VfB Stuttgart 2-1 St. Pauli, Monday 8th August 2016

VfB Stuttgart 1-3 St. Pauli, att. 60,000 (capacity)

Pre-match in the underground.

I’m not sure one can get to a stadium any earlier than before the turnstiles open, but I did, and I still didn’t get in. Mistake #4 was problies trying to get a ticket in the away end, for St. Pauli, who surely must have the biggest away support in Bundesliga 2, if only due to their (inter)national appeal. But it’s Monday nite FFS, 20:15 KO and all that. And it’s in the south-west (Stuttgart) and Hamburg is, well, hundreds of miles away. No matter.

Pre-match entertainment.

My ire really is for Vfb Stuttgart. I stood in the slowest moving queue for over an hour and a half, before the ‘sold out’ notice came with 5 mins to KO. I was still about 50 from the front. And I’d be amazed if more than 100 were served before me. St. Pauli fans had no recourse but to mock what was (not) happening, otherwise tempers would have flared. When, after ….ooooh, 45 minutes of queueing?.....the ticket booth opened, a cheer. When someone…finally…finally….bought a ticket, another cheer (as said recipient waved it in the air like a winning lottery ticket). The quickest thing about Stuttgart was the security. Big burly men in yellow shirts appeared form nowhere as soon as the tickets sold out. Vfb obviously feared the worst, but, instead, received much in the way of raised eyebrows and headshaking. The queue had lone since resigned itself to not getting in.

Joining the queue.

A number of St P fans (and me) went round to the Vfb ticket booths. I could have done this pre-match, when HOME ticket booths were open and doing brisk business. I considered it, but I was there to support St. P (though many an away fan is often seen in the home stands of Germany). However, by now only the priciest of pricey tickets were left..go on, have a guess….yes, that’s right, €63, or about £53. I saw a St. P fan walking away, ticketless, muttering ’63 euros for a zweite bundesliga game’. No thanks.

Sold Out!

I was also bloody hungry and looking forward to a wurst or 2, but Vfb weren’t getting any of my money. I headed back into town, in itself a canny walk to Bad Cannstadt station, cos the U-bahn trains from the stadium weren’t going anywehere till AFTER the match. It also gives me a German team to dislike (hate’s a strong word) but Vfb, traditionally seen as one of the big 5 or so in Germany…well, I’m even more pleased than I was to see them get relegated. Long may they struggle.

I have been here 3 times seen one match (an earlier game was moved cos of a Robbie Williams concert). Thus, I wasn’t SO gutted this time about missing out. It just meant I could save my money. And the cheap Chinese I had was very nice, thank you very much.

HOW MUCH?  Home ticket booths.

Outside the stadium.

Stadium plan.

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

The crowd sets off from the station.

Marching to the stadium.

Firemen of Bad Cannstatt...we salute you!

The mascot looks on.

The programme free-for-all.

Mascot back on mascot duties.

The upper tier, under the tent-like roof.

Koln fans, pre-match.

The Koln fans.

The teams are paraded.

Welcome to ....

Where are the posh kids?

Upper tier concourse.

Looking towards the away end.

The view from the corner, upper tier.

The view from behind the goal, upper tier.

(Unofficial) standing at the back.

Looking towards the corner.

The Stuttgart dugouts.

Us and Them.

The Haupttribune

Haupt/Cannstatter corner.

The losers give thanks.

and the winners milk their applause.

Home time on the Cannstatter Kurve.

The Unterturkheimer.

A Billy-goat with his lucky dungarees.

Dynamo Berlin 0-2 VfB Stuttgart (DFB Pokal), Sunday 4th August 2013

Dynamo Berlin 0-2 VfB Stuttgart (DFB Pokal 1^st Round)

Sportforum Hohenschönhausen. No match here.

Good job I saw an advertising hoarding about 3 hours before kick-off, cos otherwise I’d have been at the wrong place entirely.  I’d been  on t’internet previously and nowhere had I seen mention of the game having been transferred from Dynamo’s usual home ground of the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen.  I’d even chosen a hostel BECAUSE it was near said ground.  (Anyway, anyone on a budget wanting to stay in Berlin should give ‘Sandinos’ a go; it’s a little out of the way but it’s different).

