which was soon given over to plastic rather than grass.  A brand new ticket office was never utilised, so, with the stadium considered inadequate, in 2011, FSV departed to an athletics stadium in the suburbs, Sportforum Sojus 31.  Think Withdean Stadium Brighton, though it held a paltry 3,000.  Far from ideal, FSV stayed here for 5 years.

As close as I could get to Sportforum Sojus 31.

The political squabbles continued, but with FSV having an eye on promotion to the national 3.liga, a new stadium was needed urgently.  Thus, rather than renovate the Westsachsenstadion and spend good money after bad, they decided on a brand new site, on top of a hill, about 10 minutes walk from the athletics track (and about 4km from Westsachsenstadion).  And how do I know all this?  Cos of a chance meeting with a local who, on seeing me staring at an empty athletics pitch after FSV's game, asked if I was a groundhopper.  I initially hesitated (due to an earlier experience; see later) but before I knew it, he (Benjamin) was telling me the history, before giving me a lift the few miles to the Westsachsenstadion, which he showed me around.  'The gates are always open' apparently.

THIS is an entance.

This was a true highlight of my trip.  That and the blackberries I picked on the far side of the stadium - the sweetest, juiciest, I've ever tasted.  Ben also explained the FSV reticence / suspicion with regards groundhoppers: in years previous some fans involved in a fight were identified from a groundhopper's website.  Thus at full-time today, while I was taking pics of the murals at the (current) stadium, a couple of ultras accosted me and asked me not to put any photos on the interweb.  One left and I discussed it with the other (less intimidating) one.  FSV had had their troubles with social media and therefore wanted nought to do with it.  I argued fruitlessly about the positive benefits: publicity, which might encourage more spectators (groundhoppers?) to visit.  Benjamin later said FSV fans (including himself) weren't really interested in these people.  They wanted folk who came REGULARLY to support FSV, not simply come as a one-off.  'But you're nice and polite' he said to me, 'so you're welcome'.  Isn't the first time anyone goes to a game a 'one-off' though?  You can't be a regular till you've had a 'one-off'.  Oh well.

A mural at the new stadium commemorating the Celtic game.  Note the Scottish accent!

I was very grateful to Benjamin.  We talked of other things too, such as his friends who've moved west for work, why Erzegirbirge Aue are so much more successful than FSV despite coming from a much smaller town, and why he can't relate to the new stadium, so attends irregularly.  I'm sure there's many a fan who can identify with that...lack of identity.  But without his help (especially the lifts), God knows what time I'd have left Zwickau, cos there were some distances involved, and no guarantees I'd have got my directions right.  Though visiting Westsachsenstadion did mean I'd avoid a possibly irate away contingent after an abysmal local derby defeat.

Not a good day for the visitors.

I arrived in Zwickau about half an hour before kick-off, so I knew I wouldn't make it in time to see all the action.  Stadion Zwickau (or 'GGZ Arena' under current sponsorship) was going to be a good 3 miles from the railway station.  (I'd dropped my bags off at my hostel in Dresden, having come from Jablonec Nad Nisou in the Czech Republic).  If I'd known how pushed for time I was, I'd have left my bags in a station locker.  At Zwickau I followed directions to Neumarkt for a tram to the stadium, but as I never saw a single tram on my walk, were there any running?  It was Sunday.  I took no chances and briskly walked, including a long trawl up the hill, all the while following tram tracks.  I did see one tram - going the other way.

I'm on the right track...

I saw a sign for home fans and walked through a couple of fields used for carparking before arriving at a ticket booth.  Would it still be open?  The game had been going for 25 minutes.  Yes it would.  €14.  The stars were further aligning, as the stewards let me in with my bag (with bottle of water).  'Is it cos I'm English?' and therefore no threat?  '...errr...no.  Because it is a very hot day.'  This was something different, a German official not following instructions to the letter.

This way.

I went straight to the terrace.  0-0, ideal.  A local derby, so a packed away end, at least on the terrace.  Three brave souls went against policy and sat down.  The attendance was double the norm - 7,000 odd, in a stadium built for 10,000.  It's a very smart stadium too.  Although it's simply 4 stands, it has a unique design in that both ends behind the goal don't run the full width of the pitch.  This makes each end a little more intimate, while giving easy scope for future expansion should FSV need it.  The away end is split in two, with half given over to standing, while the home end is pure terrace.  Either side are one-tier stands running the length of the pitch.

