EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG (Eintracht Stadion)

2.BUNDESLIGA, EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG 1-3 SV SANDHAUSEN, ATTENDANCE: 20,680

After still being in the Reeperbahn at 2am, it was with blurry eyes and a sore head that I boarded the 1024 train for Braunschweig. Luckily I was able to indulge in some 'hair of the dog' on the train to bring me back to life!

Eintracht Braunschweig were taking on SV Sandhausen in their opening game of their Bundesliga 2 campaign. This is Braunschweig's second successive season at this level after relegation from the Bundesliga in 2014.

Fancy a beer?

The club were actually founder members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and were champions (for the only time to date) in 1967. They only spent two seasons outside the top flight between 1963 and 1985, when they were relegated for a third time.

The club then spent the next 25+ years yo-yoing between divisions 2 and 3 before returning to the top flight in 2013, when they finished bottom at the end of the season.

Tickets were ordered online and collected at the ticket office next to the fan shop before the game.  The Eintracht Stadium has a capacity of 23,325 was originally opened in 1923. The ground has a running track, which is never usually a favourite of mine, but I really liked this ground. 

Maybe it was the compact nature of the stadium or perhaps, more likely, maybe it was because I was stood in the South Stand along with 9,000 Braunschweig fans. The team colours of yellow and blue also make for a colourful backdrop and the noise generated inside the stadium was fantastic.

The fans though had little to cheer in the opening 28 minutes of the game, as it was tedious to say the least, with neither team mustering a solitary attempt at goal between them.

Then the game suddenly burst into life with two goals in two minutes. Jan Hochscheidt (29) gave Braunschweig the lead when he burst through to fire home. Florian Hübner (31) then levelled things for Sandhausen when he was left unmarked to head home.

Andrew Wooten (41) gave the visitors lead just before half time when he poked home from close range. Aziz Bouhaddouz (65) ensured the victory for the visitors with another free header. Their 150 or so travelling fans were in raptures!

It was a poor defensive display from Braunschweig and the goals were wholly preventable. Despite the scoreline their supporters kept cheering the team all the way to the end of the game.

HAMBURGER FUSSBALL CLUB FALKE (Stadion Stellingen)

HAMBURGER POKAL 1, HFC FALKE 3-0 SV WEST-EIMSBUTTEL, ATTENDANCE: 750

It was an early start from Magdeburg as the train headed north to the famous port of Hamburg. However the journey this morning was different as I was travelling with just a little more than excitement than usual because I was heading to see a fledgling football club take it's first competitive steps. 

Hamburger Fussball Club Falke has been formed by disillusioned fans of Hamburg Sport-Verein (HSV). Most were/are loyal supporters, season ticket holders and had followed the the club through thick and, in recent times, mostly thin. HSV were one of the few remaining Bundesliga clubs that were 100% member owned. However this all changed in last year.

In May 2014 a vote by HSV members resulted in 86.9% of them electing to separate the club’s professional football section into a new company, which would be open to investors. This decision also sacrificed many of their rights as members.  This vote was the final straw for some supporters and sparked the move to set up a new club.

Buoyed by the success of the likes of AFC Wimbledon and FC United of Manchester in England, some Hamburg supporters decided to go their own way, indeed members of the HFC Falke board made a trip across to Manchester last November for some pointers and advice. 

You only have to look at our own Premier League to see the way the professional game has developed in recent years. Soaring ticket prices and fans being treated with contempt are the norm in England but the German model is what many in England look to with envy with cheap tickets, safe standing and fans having a say, but ironically, that vote could ultimately take Hamburg away from that model.

HFC Falke aims to be a club that is run by the fans for the fans, to give supporters an alternative home and to keep the spirit of old going. The club has not been set up to be a direct replacement to HSV as, speaking to few supporters at the ground today, you could still see clearly how much HSV still mean to some of them and how much the result of that election upset them. 

The decision to kick off their home fixtures at midday on a Saturday is designed to allow supporters to watch both teams if they so desire. Indeed the official HSV twitter feed tweeted HFC Falke to wish them good luck before the game.

The new club takes its name from two of the three clubs who originally merged to form the current HSV in June 1919, namely Hamburger FC (originally founded in 1888) and FC Falke (originally founded in 1906). The third founding club, SC Germania, is also "reborn" within the new club colours and badge. HFC Falke was formally established on 19 June 2014, with the initial meeting taking place on 13 July, when over 300 people signed up as founder members. 

For the 2015/16 season the club have been placed in the Hamburg Kreisklasse (group 5) which is the lowest level of football in Germany. The club are groundsharing at the Rudi Barth Sportplatz, which is the home of Kreisliga side SC Union 03 Altona. However that ground was unavailable today, as the pitch is being re-seeded, so this Hamburger Pokal tie was switched to SV West-Eimsbüttel's Stellingen Stadion. This also doubles up a Falke's training ground too. There is no cover at this basic ground, meaning this particular groundhopper ended the day with a very red and very burnt head!

Dirk Hellmann was appointed coach of HFC Falke in January 2015, along with assistant Christopher Dobirr, and began the task of putting together a squad in order to begin this season. Open training sessions were conducted and a squad was finalised. 

The players that lined up this afternoon for this historic occasion were;

24 Dennis Verstege

3 Christopher Dobirr, 5 Damian Haras, 31 Onno Lorenzen, 18 Tobias Herbert

27 Jan Ramelow, 21 Timo Wedler (sub 17 Francis Fabian 61m) 8 Sebastian Semtner 

13 Björn Naruhn (sub 7 Christian Schümann 61m), 16 Timo Braasch,

11 Angelo Litrico (sub 23 David Rogge, 83m)

The long term aims of the club, on the field, are to try and reach the Oberliga, which is four levels above where the club is now. However the short term aim of today was to progress to the next round of the Hamburger Pokal. SV West-Eimsbuttel play in the Kreisliga, which is the league above HFC Falke, but the Falke squad contained many players that have played at a much higher level than that. 

The players are not being paid and actually have to pay subs to the club, but I was told the deal clincher for many players to drop to this level was the fact they don't have to wash their own kit!

The players, cheered on by a 700+ crowd, took to the field to a superb display of from the fans, with their blue and white flags shining in the afternoon sun, and a large banner with the legend "Kämpfen und glänzen" which translates as "Fight and shine"

A day of celebration was made complete by victory on the pitch. Player/Assistant coach Christopher Dobirr had the honour of scoring HFC Falke's first ever competitive goal after 20 minutes when he headed home a Tobias Herbert corner (pictured right). Timo Braasch tapped home from close range home after 68 minutes to double HFC Falke's advantage before Christian Schümann fired home after 88 minutes to seal the tie.

"Number 86"

It was a successful day off the pitch as well as the makeshift "fan shop" did a roaring trade as shirts, scarves and badges were all snapped up by the supporters. The club also sold well over 100 season tickets, of which I did my little bit by purchasing one, hopefully I will get the chance to use it when the club finally head "home".

Crates and crates of ale were also sold. Indeed the beer had been flowing since the gates were opened at 11am and the beer continued to flow well into the evening as players, officials and fans all celebrated together as one. That in a nutshell was what today was all about. 

The Wasps supporters also played their part in cheering on their team

For further information please visit the HFC Falke website (click here).

Big thanks to Markus and Julia for their input.

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