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| Welcome to... |
It’s not like I hadn’t done a LITTLE bit of work for this one. I’d looked up where it was (answer: just outside Salzburg) and I’d checked out the transport (a bus, journey time about half an hour). What could go wrong? Well, said bus (#5) needed to connect to a #35…whose life that day had expired by 6:30pm. So I thought I’d walk the rest of the bus route, though I never did see another bus stop. I’d have to make some educated guesses. It was scheduled to be 15 minutes by bus…how long by foot?
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| Bootiful. Just bootiful. |
I walked through a village before hitting fields. I began to despair. It really did seem to be the middle of nowhere, albeit a nowhere surrounded by beautiful mountains. However, I came across a country pub (and kegelbahn – basically, old-skool bowling alleys). There seemed no point in not stopping for a drink. After all, I was officially lost. There was no sign of an Austrian Bundesliga football stadium and my legs needed a break. Then I saw it – a leaflet advertising tonite’s game. I asked the waiter where it was. He beckoned me outside and pointed into the far distance. ‘You see that gap between the houses – just there.’ ‘How far?’ (thinking 3 miles or more). ‘Maybe 100, 200 metres’. It was closer to my estimate. A lot closer.
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| An oasis of sustenance. |
After coming good with my educated guess, and proof luck comes in pairs, I enjoyed a beautiful chilled glass of Franziskaner weissbier. And another. Then I set off for the last leg…only to find it was still a good half hour away, through another hamlet before cutting across a field having seen the floodlights. Not your typical journey to a game.
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| If you squint hard enough, you;ll see the floodlights. |
But what a place! In the middle of a flat plain inbetween mountains, I could see the floodlights from far far away; and however far I walked, they never seemed to get any closer. The stadium itself has an L-shaped one-tier stand and with a separate stand behind the goal housing both home and away fans. The 4th side of the ground was bare, save for a TV gantry. Why sully a backdrop as amazing as this one, all mountain?
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| Conflicting signs for the stadium. |
Admira were the visitors tonite (20:30 KO) and brought an admirable (!) 26 fans. I think all 26 joined in the chanting too, as one one guy beat his drum. The home ‘ultras’ numbered a generous 15 and were to the side of the stand behind the opposite goal. The cheerleader was also the drummer (a la north-east beat combo China Drum). Otherwise, the stadium was deathly quiet. Grodig fans are so unused to their lofty station (population 7,000 – I’m told) they don’t even applaud acts of good play. Have they ever seen football before?
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| Nearly there! |
It was an entertaining game (2-3) though I missed 2 goals. I was queueing for wursts. They were originals, a long thin sausage cut in 2, with spices sprinkled on. A small cheer, 1-0. When I went back for an encore, another small cheer; Admira had made it 2-2. Then Admira snatched it late on, their fancy-dan centre forward (all flicks and backheels – to the opposition) finally came good, cutting inside and curling a 25 yarder beyond the keeper. It never had power, so I’m not sure what the keeper was doing.
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| Recommended. |
Their deposit system on the beer glasses was original too; they didn’t just wait for your glass, they gave you a token (a plastic chip) which you had to produce as well, presumably in case anyone has a collection of these plastic glasses and wants to make some money. But a) who has ‘Steigl’ branded plastic glasses? And b) given how few people were there, you’d think they’d notice someone trying to cash in, say, 20 glasses.
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| Match action |
Afterwards, I was all set for a lift back to the city with my ‘double dog’ peeps, a lovely older couple, but unfortunately they had too much stuff to pack. As I wandered off thinking about a VERY long walk home, or perhaps hitching, an old guy came running after me to tell me about a bus. So they WERE still running (#25?) and the stop was 5 mins away.
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| Towards the away end. |
I asked a guy at the bus stop how long – 10 mins. Sweet. Turned out he was an ex-player, back when Grodig were level 5 or 6. They’d had a meteoric rise since, apparently due to another ex-player investing in the team. I knew there was more to SV Grodig being in the Austrian Bundesliga than met the eye. But if you evercome to Salzburg to see a game, don’t go to Red Bull – give the Grodig boys a chance, and make sure you get a wurst at the ‘away’ end of the stadium. You’ll not regret it.
The Damage:
€19 ent
€3.50 beer (x2)
€3.70 sausage (x2)
= €33.40 (£24)
Souvenirs? What souvenirs?
The Tunes:
Now That’s What I Call Quite Good (Housemartins)
Primary Colours (The Horrors)
The Death of Cool (Kitchens of Distinction)
The Man Machine (Kraftwerk)
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| That tape'll stop 'em. |
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| See! It DOES exist! |
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| I entered from the far end... |
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| The stadium as the sun set. |
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| Box office at Grodig. |
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| The biggest thing about Grodig's stadium was the hospitality tent... |
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| The view towards the home end (ultras on right). |
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| Hard work, being a steward at Grodig. |
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| The refreshment stand. |
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| The Wacker loyalists. |
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| The hospitality tent / structure. |
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| The photographer (singular). |
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| Full time. |
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| The away fans show their appreciation. |
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| The hoardings are put away for another day. |
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| Family outing? |
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| All tucked up in their bed... |
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