Sportfreunde Lotte 2-2 Rot-Weiss Erfurt, Friday 12th August 2016

Sportfreunde Lotte 2-2 Rot-Weiss Erfurt, att. 1,898 (3.liga)

Welcome to ......

After Sonnenhof Grossaspach, here comes another village team to hit the heights of 3.liga. How do Sportfreunde Lotte do it? A village (a very nice village) about 10km from Osnabruck, who’re hardly Bundesliga behemoths themselves.  In fact, both are in 3.liga this season.  That should be SOME derby!

The mean streets of Lotte.

Today, it’s Sportfreunde, in only their 4^th ever game at this level, versus Rot-Weiss Erfurt, one of the smaller 3.liga sides, yet the only one who’ve been resident since the division’s inception. That’s 8 seasons strong, an achievement of sorts.  Erfurt is also a really nice place, far too nice for a football team.  Football teams ought to come from grim, decaying towns who’ve never seen better days even when they saw better days.

The path to the stadium.

Finding the Sportfreunde stadium was and wasn’t a problem.  It was, in that I’d heard the nearest rail station was Halen.  It wasn’t – as a visit to a bookshop in Osnabruck showed.  I couldn’t see ANY railway stations near Lotte on a local map and the tourist office confirmed it; go by bus (R31).  However, it’s not a problem, since the bus goes from Osnabruck Hbf, as well as the town centre, and lands right outside the arena.

Stadium plan.

Actually, you might mistake the stadium for training facilities, so small are their floodlights.  The stadium stands on your left as you enter Lotte, the other side of a cornfield.  The rest of the village lies to your right.  And don’t be expecting a multitude of drinking holes either.  I counted two, both closed, before I happened upon a large ice cream parlour, which served beer too.  I had something involving coffee, chocolate, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  It was…sickly.

Advertising the main match.

The stadium is small but perfectly formed. It allegedly holds 10,000, which must be more than live in Lotte.  At the last game, their 1^st ever in 3.liga, there were over 8,500 empty spaces.  Yet the wonder shouldn’t be that there was so much space, rather that they got as many as 1,500 to come and watch.  After all, they already have Vfb Osnabruck to support!

The away ticket booth, next to more fields.

The small main stand does at least run the length of the pitch, with two small paddocks, or shelves, at either end, where fans can stand (‘capacity 83’ I think I read on one).  To its left is what looks like a brand new covered terrace. Perhaps it’s not open yet, or they’re waiting for bigger opposition.  I can only imagine what the likes of MSV Duisburg will make of this place.  I never saw tickets on sale for this terrace, but there were half a dozen spectators on it.  Elderly ballboys?

Open for business?

Opposite is a strange, tiny, double-decker stand.  There are 6 rows of seats in the upper tier, and only a few steps in the below terrace, which was closed, or just empty. Looking at the stand as you enter, it appears Sportfreunde have built the 2 end stands within the confines of a previous curve.  Was it an athletics stadium in a former life?

The double-decker.

Finally, opposite the main stand is a half-covered terrace running the length of the pitch, which houses the home ultras, the away fans and a no-man’s land inbetween.  It’s a shame we’re all housed in the one stand, facing the pitch, so there’s no banter between the fans.  Also, the home ultras were somewhat towards the corner flag..and sounding like 20 at best.  They didn’t even have a cheerleader, his (it’s always a ‘he’) perch being taken by kids.  Best view in the ground.

No Man's Land; them their away fans beyond.

It was an entertaining game.  RW looked slick, with their one-touch passing and breaking at pace, while Sportfreunde had the luxury of going a couple of goals up.  I claim the glory here.  Just as I was wondering how many times a team can kick a ball backwards or square, the centre half launched one forwards and the stocky centre forward held off a couple of weak challenges to drive it past a static keeper.  HT, 1-0.

Lotte's bugler.

2^nd half, I pondered whether Sportfreunde could hold on.  I was really pulling for them, village side and all, but they couldn’t get out of their own half – till they did, and they scored (header off a corner).  I still fancied Erfurt’s chances though.  They were just too quick and slick not to score.  Yet their hopes rested on one mad moment.

A free kick was crossed into Lotte’s box and the ref gave a penalty.  Not just a penalty, but a sending off.  Now, if the rules of double jeopardy no longer apply, does that mean it was violent conduct?  Cos it was at the far end and all I saw were players.  There wasn’t much in the way of arguing about it though.  2-1.

Erfurt line up the penalty.

RW went on to equalise with 15 mins left, a flick on bundled in at the back post.  Sportfreunde looked completely swamped and there was only going to be one winner, yet the game petered out thereafter.  Someone must have turned the heat down on the stove, cos the pans had been bubbling.

I wonder how deliberate this was, but a 7pm KO meant perfect timing for the 9:04pm hourly service to Osnabruck (no special buses put on).  No souvenirs either, he’d packed his table away outside the main stand.  I’d meant to have a look pre-match, but once I’d bought my match ticket I only had one thought: the toilet.  Oh well.  I thoroughly enjoyed Sportfreunde; it was certainly a very different 3.liga day out.

Lotte banner.

The Damage:

€10 ent

€3 beer

€2.50 wurst

= €15.50

The Tunes:

Deserter’s Songs (Mercury Rev)

The Libertines (The Libertines)

Uh Huh Huh (PJ Harvey)

Mixmag Aug15 (Black Coffee)

FRIMO Stadion panorama.

Osnabruck thataway.

Home ticketbooths.

Sheltered carparking.

Rear of the stadium.

