Geordie Al's Groundhopper Scrapbook: VfB Stuttgart 1-3 1.FC Koln, Sunday 16th August 2015

Monday, 17 August 2015

VfB Stuttgart 1-3 1.FC Koln, Sunday 16th August 2015

VfB Stuttgart v 1.FC Koln, att. 59,500 (Bundesliga)

Welcome to ...

I arrived in Stuttgart 3 hours before kick off, plenty of time to get to the stadium. Getting to the Mercedes-Benz Arena is easy, just jump on a U or S-Bahn train from the Hbf. So it was that I got off with everyone else at Bad Cannstatt. The station was RAMMED. Outside, thousands stood around aimlessly in the plaza. WTF was going on? Couldn’t these people shift themselves? Turned out the ultras of the Cannstatter Kurve were going to announce themselves in style, with a march to the ground. Everyone was just waiting for the order!

The crowd outside Bad Cannstatt railway station.

Suddenly, the air thundered to the sound of firecrackers being lit while the leaders roused the masses on their loudhailers. It reminded me of childhood, Durham Big Meeting, when each colliery – and its band – would march through the streets of Durham while the great and good look on from the balcony of the Royal County Hotel. Like the colliery bands, every now and then the ultras would stop the march, to serenade those looking from above – such as the local fire station, draped in a giant Vfb Stuttgart flag.

And we're off!

Or the last bridge before the stadium, when, by now, hundreds of spectators littered the route, including the bridge itself. One cheerleader climbed up and for 10 mins choregraphed the masses below. At one point, everyone had to divide in two at a given point, before everyone (well, the youngsters, mainly) piled back together in some pogoing madness.

The procession is orchestrated.

Even the mascot (who looked uncannily like Gunnersaurus) was watching from the bridge. I was a bit surprised when someone put their arm around me, but it was only to jump in unison. The atmosphere made your hairs stand on end!

By now, I was slightly panicked about a match ticket. I chose Stuttgart partly cos they never sell out, partly cos I was staying in Augsburg…and partly to put the ghost of Robbie Williams to bed. (I came for a Europa League game once and it had been moved cos Robbie had booked the stadium that night.) As I approached the ticket booths, I started seeing people wanting spare tickets – did they mean for the Cannstatter Kurve (standing), or anywhere in the stadium? I dunno, but I was approached by a tout and in my worry I handed over €40 for a €27 ticket. Thinking back, I’m not sure whether I needed to panic or not. The crowd was a near-capacity 59,500, but I had an hour…

Ensuring the execs avoid the hoi-polloi.

Nevermind, I was in. The ticket was in one corner, opposite end to the Cannstatter Kurve. It had a clear view of the pitch, but the rake of seating wasn’t very steep. The Mercedes-Benz Arena looks amazing from the outside, but I find the large lower tier and small upper tier of 3 sides a little disproportionate, like the Railway End at St. Andrews.

The view from the corner.

And their kurve, which they’re so excited about? More like a large paddock in front of two tiers of seating. It needs to be the whole END, a la Dortmund. Koln had the corner the other side of the ‘unterturkheimer kurve’ from where I was, though dozens of away fans were behind the goal, amongst the home support. It didn’t look as if Koln had sold out their seating allocation, so maybe these were local (to Stuttgart) fans?

The Cannstatter Kurve.

It was an exciting game which somehow stayed goalless till the last 20 minutes. The woodwork was rattled 3 times in the opening 11 minutes, all from range. Koln hit the post after only a minute, before Stuttgart equalled it, twice.

Second half, I snuck upstairs to watch the game, standing at the back of the seating. Chances came and went before Koln took the lead. A through ball was overhit slightly into the corridor of uncertainty, where the keeper isn’t sure what to do. You could see what was coming: the striker was going to get to be first to the ball, but his touch (at that speed) was likely to take him too far wide. What the keeper had to do was avoid making contact with the striker. He failed. Penalty. 0-1. Anthony Modeste. (I’m sure the last time I saw him, he was missing from everywhere for Hoffenheim.)

An inopportune moment to wave a flag.

Stuttgart looked shellshocked. A minute later a quick raid down Koln’s left played in their striker to bury it on the keeper’s near post. Down and out, the referee soon threw the home side the bone of a penalty when I thought their player slipped. No matter. Despite late pressure and plenty of corners, a Koln player shrugged off a challenge on the halfway line, ran clean through, and, as he drew the keeper, slipped it to his right for the Osako to have a tap-in. The sucker punch. (As an aside, why are there so many oriental players – Japanese, South Korean – in the Bundesliga?)

The ref throws Stuttgart a bone...

Afterwards, with an hour or so to my train from Stuttgart, I decided to walk the 3 miles or so via the State Park, an elongated park linking the city with the Neckar river. A beautiful walk in the early August evening.

The Damage:
€40 ent
€4.20 beer (Krombacher Weizen x2)
€3.50 wurst
€3.95 badge
Free programme
= €56.85