FC Augsburg 0-1 Hertha Berlin, att. 28,130 (Bundesliga)
 |
| Welcome to ...... |
Whatever you do, DON’T walk to this stadium – it’s miles away! While at the Hbf, looking for a tram to the stadium, I spotted a few Augsburg fans dawdling on bahnhofstrasse, at what looked like a tramstop. It wasn’t the line I was looking for, but offered me ‘futballinen’ which sounded like exactly the man. Turns out they do football specials on matchday, from 2 hours before kick-off. This was 2pm, an hour and a half before, and the tram was full after two stops, so beware. We thus traipsed past 8 or so other stops without stopping, trying not to think ‘schedenfreude’ on the passing by of every sorry group. Not much point having free travel to the stadium if you can’t get on it.
The journey was long, and the streets were flat. Couldn’t the locals have cycled there? The tram tipped us off…and the stadium was STILL the best part of a mile away, last building in town, then the motorway. Bolton all over again. Not the most beautiful of facades either, concrete a-plenty. Turns out Augsburg have plans to encase the stadium in something more salubrious, but it’s all about the money. A pity, since Augsburg FC has grown exponentially in recent years, to the point where they’re virtual Bundesliga mainstays.
 |
| The stadium looms in the distance. |
The stadium is less than 10 years old and is not much bigger than their previous ground in terms of capacity, but the club president, in his scheming, felt the Bundesliga could only be achieved with a new stadium (less athletics track, more seating, more cover…more VIP space)…and he was right. Augsburg have been in the Bundesliga for five years and have qualified for Europe this season.
I know all of the above cos I dropped on lucky in the ticket queue. A similarly-aged fan approached me with a spare ticket for the kurve - €14. Turns out he targeted me cos he only had one ticket and I looked alone. Well, he got that right. As ever, the home terrace was sold out. Whatever you read about cheap Bundesliga football, it’s rare you’ll find a terrace ticket for most of the teams.
The stadium has 26 sections (literally A-Z) with the home terrace K-O. Peter was normally in ‘N’with his sister, but after a swap of tickets, he came in ‘M’ with me. Unfortunately, having talked too much (BOTH of us), we left it late and space was at a real premium. We ended up right at the back, stood behind fans on the same step as us, so viewing wasn’t ideal, but no matter. We were still too busy talking.
 |
| In case you're in doubt |
The WWK Arena is one tier all round, with a large terrace behind one goal for the home support, while the away fans are situated in the opposite end, in one corner. Excellent views too, with the terrace having a steep rake, although there are staunchions at the back holding the roof up. Costs obviously had to be cut somewhere.
The match was generally a let-down (well, it was for the home fans). The only goal was a weak penalty straight down the middle from Kalou, following a foul. Otherwise, FCA only threatened in the last few minutes, as the keeper joined in the attack. (On one of these, the Hertha keepr caught the ball and could have kicked for goal, given there was no-one in their half. But he chose to hold onto it and waste time. Boring.) An earlier free kick slammed against the Hertha post.
 |
| Note the away terrace, far corner. |
There were cards galore though and Hertha saw redhalfway through the 2nd half. A chance for Augsburg perhaps? 11 v 10. Only it wasn’t 11 v 10, it was 10 v 10. We’d missed star player Bobadilla getting a second yellow for taking out a player on the halfway line in the last minute of the opening half. Ironic, given that the loudest cheer of the day was for the earlier news that Bobadilla had signed a new contract. Hero to zero.
After the match, the heavens opened and we hid under the stands, having a beer. We chatted rubbish for another couple of hours before we had to leave – I hadn’t checked in yet, and it was Peter’s teatime. I’d had a great day, whatever the result.
The Damage: €14 ent€4.70 beer (x2)= €23.40
***Apologies for the lack of pics; too busy rabbiting!
No comments:
Post a Comment