1.FC MAGDEBURG (Stadion Magdeburg)

3.LIGA, 1.FC MAGDEBURG 2-1 ROT WEISS ERFURT, ATTENDANCE: 21,079

Welcome back to my humble little blog. Hope you are all rested and recuperated and ready to go again!

Season 2015/16 got under way with a Friday night game at Magdeburg's MDCC Arena. This stadium has been open less than a decade, having been opened in December 2006. It replaced the old Ernst Grube Stadium. 

Magdeburg is the capital of the state Saxony-Anhalt and from 1949 until German reunification in 1990, Magdeburg was part of East Germany. 1.FC Magdeburg came into existence in December 1965 (so they will be celebrating their 50th anniversary later this year) when the football division was separated from Sports Club Aufbau Magdeburg, but that particular season ended with relegation. This ironically led to the start of the most successful period in the clubs history. 

Heinz Krügel was appointed manager and led the club to an immediate return to the top flight and also won the East German Cup in 1969. The club were East German champions in 1972, 1974 and 1975 and also won the cup again in 1973. This meant entry into the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup, which they went on to win, where the beat AC Milan 2-0 in the final in Rotterdam. Magdeburg would be the only East German club to win a European competition.

 After the highs of the 1970's came the lows of the 1980's and, after reunification, the 1990's found the club in the lower divisions of German football. The 2000's saw the club consolidate in the Regionalliga before winning the Nordost title in 2015. This meant a play-off with Sudwest champions Kickers Offenbach, which they won 4-1 on aggregate. 

A banner on display from the FCM U-block ultras
highlighting the lowest point in the clubs recent history,
to remind people how far they have come

Magdeburg therefore find themselves back in a professional league for the first time in a quarter of a century. Naturally on such an historic occasion, plenty of people want to bear witness ensuring a near capacity crowd at the stadium this evening. Even in the town square before the game, as fans congregated for a beer or three, you could feel the excitement in the air.

There was a superb atmosphere in the ground, there is something different about watching games under floodlights, and the Magdeburg fans really got behind their team. The noise inside the stadium was up there with some of the best I have heard in Germany. For a new build, the place was bouncing!


Magdeburg were taking on old East German rivals Rot Weiss Erfurt and they, and the fans, were rewarded with a victory as Lars Fuchs scored a 89th minute winner. This was after Magdeburg had fell behind to a Mario Erb (31) strike in the first half.

Christian Beck (60) headed home the equaliser for the home side before Fuchs made the decisive intervention late on. A great way to kick off the weekends proceedings....

Not to be outdone, the RWE fans put on a show of
their support

LANDSKRONA BoIS (Landskrona Idrottsplats)

SWEDISH DIVISION 1 SÖDRA, LANDSKRONA BoIS 0-0 NORRBY IF, ATTENDANCE: 1,494

After yesterday's double in Copenhagen, today I crossed the border into Sweden. About an hour by train from Denmark's capital is the Swedish town of Landskrona. The trip involved crossing the famous Øresund Bridge, the setting for the drama series The Bridge.

I spent the afternoon visiting the Citadel in the town, which is very well preserved having been built between 1549 and 1559.

Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap or, if you prefer, Landskrona Ball and Sports Society, is not as old as the Citadel but is celebrating it's centenary this year. Landskrona were founded members of Allsvenskan in 1924 but were relegated in 1933. They returned in 1970 and had a decade in the top flight, finishing 3rd in 1975 and 1976, before being relegated once more in 1980.

Landskrona had a brief soujorn back in the top flight in 1994 before returning once again in 2002 for another spell. They were relegated in 2005 after losing the play off with Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap (GAIS). They are playing this season in the Swedish 3rd tier, having been relegated from the Superattan last year.

Landskrona Idrottsplats was opened in 1924 and has a capacity of around 11,000. The ground has a large main stand along one touchline, with two other sides of the ground terracing, but the terrace behind the goal was not open today.