Phew - THAT explains it!

Luckily, I’d hired a bike and the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Stadion was only a few blocks away.  And, being a Sunday, there was the bonus of the Mauer Park’s flea market taking place next to the stadium.  Other entertainments included outdoor karaoke playing to a packed amphitheatre built into the hill.  Come and see a Frenchman murder ‘Message in a Bottle’ by The Police, as I did.

The turnstiles at the FLJS are basic to say the least.  And the queue was long.  (It was one queue, with only two turnstiles opened for what proved to be a crowd of 9,200. Did no-one tell them the opponents were Bundesliga side Stuttgart?)  I went to find another ticket booth and/or have a stroll around the Mauer Park and saw the finest example I’ve yet seen of a human statue (see photo).  This is another advantage (!) of travelling around Europe: the number of folk standing/sitting stockstill while dressed in some strange garb.

Imagine the effort he's gone to.  Imagine the tourist cents he's raking in.

Back where I began after circumnavigating the stadium (and adjacent ice hockey arena), I queued. The sun beat down and I fancied a seat in the shade on the far side of the stadium.  But I’d seen people with match tickets and the only prices I’d seen were €30 and €45. Bit steep, I thought.  This would blow my daily budget. Had they REALLY pushed prices up this much?  No. As I got to the turnstile itself, there were €15 tickets.  Fine, I’ll have one of those.  Turns out the far side was €30, while the Main Stand, a dominating structure opposite, was €45.  I wasn't in the shade, but €15 extra seemed steep for the option.

Prices, as sellotaped to the turnstile.

As I nosed around the concourse I was struck by the number of Stuttgart fans there were. There was a fair smattering of their shirts while the away end looked even busier.  At some point I realised – THIS was the away end. Good job too, there was a decent choice of seats (both ends were open) while the home end was virtually full. 

After 2½ minutes Stuttgart hit the bar.  Would this be one of those DFB Pokal games, amateur v Bundesliga, where the away side bags 8, 9….10?  It’s happened in previous years.   Are German sides simply more ruthless than ours when it comes to putting amateur (non-league) sides to the sword?  

The stadium wall

Thankfully, it was a much more even contest.  Dynamo should have been a goal up, a volley off a corner smashing into the only player stood on the line.  Anywhere else… Then, around the 40 minute mark, (according to the stadium clock, which didn’t take in the drinks break the players had) Stuttgart score a simple opener: a cross in from the left, a free header.

Halfway through the second half (no drinks break, the sun had gone in), Dynamo conceded a cheap penalty, a defender leaving a flailing leg to the winger, who cut inside.  0-2 and Ibisevic grabs his 2^nd.  I know this cos the scoreboard shows me a picture of him, which is nice.

Him.  He scored.

This silences the home fans, in particular their incessant chant of ‘DYNAMO!  DYNAMO!’ (Dee-na-mo, Dee-na-mo) but 5 minutes later, out of nowhere, they choreograph something which ends with everyone jumping around like lunatics behind the far goal.  A Berlin version of the ‘Harlem Shuffle’?  The match peters out.  Another lower division side has ‘given it a right go’ and it hasn’t been enough.   

Attendance: 9,227  (Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark)

The Damage:
€15 tickets
€2 prog
€3 beer (400ml)
€3 ‘nackensteak’
= €23

Tunes:
None.  I was on my bike, remember!

ps, there’s obviously some fixation with Great British (and Northern Irish)  music at Dynamo. I entered the ground to the Housemartins, followed by the Undertones, while a banner in the home end was emblazoned with ‘There is a light that never goes out’ .  Mind, I wasn’t sure about a remixed, more up tempo version of The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’.   Some things are sacred.

**I thought the beer tasted a bit funny and on inspection it was a 'Veltins'.  Is this the German version of Fosters?  Cheap, popular and not altogether that nice?  Or did I just get a 'bad pint' (400ml)?

Dynamo welcome the teams

Stuttgart wave their flags

Size: huge.  Capacity: quite small, actually.

The coloured seats add a certain something...(but what?)

Looking towards the far end

Communist stadium architecture at its best

Stadium plan

FLJS's unique floodlights

Usual line of police vans