1. FC Nürnberg 1-0 Erzgebirge Aue, Bundesliga 2, att. 37,116
 |
| Beyond the stadium, the old Nazi Party Rally Grounds |
I'd had my eyes on a visit to the Frankenstadion since Nürnberg were relegated, even if the vagaries of the fixture list meant a long trip down from Hamburg. Still, the journey passes quicker when you're drinking on the train with St. Pauli fans!
The Grundig Stadion (to give its official title) is easy to get to from Nürnberg Hbf, even if it's a bit far to walk. A plethora of trains, trams and buses can be got, to the stadium or the nearby Dokumentzentrum (a MUST if you've never been). I caught a train.
I had an hour before kick-off so I had a wander around the outside. Red hot and it looked busy. I eyed up the Nürnberg ticket booths.but I could only see the price of seats; were the terraces sold out? I hit on the idea of the away end - after all, Aue are a small team, they're the underdog, could do with the support, etc....and there'd be plenty of space! Wrong. Although I entered the ground early, by KO I was crammed in (no chance of being crushed to death; there were barriers every two steps.) There was rail seating but these were locked 'up'. But Aue had come in numbers.
 |
| Aue fans relax outside |
The atmosphere was rocking but I'd been adopted by an older Aue fan who explained passionately what supporting Aue meant to him. (He never missed a match home or away, though he wasn't happy with the made-for-TV Friday and Monday evening kick-offs. I wouldn't be impressed either.) 'You'd think we were in Aue' he said, as the low ceiling meant no escape from the noise. 'What chance do Aue have today?' I asked. 'No chance,' Optimistic, then.
 |
| The teams come out. I think. |
The first half was generally even, yet Nürnberg still fashioned four superb opportunities to score. Aue scraped in level at half time. The Nürnberg Ultras flag-waving hadn't stopped, yet their other terrace had no flags whatsoever. You pays yer money and yer takes yer choice, though both looked rammed to capacity. Maybe there WERE no terrace tickets left.
Aue must have brought 2500-3000 and I could barely escape for a p*** and a beer. I achieved the former and spent the rest of half time nowhere near achieving the other. With one or two refreshment stalls unopened, I wonder if 1.FCN underestimated the away turnout?
 |
| Come on Aue! |
I squeeze back into my place and it's a good job I didn't continue queuing for a beer cos 10 minutes in and it's the only goal of the game - 1.FCN burst from midfield, the guy knocks the ball on for another teammate to burst through and pick his spot. I thought he'd maybe kicked it too far in front of him, but the keeper, slow to come out, gave himself no chance.
 |
| Nürnberg's octagon of a stadium |
Now, I don't know if the goal was the catalyst, but two minutes later a fight broke out in the away end. A youngish, but physically overbearing specimen wanted a piece of a large 50-something, beer-belly and all. 'You're a big man but you're out of shape'. Still, if dogs look like their owners, and if this one had a dog, it'd be a (fat) pit bull. A few punches were thrown before each was pulled back by other fans. Full marks to one lad, not as big as either of these two, who positioned himself between them while acting as peacemaker.
 |
| Futuristic, yet aged. An enigma. |
The rest of the match had less excitement, though Aue can claim they threw the draw away as, with 3 mins left, their guy ran beyond the Nürnberg defence from a free kick, controlled it, before stabbing wide from 6 yards. Okay, the keeper ran at him, but he absolutely bottled it.
So, on this most sweltering of days, I found myself clad in a purple and white 'Wismut' (never 'Erzgebirge'; it's a throwback to their former days) scarf, a present from my chaperone, 'Joachim'. I wish 'Wismut' all the best this season. It's going to be a struggle, but you never know.
Attendance: 37,116
The Damage:
€14 ent
€3.90 beer
 |
| View from the away end |
 |
| The Apollo Space Station |
 |
| Aue, Aue, what's the score? |
 |
| I thought Grundig disappeared in the 70s? |
 |
| Hints of Nürnberg's dark past |
No comments:
Post a Comment