Entrance to the main stand was 130SEK, which is just over £10. The barbecue was doing a roaring trade when you could get a burger and beer for around £5 (70SEK). Not a bad price all things considered.

I was speaking  to a couple of home fans (one whose team in England was Everton) who told me Landskrona play better away from home. They hadn't won at home since August 2014 and had only scored one goal at home in their last five games. This did not bode well!

The first half was largely forgettable but in the second half the home side dominated proceedings and did everything but score, however Mergim Krasniqi in the Norrby goal had one of those days where he was unbeatable, man of the match by a country mile. However it meant that Landskrona's current home malaise continued and I rounded off my season of groundhopping with a goalless draw.

PARKEN STADIUM (Denmark v Serbia)

UEFA EURO 2016, QUALIFYING GROUP I, DENMARK 2-0 SERBIA,
ATTENDANCE: 30,887

After spending the afternoon at Sundby Idrætspark, I headed up to Parken for the main event of my groundhopping weekend.

Denmark were playing Serbia in a Euro 2016 qualifier and it was the chance to watch familiar names such as Daniel Agger, Christian Eriksen and Nicklas Bendtner for Denmark, along with Branislav Ivanović, Aleksandar Kolarov and Nemanja Matić for Serbia.

There was also a blast from the past for this Evertonian as Lars Jacobsen was playing at right back for Denmark. The defender now plays in France for Guingamp but had a season with the Toffees in 2008/09 where he played a dozen or so games, including a substitute appearance in the 2009 FA Cup Final.

The game was taking place at Parken, currently known as Telia Parken for sponsorship purposes. The ground is a fine example of a modern football stadium. Parken, as well as being the national stadium of Denmark, is actually the home of FC København, who bought the ground 1998. The ground is built on the site of the original national stadium, Idrætsparken, which was demolished and rebuilt between 1990 and 1992. 

The ground was opened in September 1992 when Denmark played a friendly against Germany, which was a repeat of Denmark's most famous game, from a few months earlier, when they beat Germany 2-0 in the European Championship Final, a tournament in which they had actually failed to qualify.  Denmark were invited to replace Yugoslavia with just 10 days notice and went on to become the unlikely champions of Europe.

They faced the then World Champions in Gothenburg and they stunned everyone when ex-Arsenal legend John Jensen drove in after 18 minutes. Kim Vilfort added a second goal and some inspired goalkeeping from Peter Schmeichel ensured a shock victory for the Danes.

My battered Panini Mexico 86 sticker book

My first experience of the Denmark national team was in the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico when the 'Danish Dynamite' led by Michael Laudrup and Preben Elkjær in attack, topped their group, including a 6-1 thrashing of Uruguay, before losing to Spain in the second round. Skipper for that tournament was Morten Olsen, who is now the coach of the national side. There were plenty of the classic 'Hummel' retro shirts being worn by Danish fans this evening.

Denmark and Serbia are in a five team group along with Portugal, Albania and Armenia. At the start of play all teams had played 4 games and Portugal were top with 9 points, Denmark level with Albania on 7 points, with Serbia and Armenia with a point each.


The Danish FA refused to set aside a secure area for Serbian fans, after the reverse fixture back in November was played behind closed doors because of the trouble at the Serbia v Albania game, which was abandoned. It meant that although there were Serbian fans present tonight, they were individuals rather than large groups of supporters (the Serbian FA declined to handle tickets on behalf its fans meaning that the Danish FA would be liable for any losses due to any trouble).

Denmark ran out 2-0 winners tonight but I thought Serbia were very unlucky not to take something from the game. Yussuf Poulsen gave the Danes the lead in the 13th minute before Daniel Agger missed a penalty (pictured right). After that Serbia dominated possession and had some great chances to equalise but they found Kasper Schmeichel in fine form. 

The Leicester City stopper made some top draw saves to keep his side in front. In the 87th minute Denmark broke away and Jacob Poulsen scored to make the game safe. The result probably means Denmark will be heading to France next summer along with Portugal, who also won again tonight thanks to another Ronaldo hat-trick.