Behind the main terrace.

I spy...a Rot Weiss team coach!

The old curve.

Outside the ground, pre-match.

The teams come out.

The kids hog the best view.

Looking towards the away fans.

Match action.

The view down the terrace.

Lotte fans wave their flags.

Goodbye!

Rot Weiss Erfurt 1-1 Stuttgart II, Tuesday 7th August 2012

Rot Weiss Erfurt 1-1 Stuttgart II, 3.liga (att. 3,802)

Welcome to ....

A place as nice as Erfurt doesn’t deserve a football team.  And it very nearly might not after the start they’ve had this season: 3 games, 3 defeats, scored 1, conceded 10. But aren’t football teams meant to be from grim, industrial places, where people have nothing to live for but their football team?  But this is historic, scenic, picturesque Erfurt.  Castles (why is called a ‘citadel’?), medieval buildings, parks, a river so shallow you’d barely get your ankles wet when crossing…and a football team to boot!  I think I’d like to live here.  Perhaps I could afford a ground floor flat in a concrete tenement (there’s a few of them too).

Erfurt, yesterday.

It’s a nice walk to the Steigerwaldstadion too.  Avoiding the tram (which takes you direct to the stadium), exit the back of the railway station (opposite direction of the Aldstadt), head uphill through a delicious park, then stroll through the cobbled streets and huge dwellings of ‘Am Stadtpark’ and at some point you’ll see the floodlights.  The home terrace is at the far end.  Or follow the (few) fans.
Even the stadium is full of charm, despite possessing an athletics’ track.  Every athletics stadium should have a colourful flowerbed behind the goal, but I’ve only seen the Steigerwaldstadion thus far.  There’s also cover on one side only, and even this stand had massive gaps at the back to allow the wind and rain to blow in.  But it still looks beautiful, or at least it does in early August, where there’s no mistaking what a lovely place this is to come and watch footie.  It is an evening kick off and the sun is shining, the temperature is..temperate and there are beer and sausage stands aplenty.  No queues either, given the few fans.  And did I really hear the teams come out to some heavy metal which segued into Boney M?  (The latter were Germany’s finest disco export.)  I see there’s a ‘Drexler’ in the team too.  Might he be related to the founder of the Nazi party?  The ‘Weimar’ of ‘Weimar Republic’ is just down the road too; shame I didn’t have time to visit.

'Marathontor'

With three successive defeats, you’d expect to se a nervous home team, but not a bit of it.  From the off, RW attacked and in the 2^nd minute got a penalty when their player cut inside and was chopped down.  What is it about blatant penalties that require 7 (seven) members of the opposition to surround the ref, arguing?  Works for Man U, I s’pose.  The pen is despatched, and the Erfurt hordes go wild – or at least the 200 ultras, who, to be fair, never stopped singing throughout.  They were led by the ubiquitous man with a mic on the fence, supported by a drummer.  Mind, when they chanted ‘Erfurt, Erfurt’ is sounded like a plea for ‘effort, effort’, chant I’d like to incorporate upon my return home.  I am though a little tired of hearing ‘you’ll never walk alone’ at German matches and today was no exception.

Spot the half and half Erfurt/West Ham scarves!

Today was also my 1^st experience of the Bundesliga reserve team: Stuttgarter II are the under 23/reserve team of Stuttgart and, unlike in England, they’re allowed to take part in the national league.  I’d hate this to happen in England.  Who supports the 2^nd team today?  Friends and family of players?  Supporters of the first team who live in or near Erfurt?  Whatever their reasons, there are 19 of them here today (though they were a long way away at the other end of the stadium).  Whatever their number, I have seen that many police vehicles today on my walk to the ground, and 5 times as many coppers.  Who pays for all this? 

There's no escape, even when walking through the park.

Back to Stuttgart II.  Who plays for them?  How does it work?  For instance, is it a team with some experienced (lower division) stalwarts who are supported by young, up and coming potential future 1^st teamers?  And are players interchangeable between the 1^st and 2^nd team as they are in England?  Even if the reserves are playing in the national league?  Also, with the reserves not allowed to join their compadres’ division, what’s the point?  At least it’ theoretically possible, say, for Rochdale to get to the Premiership and play Man U.  Stuttgart II will never be allowed to reach Stuttgart I’s level, so what’s the point?  Though they can play Stuttgarter Kickers, who are a different team altogether (and share a ground with Stuttgart II).  Keeping up?

Erfurt's main stand.

Anyway, Erfurt piled forward throughout the 1^st half, creating chance after chance, but being unable to add to their lead.  Now I know why they’re struggling.  The second half is not nearly as one-sided but RW are still comfortably on top, despite the reserves hitting the bar with an out of the blue long ranger.  Then, in the 77^th minute a careless foul just inside the Erfurt half leads to a lofted punt into the box, a looping header, and it’s one-all.  What an awful way to concede.  It could be a season of struggle for the home side.

The Damage:
€11 ent
€1 prog
€2 sausage
€2.50 beer
€4 badge
= €20.50

The giraffe-like floodlights.

Turnstiles outside the 'Marathontor'

Stadium plan.

The view from behind the goal.

Erfurt: all banners and flowerbeds.

Rot Weiss ultras.

...and again.

The Marathontor.

The Main Stand

The view towards the scoreboard.

The away end.

The giant scoreboard.

The teams come out (not that you can tell).

A floodlight leans in.

The main event.

The main stand roof.

Welcome to...(II)

The view from the top of the terrace.

Match action.

I can see the downside of playing here...