FC Giessen 0-1 TSV Steinbach, Tuesday 13th August 2019

FC Giessen 0-1 TSV Steinbach, Regionalliga Sudwest, att. 3,349 (Waldstadion Giessen)

Welcome to the .....

Being based in Frankfurt and planning what game to go to tonite, I saw there were 4 games in the regionalliga sudwest and plumped for the one with the biggest stadium: the 10,000 capacity Waldstadion of FC Giessen, and what a good decision it was, even if I’d never heard of them before.

Giessen is a decent sized German town (c. 80,000) and is ‘famed’ (Wikipedia tells me) for its Mathematics museum.  No, I didn’t go.  I did the maths and figured if I arrived late enough I’d have an excuse…

Seems Hamlyn Giessen has a rat problem.

The stadium was a good walk away, a mile through the streets, then another mile up a hill.  Don’t bother looking for floodlights – they don’t have any.  I presume this scuttles any chances of promotion to the national 3.liga?

I expected a crowd of a few hundred.  There were 3,000 and odd there, in a local(ish) derby with TSV Steinbach, who'd brought at least 300 themselves.  The capacity of 10,000 must be some way out though: the curves at either end have been dismantled, leaving an empty space at one end and a VIP tent and various stalls at the other.  Down one side of the pitch lay terrace, while opposite, the Main Stand was flanked by terracing either side, the terraces on both sides of the pitch going way past the byeline.

The view upon entry.

I entered at the car park end of the ground.  Looks like that crawl of traffic up the hill WAS for the football after all.  I took a quick photo from a decent distance away; the stewards insisted on seeing the photo, obviously worried I’d be identifying them in some way.  Paranoia.  What was I going to use it for?  And how many times a day are their photos taken by CCTV?

The entrance.  Watch our for stewards.

Upon entry, I was asked which team I was supporting, home or away.  I said ‘home’ and was pointed left, towards the large terrace.  The near side terrace on the right was reserved for the visitors.  The home terrace was busy and it was difficult to see a spot.  However, I needed food, water (beer) and most of all….a pee.  I never did find a toilet, so ended up doing what most Germans do, finding a bush on the stadium perimeter.

The main home terrace.

For the first half, I stood on the home terrace flanking the Main Stand; it was a decent enough view and certainly ideal for the only goal of the game.  A corner, taken right in front of me, was curled in to the near post.  It was  a bit low, so the Steinbach player dummied it for his team mate to head home  on the half volley.  A well-taken goal, but not the sort you see higher up the footballing pyramid.

The view from the corner.

TSV, who could have gone top if other results favoured them (they didn’t) always looked the better side and should probably have won by more.  The players and fans looked more than happy though, with choreographed bouncing and chanting at full-time.  The Giessen ‘ultras’?  One man and his drum, with half a dozen mates.  No matter how hard they tried, no-one else joined in.  It’s summertime.  Far nicer to wallow on the terrace than get all het-up over some footie match.

One man and his drum.

The Damage:

€10 ent
€3 beer (x2, Licher, 300ml)
€3.50 bratwurst
€5 badge
free prog

= €24.50 (£22)

The Tunes:
Watermark (Enya)
Shepherd Moons (Enya)
Mixmag Apr09 (Aeroplane)
Bummed (Happy Mondays)
Pills ‘n’ Thrills ‘n’ Bellyaches (Happy Mondays)
Turns Into Stone (Stone Roses)

Stayed at:
Frankfurt Hostel (£18)

Panorama towards the Main Stand.

Panorama from the Main Stand side.

Behind the goal.

A busy home terrace.

It's laid back on this side...

The clubhouse, incorporating the changing rooms.

The view towards the far goal.

Beer tents behind the terrace.

The clubhouse scoreboard does its job.

Half-time...players going through the terrace.

Action in front of the TSV fans.

The Press Box.

My perch for the 1st half.

The Main Stand.

Action in front of the TSV faithful.

The old curve.

...and the other one.

A Giessen player contemplates defeat.

A player returns to the changing rooms/clubhouse.

Yum!

Kickers Offenbach 2-0 SSV Ulm, Monday 29th July 2019

Kickers Offenbach 2-0 SSV Ulm, Regionalliga Sudwest, att. 7,041 (Sparda Bank Hessen Stadion)

Welcome to ....