Match action.

Meantime, in the match, Jena controlled the rest of the first half, without coming close to scoring.  Then, with half-time looming, a FSV corner resulted in a penalty.  Being at the far end,no-one had a clue what it was for.  No matter, one-nil.  And proof to an as-yet pointless Carl Zeiss that poor teams lose even when playing well.

Half-time, I bagged a beer, but I wasn't yet hungry enough for a wurst.  I can't believe I've just written that sentence.  I did though buy a couple of souvenirs from the ultras' stall, then found a more central perch on the terrace.

The away terrace.

The 2nd half became a procession for FSV.  The sun beat down and Carl Zeiss were down to 10 men following a mistimed last-man tackle.  The win was FSV's, compounded by a late strike on the break as a forward was put clean through.  All I needed now was a slightly menacing interlude before a personal tour and history lesson.  Thanks Benjamin - this is to you!

The players' lap of honour.

The Damage:
€14 ent
€1 prog
€2 plastic beaker
€4 badge
€3 beer (400ml, Wernegruner)
= €25

The Tunes:
Home Counties (St. Etienne)
Love Letters (Metronomy)
Loveless (My Bloody Valentine)
Lunatico (Gotan Project)
Maxinquaye (Tricky)

Stayed at:
Hostel Mondpalast, Dresden (£14)

Stadion Zwickau panorama

The away end.  Note the lack of fans in the seats.

Some Jena fans get a cheeky view.

Match action.

FSV! FSV!

Sitting in the sun.

Paid for seats, but would rather stand.

A Zwickau free kick is saved.

The players celebrate in front of the ultras.

Goodbye to ...

Westsachsenstadion.  Home to 55,000, once.

Carl Zeiss Jena 0-0 Schönberg, Wednesday 5th August 2015

Carl Zeiss Jena 0-0 Schönberg (att. 6,623)

Welcome to ....

I’ve wanted to visit Carl Zeiss Jena for years. A name redolent of my childhood, that team wot played Newport County in a European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter final. It doesn’t look more believable when written. A time before history, a time when the Premiership didn’t exist, a time when the romantic still held sway. A time when Eastern European football teams seemed almost mystical. A time when the songwriting influences of Half Man Half Biscuit were formed. (See ‘All I want for Christmas is a Dukla Prague away kit’ and ‘I was a teenage armchair Honved fan.’)

Ticket office behind the Main Stand

Today was a real highlight, where I was adopted by a couple of Jena fans and treated to a few beers after the match. Here’s the trick. Take a pic of some floodlights (or, more specifically, the base of what were the old floodlights; they’d been pulled down for safety reasons…before they FELL down) and you may be approached by a couple of unlikely looking young lads (mid 20s) for a chat. Turns out they had a fanzine to sell. 

Check out their blog here: http://dergastbeitrag.blogspot.de

Ernst Abbe Sportfeld stadium plan

Once the introductions were made, they were intrigued that I’d come to see a 4th tier nordost regionalliga game. After chatting for a while I simply MUST come into town for a beer. Ok then, you’ve twisted my arm.

Jena is actually a nice little place – I’m told 20-25% of its population of 100,000 are students. It also has a strip of bars I problies couldn’t find again cos I’d been taxi’d there by one of my new chums. Still, do they have weissbier? But of course – Erdinger. Conversation revolved around politics, floodlights and what they thought of Erfurt. The usual. (Rot Weiss Erfurt are the local rivals and one of the most beautiful towns which ever hosted a professional football team; they agreed, nice place – it’s the people they take exception to.)  I remember visiting Rot Weiss and, like Carl Zeiss, there’s a real anger towards their rivals, with plenty of scarves and badges on sale to say so.

'Fuck RWE'; a scarf on sale inside the ground.

Mind, I have some apologies to make. I ran out of money and couldn’t stand my round. When the bar guy came to the table for payment, I discovered I only had coinage left. No, they don’t accept cards. Thus, I fell on my saviour’s generosity even more. I felt so guilty I showed them what I’d spent my last €10 on: a Carl Zeiss t-shirt which one of the lads was also sporting. I was home and dry.

Souvenirs here: the supporters' club hut. 

