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| Welcome to .... |
It's 2pm, midweek. Perfect time for some regionalliga footie! Fortuna Dusseldorf's (mostly) under 23 side are playing Borussia Dortmund Under 23. Would this game kick off at this time if it involved a 'proper' team? I presume not; most players at this level are part time. As it is, on the approach to the ground I see various fans in the yellow shirts of Dortmund. Are there any HOME fans?
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| Even banners for reserve games! |
It was a fair walk from the hauptbahnhof, but I had time. It was another roaster of a day (making the 2pm KO even more crazy) and my hour walk even included a trip into a furnishings store just to take advantage of their air-con. (I thought it was a shopping centre, so actually popped in for a pee. Oh well, the cool air was welcome.)
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| The queue for a RESERVE game |
The Paul Janes Stadion used to host Fortuna's 1st team till the Rheinstadion was built for the 1974 World Cup and, until recently, they'd return for the odd game. What a great idea! This is difficult to digest though when you see the stadium, one small stand and 3 sides of small terracing. With capacity a mere 7,200, I suspect the terrace has been 'chopped' considerably since the good old days when it hosted a record attendance of 36,000 in 1950.
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| The bottle collectors are still here... |
I was wondering what the crowd might be today. I didn’t actually know who Dusseldorf were playing, and, being the reserve team, midweek against (possibly) a village side or somebody else’s reserves, I thought it could be 250. In the end, the best part of a thousand were there in what was basically a 1½ sided ground: Dortmund were given nearly half of a terrace behind the goal, while home fans had the seats (and, crucially, the shade). €10 in, though many appeared to have a card; 1st team season ticket holders?
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| The Main Stand |
I took my seat high up on the halfway line, amongst lots of men with pens and pads – scouts. I’ll say now, only 2 players stood out for me (so let’s see if anything becomes of them): the tall, left-sided centre half of Dortmund and the Dortmund sub (more of whom later). Dusseldorf’s players wore black armbands. Had news of Cilla Black’s death filtered through to Germany? The fans? As befits a home reserve team, no noise save for the chuntering of folk to their friends, while Dortmund started well, before realising how hot it was and having a collective sit-down in the 2nd half.
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| A scout checks his notes... |
Fortuna won the day, 3-0. The 1st, a forward makes a hash of a chance, chases after the ball, turns and has a snapshot. Defenders asleep. Then the Fortuna sub came on (‘Sangare’) and ripped Dortmund to pieces. Sangare was bigger, stronger and BETTER than anybody else. Was he a first teamer just back from injury? 2-0 is a Sangare sidefooter from 20 yards which had more pace than others who were trying to leather it. Sangare makes it 3 with another 20 yarder, this time effortlessly hammering it into the top corner. As you do.
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| Drinks break mid-match. |
Afterwards I stepped out into the working class suburb of Flingern and rather enjoyed a couple of half litres of Konig Ludwig weissbier in some down-at-heel bar. Just what the doctor ordered, before I walked back to town and saw a family giving its rabbit a run out in the local park. Risky. Then, and I still can’t figure out how this happened, I spent 3½ hours looking for the railway station. Railway lines crossed hither and thither and I just could not find my bearings. I was an hour late for my train. The train however was two hours late. There IS a god!
The Damage:
€10 ent (£8)The Tunes:
Untitled (Burial)
Blissed Out (The Beloved)
Blue Bell Knoll (Cocteau Twins)
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (Belle and Sebastian)
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| Great choice of footwear for the big match. |
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| Advertising the next FIRST team game |
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| I love this. This is someone's house. |
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| Old ticket booths left to stew. |
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| Fortuna 95. |
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| Outside the stadium. |
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| Match action. |
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| A plan of the Rheinstadion c.1974 |
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| Behind the goal. One man and his...stall? |
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| The far side. |
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| Final score. |
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| Full time as fans and players make their exit. |
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| Oh dear, never a good sign. R.I.P. |
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| Even their toilets are better than ours! |
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| The Dortmund team coach is filled. |
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| The funky side of the Main Stand |
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