Monday nights in Germany are usually characterised by a live for TV Bundesliga 2 game.  Tonight it was Arminia Bielefeld v St. Pauli (the latter being Sky Germany’s version of Dirty Leeds in terms of number of games shown).  However, much as I’d like to see St. Pauli in action, I’ve been to Arminia, so, instead I chose the regionalliga sudwest match starring (relative) giants Kickers Offenbach.

Outside the Main Stand

‘Kickers Offenbach’.  I’m sure I heard this team’s name in my childhood, long before ‘Borussia Dortmund’ or ‘Schalke’ were even invented.  Or am I mixing them up with Stuttgart(er) Kickers?  I don’t know.  The mind plays some awful tricks.  Whatever, the name just evokes SOMETHING.  But they were in the Bundesliga in 83/84, so maybe.  And from research, I knew what to expect, a 20,000 brand new stadium (a temple to all things concrete), a decent sized crowd…and an easy journey from Frankfurt. 

A concrete jungle.

The fastest service from Frankfurt Hbf was 11 minutes, making Offenbach a virtual suburb of Germany’s financial centre (don’t tell them that though).  Get off at Offenbach Ost station, turn left outside the station, first left and it’s about a 1km walk.  Or jump on one of the fan buses which meet you as you exit the station.  Even at this level, the Germans provide everything.

SSV greet their following.

Kickers are a club with aspirations further up the league ladder.  Occupants of Bundesliga 2 as recently as 2007-08, they have been regular members of the upper echelons, but have fallen on hard times as they were refused a 3.liga licence at the end of 2012/13, less than a season after opening their new (rebuilt) stadium.  The most famous ‘player’ at their old stadium?  David Bowie, in 1983.  Wish I’d seen that.

Bowie never saw it looking like this.

The Stadion am Bieberer Berg, or Sparda Bank Hessen Stadion, still has 4 distinct stands, though it’s all covered and feels much more enclosed, with the wings partitioned.  It’s very similar in design to Rot-Weiss Essen.  However, where it differs is that their main terrace is along the touchline rather than behind the goal.  This terrace is split into 3, so I bought a ticket for the central section (going ‘large’; it was one euro cheaper in the wings).  And in a crowd of 7,000, I’d say around 5,000 were on this terrace, a ratio not unusual in Germany.

At least one part of the stadium is busy...

The visitors numbered 43 at their highest count, a number which yo-yo’d depending on how many were buying beer.  Despite being ‘regional’, it’s a long way to Ulm, on a Monday evening.  Was this game on telly too (surely not)?  Arriving early, I took my dinner (beer and wurst) to the top of the terrace and watched as the stadium filled.  Another advantage to arriving early is you get to see the ultras’ preparations.  I particularly admired the low budget ‘Stop’ signs Kickers had made, replate with ‘OFC’ lettering, all cardboard, sticky-tape and plastic pole.  Blue Peter would be proud.

All you need is sellotape, cardboard and a plastic pole.

Writing this two days later, I can’t remember the goals.  2-0 in a game littered with misplaced passes, as I recall.  Was the 2^nd a rebound after the keeper saved it?  Maybe.  I think the 1^st was not long after half-time, so it was a good job I’d made a beeline for the refreshments right on the ref’s whistle.  I still missed the actual start of the second half, but once Kickers had scored (and the ultras had showered themselves with beer launched into the air – 4^th tier, FFS!) the party could get going.  For this level of football, there is some atmosphere at the Bieberer Berg.  Will this season be the one that sees them return to the professional ranks?

OFC! OFC!

The Damage:
€13 ent
€3 postcards
€1 prog

€4 (500ml, x2)

€3 wurst (x2)

= €31

The Tunes:

Sheet One (Plastikman)

Gatecrasher black (Various)

Whirlpool (Chapterhouse)

Stayed at: (cost)

Frankfurt Hostel, €17

Stadion am Bieberer Berg panorama

Supporters' Club

Like Arsenal's infamous hording...not many black faces.

Old School.

It's a lonely existence in the Ulm end.

Fans warm up for the teams.

Into the belly of the beast.

The teams line up.

The Main Stand.

'The mountain trembles.  Use home advantage and advertise here.'  It started so well...

Sunset over Bieberer Berg

A corner comes in.

How it ended too.