So, of course, I’d recommend a trip to Carl Zeiss to anyone. Who knew for instance that they are named after a famous optometrist rather than, say, an ex-player? Who knew that the Ernst Abbe Sportfeld was named after a compadre of Zeiss? Well, not me, obvs. Science was never my forte. If only I knew of any scientists and where they were from…we could have Isaac Newton Park Rangers playing at the Joseph Lister Arena.

I'll park my car here...

The earlier struggle in finding the stadium was almost forgotten. Being a late choice of match, I’d not looked up where the ground was. Dammit. I’d intended on being in Jena a few hours early to have a gander around. Instead, I had 2 hours. No sign of a stadium from the train but I did see a few CZ supporters dotted around town. So I followed one – and ended up in a shopping centre. Every cloud though - I nipped into a bookshop and one reading of a map later, I had an idea: cross the railway and the river and it’s somewhere over there. In fact, you walk through parkland, all trees and paths and beach volleyball courts (this is decidedly NOT England) and, by now, if it’s less than half an hour to kick-off, you have plenty of other fans to follow. I did.

The teams line up.  It is HOT.

I never saw any Schönberg fans though, all day. While the division is regionalised, Schönberg are as far away as you can get, somewhere in the far north. Also, a 6pm kick-off can’t help, if you’ve any kind of employ. Still, I expected a few of them. Surely it’s a big thing for them to be playing at a side with CZ’s history? (Looking them up, they were formed in 1995 and come from somewhere between Hamburg and Kiel. As I said, miles away.)

The Main Stand and athletics track.

The match? Nil-nil. Characterised by me having a splitting headache during the 1st half while nursing a cricked neck from sleeping funny. (The lack of sleep also can’t have helped, as some ar5ehole in my hostel room was desperately trying to impress some female with his tales of travelling around India.) At least I could sit down on the sparsely populated terrace at the opposite end from their ultras, though watching a game 50 yards away (bloody athletics track!), through a fence, was hardly conducive to enjoying the footie. 

Fans discuss what they can see...

I arrived at the stadium early enough to do a lap, after I’d secured my €9 ‘stehplatz’ ticket. From memory, it was €12 to sit in the roofless stand down one side, yet a whopping €24 to sit down in the main stand opposite. Plenty still chose the latter, perhaps looking for shelter from the relentless sun. I’ve never been so hot at 6pm in Europe. Both ends were open terraces, though one end was taller than the other and housed the vocal element. Second half, headache mysteriously having disappeared, I decided to join the ultras and actually had a better view despite the numbers – I was standing, higher up.

The roofless side of seating consisted of a permanent set of seats, backed up by a temporary stand, ready for the season’s highlight: the forthcoming DFB Pokal match against the formerly mighty Hamburger SV (who they would beat 3-2). 

This will be full a week or so later.

But of more intrigue were the floodlights. The situation was thus; about 3 years ago the pitch was flooded and afterwards someone thought to inspect the floodlight pylons. Turns out they were full of corrosion and so were chopped down ASAP. Now, with talk of a new stadium, the installation of new floodlights could be a failed investment, so they’re doing without. Night games are being played 40km away in Meuselwitz. The whole thing sounds a mess.

R.I.P. Jena floodlights

Carl Zeiss obviously have potential though. Today, a crowd of 6,000 odd turned out. Nice weather? Early season optimism? Certainly not the latter, cos none of the lads at the pub felt they’d get promotion this season. And on a separate note, no, they didn’t like other teams’ reserves being allowed to play in their league.

Of course, being goalless, the rules are I must go back and see another game in Jena. It will be a pleasure. But will it be at the Ernst Abbe Sportfeld?

The players give thanks to the fans

The Damage:
€9 ent
€10 t-shirt
€4 badges
€2 a massive sausage in a bun
€2.50 weissbier: Benediktiner (x2)
€1.50 prog (poor value, despite the price)
= €31.50 (£22)

The Tunes:
Souvlaki (Slowdive)
Music for the motion picture Victoria (Nils Frahm)
New Forms (Ronni Size/Reprazent)
Finisterre (St. Etienne)

The Main Stand; note path going under it.

The Südkurve ultras

The 70s scoreboard

The view amongst the ultras.

CZJ clock tower.  Apologies for awfulness of photo.

The Main Stand

Welcome to....(Part 2)

Goodbye Jena!

Them floodlights.  Problies for the best.