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| Welcome to .... |
While my soulmate is away on business, I elect to take another cheeky sojourn to the continent to catch some Bundesliga. This week it's Eintracht Frankfurt and a chance to visit one of them there World Cup 2006 venues; one of those with the 4 sided video screens suspended over the centre circle, rather like in ice hockey stadia.
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| You know...like this. |
Despite knowing full well where the Commerzbank Arena is, I still managed to f*** up my transport there, idiotically following a group of teens who were obviously going to the game (but turned out had never been before). Why else would I/we end up going in the wrong direction and being forced to change en masse at Griesheim? I did wonder why the older Eintracht fans weren't getting on our train. I should have trusted my instincts. Still, I had 2 bottles of Paulaner for company and it wasn't too long before a train arrived and I doubled back to where it began; Frankfurt Hbf.
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| The forest (stadium) trail... |
The Commerzbank Arena (née Waldstadion, or Forest Stadium) is a couple of miles across the river from Frankfurt centre, and as the old name implies, is in the middle of a forest. Thus at the station ('Stadion' or somesuch obviousness) you have to walk half a mile through wooded entrails. On a warm, March day, this was very pleasant. An array of drink and souvenir stalls dotted the path to the stadium, while a large beer garden lay just the other side of the rail track from the stadium itself. All very organised, all very German.
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| See over there? Beer garden! |
I arrived without a ticket, gambling on there being plenty on sale on the day. Eintracht were struggling against relegation and playing the most poorly supported of all Bundesliga teams, Ingolstadt. As it was, once I spotted the ticket booths, I hit on an idea. Presuming the home terrace was sold out (the home terrace is ALWAYS sold out in the Bundesliga; you will do well to pick up a fabled cheap standing ticket) then what about the away end? After all, hardly anybody supports Ingolstadt - even in Ingolstadt. (It's not too far from Munich, so they have an excuse.) I asked if there were standing tickets left in the away end and the lady in the box office/portacabin looked surprised I was asking. 'Of course' (meaning the lack of away support). €17. Not bad, tho' I've had cheaper.
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| A rather unglamorous ticket booth |
The stadium itself is a grand thing, standing high on a hill on 3 sides. The effect is somewhat offset though by large metal fences everywhere, so it's all a bit cheerless once you reach the arena. Even worse is the march to the away end: note to self, next time go CLOCKWISE around the ground, or else face going a long way out of my way, including, at one point, a hike beside an autobahn. I even had to ask directions once, despite the stadium being RIGHT THERE, so unsure was I that I was ever going to reach an entrance.
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| Despite it being RIGHT THERE, I still can't get in. |
Upon arriving, I was searched in depth by someone who enjoys their job a little bit too much. As I emptied my pockets, he took a special interest in one item. 'What's that?' he asked. 'It's a...pen. You write with it.' I may even have mimed writing, I can't remember. He looked relieved. I looked exasperated. Later, I was lightly searched every time I went for food or toilet; oddly, you technically leave the stadium for these things. So, if you like being searched, the Commerzbank Arena is the place for you.
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| The stadium plan...if it helps. |
Once within the perimeter fencing, you can wander where you like in the stadium surrounds but with 15 mins to kick off, I was a bit worried: be late to the terrace and be hemmed in with a crap view. I should have had no such worries, it was barely a quarter full. Seems a first ever season in the Bundesliga hasn't captured the Ingolstadt imagination. In a prosperous city that is the home of Audi, perhaps they'd rather be driving their cars?
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| A couple of Ingolstadters capture their 'I was there' moment. |
I took a perch behind a crush barrier (on which I placed my coat; it really was rather warm) and enjoyed an excellent view without being bustled. Struggling Eintracht overran little Ingolstadt for 7 whole minutes before Die Schanzer (I've no idea what Ingolstadt's nickname means) ran up the pitch and won a pen. The home fans went mad, but every attacking Ingolstadter stopped and appealed. Handball? It was at the far end and impossible for me to confirm. Easily slotted, 0-1. The rest of the half was end to end with the away side wasting the best opportunity, the centre forward going clean through and lifting the ball over the bar. Half time and another beer. No queues either. I must go and watch Ingolstadt more often.
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| The teams are paraded. |
2nd half and Die Schanzer were still in control and their 50 or so ultras were in good voice - as much as 50 in a 50,000 stadium can be. With Eintracht looking ever more desperate and committing men forward more in hope than expectation, Ingolstadt looked the more likely on the break. However, complacency set in, the away side didn't go for the jugular, and Frankfurt got a goal out of nothing. A header from a cross? I don't remember.
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| Die Schanzer ultras. All of them. |
Then, as if to make up for giving the away side a penalty, the ref tries to even it up by sending an Ingolstadt player off for a 2nd yellow. I'd have said it was no worse than several unpunished Eintracht fouls; did the incessant moaning of the home fans pressurise the ref? Either way, Frankfurt failed to notch in the 20 minutes they had v 10 men and Ingolstadt still looked the likelier; playing without the worry of relegation probably helped.
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| Us and them. This is them. |
As it was, there were no more goals. No doubt Ingolstadt were the happier, with Eintracht still mired near the bottom. They remain 16th - 3rd off bottom. Finishing 16th will mean a play-off decider with the side who finish 3rd in Bundesliga 2. Whatever happens, they can't say it won't be an interesting finish to their season.
The Damage:
€17 ent
€2 prog
€2.80 train from Frankfurt Hbf
€4 badge (x2)
€4.20 beer (x3) Brilliant, a wheat beer option: Krombacher Weizen
= €42.40 (£33)
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| Pre-match panorama |
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| 91 as for 71. One-all. |
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| Frankfurt: capital of money. Euromoney. |
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| One man and his scarves. |
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| Another's collection. |
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| The main entrance. |
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| The home terrace. |
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| ...and again. |
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| The teams ready themselves. |
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| Match action. |
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| Everyone hates Red Bull... |
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| A fab salutes her heroes at full time. |
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| I can only presume it's not a good thing to be Burger King. |
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| One man surveys his kingdom. |
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| Toilets, virtually spotless. |
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| Panorama from halfway line. |
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| Panorama showing the home end. |
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