With the winter break at an end, I decided it was time for another weekend in Germany. It was another one of those trips that seemed straightforward enough on paper but the logistics involved planes, trains, automobiles and some ridiculously early starts!
I flew into Nuremburg on the Friday morning before taking the regional train to Regensburg...
2.Bundesliga
Jahn Regensburg 0-2 Greuther Fürth
Att: 11,013
This was definitely a case of "scratching an itch" as this is ground I needed to complete all the grounds of the second tier of German football.
The Continental Arena was opened in 2015 and is a fine example of a modern football stadium. The ground replaced the fabulous Jahnstadion which was eventually demolished back in 2016.
After spending the afternoon exploring the wonderful city centre and sinking a few ales in the Regensburger Weissbräuhaus I headed back to the hauptbanhof to catch the bus to the ground, which is about 4km out of town.
Tonight it was a Bavarian derby as Greuther Fürth were the visitors and the green won thanks to early goals from Maximilian Wittek (11) and Håvard Nielsen (15). The homesters piled on the pressure but the chances went begging.
Grünwalder Stadion
3.Liga
Bayern München II 1-0 Hansa Rostock
Att: 2,811
This was certainly one to get the purists hot under the collar. A double whammy of a reserve team and a groundshare. The groundhopping police would have me burnt at the stake for heresy!
Built in 1911, the Grünwalder Stadion is the iconic home stadium of 1860 Munich, who are now back at the ground after relegation to the third league. They had spent the previous years (2006-2017) sharing the Allianz Arena with Bayern. The Grünwalder Straße ground had also been Bayern's home from 1926 to 1972, when the club moved to the Olympiastadion.
The stadium has a capacity of 15,000 but the demand for tickets to 1860 games far outstrips supply so, as I was in the area, and with very few other options, I decided to go and watch Bayern's second team in action and get this famous old ground "ticked off".
The third tier of German is as high as reserve teams can go. Indeed Bayern II are the current 3.Liga champions (and will go on to retain their title in 2020) but are barred from promotion.
If I thought I was doing some lengthy journeys this weekend that was nothing compared to the visitors Hansa Rostock, who faced a round trip of about 1,000 miles. That didn't deter at least 800 of their fans making the trip.
The game was far from a classic, with very few clear cut chances, but it hinged on two penalties, both given for handball. Bayern's Kwasi Wriedt converted for Bayern after 28 minutes...
...but, five minutes before half time, Rostock's Mirnes Pepić skied his penalty kick to send the visitors back to the Baltic coast empty handed...
The 1pm kick off meant there was plenty of time for a walk around the city centre and have revisit to the legendary Hofbrauhaus (I was last in here back in 2006 prior to a World Cup game) and also had a trip to another couple of other popular drinking establishments. I couldn't stay out too late though as I had to be up to catch a 6.15am train north, so I returned to my hotel just after midnight!
3.Liga
FSV Zwickau 2-2 TSV 1860 München
Att: 6,685
A five hour trip from Munich led me to the former East German town of Zwickau for another 3.Liga match. The opposition was 1860 Munich and, as you can imagine, my train(s) had a fair few of their supporters on board as well.
With it being a Sunday, there was not a lot of action in the town centre but I managed to squeeze in a couple of beers in a local brauhaus before catching the tram out to the ground.
Stadion Zwickau was opened in 2016 after FSV had left their traditional home at the Westsachsenstadion in 2010, as the ground was falling into a state of disrepair. It was decided it was more cost effective to build a new stadium rather than upgrade the Westsachsenstadion.
The ground is a couple of miles out of town in the district of Ekersbach and is a fine example of a modern football stadium. I parked myself in the Westtribune which gave me a great view of the pyrotechnics from the home supporters.
The game was excellent entertainment and could have gone either way. The 1860 line was led superbly by veteran striker Sascha Mölders and he opened the scoring after 37 minutes before Maurice Hehne equalised for Zwickau with a 30 yard thunderbolt right on half time.
The second half was just two minutes old when 1860 restored their lead through Stefan Lex but Davy Frick bundled home a second equaliser after 57 minutes. There were chances for either side to bag a winner but a draw was a fair result.
3.Liga
Sonnenhof Großaspach 0-6 Wurzburger Kickers
Att: 2,183
The only professional game in Germany on this particular Monday evening was in the village of Aspach, 20 miles north east of Stuttgart and 165 miles west of Munich, where I was based. I had to go for it!
The 7pm kick off time and the numerous changes involved made doing the journey by train unfeasible, plus my flight home on Tuesday afternoon was from Munich. This meant there was only one option open to me; hire a car a whizz along the autobahn!
The club was formed in 1994 through the union of Spvgg Großaspach and FC Sonnenhof Kleinaspach, the Sonnenhof part of the name coming from the local hotel Sonnenhof in which the meeting was held that led to the formation of FC Sonnenhof Kleinaspach.
This season has been one of struggle for the club, who were firmly in the relegation zone, and they had recently parted ways with coach Oliver Zapel and appointed Mike Sadlo and Heiner Backhaus in his place. This evening was their first match at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena.
There was no new manager bounce as Großaspach were comprehensively dispatched 6-0 by Kickers. It did take until the 23rd minute for the first goal to arrive though, Max Breunig scoring and less than a minute later it was 2-0 thanks to Fabio Kaufmann. Onur Ünlüçifçi received two yellow cards in two minutes just before half time to leave the homesters up against it.
The second half was minutes old when Dominic Baumann (48) made it 3-0 to Kickers. It was soon four when Kaufmann netted his second (50) before substitute Saliou Sané made it 5-0 (58). Niklas Hoffmann added a late goal (86) to complete the rout.
Even the home ultras gave up the ghost after the fifth goal and put away their flags and drums. The new managers only lasted another game before being dismissed (It made no difference as they were relegated at the seasons end).
Post match the weather began to turn and the rain slowly began to turn to snow, which made for an interesting journey to my digs for the night. Still, at least I got out of the muddy car park ok as the tractor that was on hand assisted those fans who were no so fortunate!
As usual, it was another brilliant weekend in Germany. I was looking forward to another trip just a few weeks later, having booked up for a trip to Carl Zeiss Jena but, sadly, we all know came next...
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| ...until whenever, Prost! |
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