Home time!

1.FC Saarbrücken 1-0 Wormatia Worms, Friday 14th August 2015

1.FC Saarbrücken 1-0 Wormatia Worms (att. 4,009)

I see a floodlight...

This is another stadium I’ve admired from afar and been desperate to visit for ages. The Ludwigsparkstadion is a 35,000 capacity stadium with a couple of massive terraces formed around an athletics track – almost like a Hampden, or Ibrox, or Celtic Park were in their day.

The main home end in particular is enormous, far too big for a side playing regional league football in Germany. But since the stadium is in some sort of valley, it could be bigger still. Upon walking around it, on one side, you can see the pitch below.

On the terrace

As it is, walking from the station, be careful; I followed 3 fans, but although the stadium is only around a mile away, it’s easy to get lost in the estates around. We arrived at the home end. Plenty of ticket booths (there seemed to be plenty of everything) and for €9, entry is yours.

I wasn’t allowed to take my backpack in though prams and pushchairs were. I was given a raffle ticket (you know the type) while a couple of stewards looked after the pile of motorcycle helmets and other bags. Sounds great, ‘cept this was the one match where I had no pockets on my shorts (it was laundry day!) thus I had to carry my wallet and camera. Oh well, worse happens at sea and it was a nice day.

Follow them, I say.

I entered at the top of the terrace, which was handy. You can avoid any steps if need be. Perfect for pushchairs! Also, although your match ticket is unique to a particular block, when the crowd is this low (4,009) the dividing gates are open and you can wander where you like. Presumably this did not happen last year, when Saarbrucken drew Dortmund in the cup and got 35,000.

The 1.FCS ultras

The ultras chose the central block behind the goal – yet there was still so much space they narrowed their area using ribbons and banners. Ultras must cosy up! I went and grabbed a beer and wurst and initially chose to move to one side, on the paddock. There was still so much space I could sit down on the terrace (which was sprouting all kinds of greenery due to underuse). Later, I sat behind the goal at the top of the terrace and the view was still pretty good considering the athletics track.

The teams come out.

The match itself was one-way traffic. The corner count was a 15-1 rout (the scoreboard kept us updated) yet few clear chances were created and it came as some relief when in the 54th minute of the first half (!) 1.FCS finally scored, a low cross despatched into the bottom left.

The 54th minute? Well, if you’ve ever wondered why athletics tracks have sandpits (long jump? You fool!) the answer lay here. About 10 mins in, a huge hole appeared on the pitch, enough to lose half a leg in. A mini-sink hole? The answer? A couple of coaches filling buckets with sand before replenishing the pitch.

A handily placed sandpit.

The ultras (and Wormatia’s 150) did their best, but, as you can imagine, you’re blowing into the wind in a stadium about 10% full with no roofs over the terraces and an athletics track. But as a place to see a game, while the weather still holds, it’s an absolute treat. I’m not surprised it’s the favourite stadium of a Carl Zeiss Jena groundhopper who I spoke to last week.

Overgrown and underused...the terraces.

At full time though, I had to dash. I needed to wash my clothes and the launderette closed at 11pm. Yes, I’d brought my dirty laundry to the match. Another first. Oh, and I discovered Saarbrucken’s red light district while my clothes completed their cycle. I knew there was something amiss when I saw a bar containing nought but provocatively-dressed women…(I’m since led to believe the ladies are popular with the French, as the border is close by. Handy.)

He's always been my favourite player too!

The Damage: 
€9 ent 
€2.90 beer (x3); Bitburger 400ml.
€2.50 wurst
= €20.20 (£17)

The Tunes:
Rubycon (Tangerine Dream) Maasterpieces (Timo Maas)
William Bloke (Billy Bragg)
Lovelife (Lush)
Carmina Burana (Carl Orff)

The ticket booths.

Looking toward the Main Stand.

Behind the goal.

The scoreboard.

The Wormatia 150 (far corner).

The teams are led out.

The ultras, snuggled in nicely.

The view from the beer stand.

Filling in the sink hole.

Ultras' banners.

Note the paddock in front of the seats.

VIP Bridge (no plebs allowed).

From the Main Stand.

The Main Stand

Match action.

Such a shame, nearly 31,000 empty spaces.

Full time.

I really must leave...

...but it's such a magical old stadium.