There was plenty of Carlsberg flowing at the ground this evening but I was happy to resist the, err, charms of Danish amber nectar and headed straight into the city after the game where the Taphouse, with it's 61 ales on offer, was able to satisfy this particular groundhoppers beer cravings!!

BOLDKLUBBEN 1908 (Sundby Idrætspark)

DENMARK DIVISION TWO EAST, BOLDKLUBBEN 1908 0-1 FREMAD AMAGER, ATTENDANCE: 1,425

My groundhopping for season 2014/15 was rounded off by taking in three games in Scandinavia. I booked a cheap flight to Copenhagen in order to take in the Euro 2016 qualifier between Denmark and Serbia, but in the afternoon a full schedule of second division fixtures were taking place, so a chance to double things up seemed an absolute no-brainer.

Handily, just a few kilometres from Copenhagen Airport is the Sundby Idrætspark, the shared home of both Boldklubben 1908 and Fremad Amager, who just happened to be playing each other today. It was a simple bus journey from the airport to Smyrnavej, which took around 20 minutes, then a straightforward 10 minute walk to the ground.

The ground is both a football and an athletics stadium (always a winner in my eyes) with a 2,500 capacity main stand on one side of the ground and wooden terracing on the other side. There was a decent crowd present today of just under 1500, but I would suggest the "visitors" outnumbered the home fans by about 4:1.

This game, apart from local pride, had little riding on it as B1908 have just about managed to escape the threat of relegation (unless they lose and there is a ridiculous goal swing next weekend) and Fremad are already guaranteed a top five finish.

Fremad Amager, who are managed by ex-Arsenal legend John Jensen (pictured left) secured the victory with a fine winning goal that was totally out of context of another wise drab end-of-season affair. It was a fine curling shot, on the volley, into the top corner by Sebastian Krogdahl in the 17th minute that won the game for Fremad. There were other chances but in all honesty neither goalkeeper was truly tested.

It was a warm, sunny afternoon at the Sundby Idrætspark so cool refreshment was needed this, reluctantly, came in the form of Tuborg Classic. However once the match was finished there was plenty of time to have a couple of beers in the renowned Mikkeller Bar before heading off to the evenings main event.

BLANTYRE VICTORIA (Castle Park)

WEST CENTRAL LEAGUE CUP QUARTER FINAL, BLANTYRE VICTORIA 2-0 CARLUKE ROVERS, ATTENDANCE: 148 (h/c)

I once again headed north for the third Saturday in succession. 

After watching Blantyre Victoria's sensational comeback at Wishaw in the last round, where they won 5-3 after being 3-0 down, it was only right and proper that I payed them a visit as they took on Carluke Rovers in the League Cup Quarter Final.

Blantyre was the birthplace of the 19th-century explorer and missionary David Livingstone and there is a visitor centre in the town, located in the house in which he was born. Fortunately there was no getting lost on the way to the ground!

Castle Park is a ramshackle ground and it's crumbling terracing behind the goal would certainly be a health and safety issue south of the border!

On first glance, it looks like the is a large stand on one side of the pitch, but on closer inspection it is actually three bits of cover next to each other. Another Scottish gem!


The club were founded in 1890 and Celtic legends Jock Stein and Billy McNeill both played for Blantyre Vics early in their respective careers. The club are currently in the midst of a purple patch which has seen them win back to back promotions. 


They were Central District League Second Division Champions in 2014 and were confirmed as First Division Champions last weekend. The club will compete in the Super League First Division next season.



Today's game was a feisty affair which threatened to spill over on occasions, but fortunately some football did break out in between all the niggles. 

Both teams created, and wasted, numerous chances but with about 20 minutes remaining the homesters broke the deadlock through Brian Caldwell before David Galt quickly added a second.

Blantyre will now travel to Yoker Athletic in the semi-final next Thursday.