Deutschland Wochenender!

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...

Friday 31st January 2020

Continental Arena
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.

Saturday 1st February 2020

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!

Sunday 2nd February 2020

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.

Monday 3rd February 2020

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...

...until whenever, Prost!

HOLSTEIN KIEL (Holstein Stadion)

2.BUNDESLIGA, HOLSTEIN KIEL 2-2 ERZGEBIRGE AUE, ATTENDANCE: 9,702

My final trip of the weekend took me to north to the city of Kiel, located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The city is a major maritime base and busy port and the Kiel canal is one of the busiest in the world.

It was an early start from Münster in order to make the 1300 kick off. The ground is a good 30 minute bus ride from the main station, but fortunately buses are frequent so there was plenty of time for a beverage and a frikadellen. Holstein Kiel were hosting Erzgebirge Aue in a 2.Bundesliga clash. Coincidentally, Kiel were the visitors when I travelled to Aue a few years ago.

Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein were formed in 1900 and in their early years were a dominant force in the north. They won the German championship in 1912 but have never reached the promised land of the Bundesliga, spending most of their history in the second and third tiers.

The club returned to the 2.Bundesliga for the 2017/18 season and are enjoying a very good season thus far. Admittedly the good ship KSV has hit choppy waters in 2018, having failed to win so far, but going into the winter break they were in one of the automatic promotion positions. Kiel are still third in the table, which is a promotion play off position, but the other teams below them are now closing in.

In order to meet the criteria for any promotion, plenty of work has been done on the Holstein Stadium. At one stage the ground did not meet the minimum criteria necessary for the Bundesliga so major renovation has taken place. Two new stands were erected to replace the old terracing. In fact the only remnants of the old terracing are behind one of the goals where the away fans are placed.

All the differing builds give the feel of a bit of a hotch-potch ground. I was having a chat with a couple of fans and there is talk that the club could, in the next few years, be demolishing the ground completely and re-building it to create a stadium with a capacity of around around 25,000. 

Erzgebirge Aue were the visitors this afternoon, making the 400 mile journey from Saxony and they would have returned happy having secured a precious point as Holstein Kiel's inability to turn draws into wins haunted them once again.

It started well for the Stork's as they found themselves 2-0 up. After 10 minutes good work down the right led to Dominck Drexler crossing the ball to an unmarked Marvin Ducksch to sidefoot home from 12 yards. Kiel were on the front foot and their winless run looked to be coming to end when Drexler swept home a second goal, after Rafael Czichos headed the ball on from a corner kick.

However on 36 minutes The Violets got a goal back in slightly controversial circumstances. A corner was flicked on and Malcolm Cacutalua challenged the Kiel 'keeper, Kenneth Kronholm, who appeared to have caught the ball. He subsequently lost control and Cacutalua prodded the loose ball home. It terms of modern football it was certainly a foul on the 'keeper but the referee let the goal stand.

It got better for Erzgebirge Aue 90 seconds later when Cacutalua levelled things up. A free kick was launched forward and Cacutalua's header from the edge of penalty area looped over the 'keeper into the net.

The second half was a more cagey affair and both teams had chances to seal the win but the game eventually petered out and both teams had to settle for the draw. That's eight games without a win for Kiel and if that continues their promotion hopes will surely be sunk.

After the match I headed back to Hamburg for a few night caps. On the journey north it was noticeable how much snow there was on the ground and on my way back south I received confirmation the my game of choice for Sunday had been postponed. The weather had played havoc with other games in the lower leagues too, so this turned out to be my final game of this trip. Another fantastic weekend in Germany and hopefully I will be able to get over once more before this season is out.

1.FC HEIDENHEIM (Voith Arena)

2.BUNDESLIGA, 1.FC HEIDENHEIM 0-2 SpVGG GREUTHER FURTH,
ATTENDANCE: 12,000

For the final game of this particular weekend I headed, from Stuttgart, to the town of Heidenheim an der Brenz, for another 2.Bundesliga game as 1.FC Heidenheim welcomed SpVgg Greuther Furth to the Voith Arena.

The town of Heidenheim is famous as the headquarters of Voith industries and it is they who sponsor the football ground. The ground is a fair distance from the train station but, adjacent to the train station, there is also a bus station. There are several buses running to the ground before (and after) the match, so I was quite happy to jump on and save my legs!

The ground is a purpose built football ground, meaning the fans are right on top of the pitch, and now has a capacity of 15,000. It was opened in 2010 and is built on the site of the old  Albstadion. The ground is another fine modern stadium, it also put me in mind of my visit to NEC Nijmegen a few years ago.

If you look at the club badge, you would think 1.FC Heidenheim were formed in 1846, many years before football as we know it today was actually created, which we all know was 1992.

However, like most German clubs, the date refers to the formation of the sports associations of which football was one of the departments. Heidenheim's history can be therefore (tenuously) be traced back to the mid 19th century but the football department wasn't actually founded until 1911.

The football department went its separate way from the association in 1922 with the formation of TV Heidenheim before renaming itself VfL Heidenheim in 1936. After the war, football in the city was played by both VfL Heidenheim and the original parent association, who had been joined by various other clubs in the 1930's, and went under the banner of TSB Heidenheim.

A merger in 1972 brought both clubs together under the original association name, from 1846, of Heidenheimer Sportbund. The football club once again went it's own way in 2007 under the name 1.FC Heidenheim 1846.

After years in the the lower reaches of German football the club won the Regionalliga Sud in 2009 and promotion to 3.Liga. The club had consistent top ten finishes before winning the title in 2014 to reach the second tier for the first time in their history. They have had comfortable mid-table finishes since and look on course to continue that trend once again this season.

Unfortunately for Heidenheim today wasn't their day as Greuther Furth produced a text book away performance. Despite Heidenheim making most of the running and creating most of the chances, the visitors were happy to sit back and play on the counter attack. It worked an absolute treat.

Two well worked breakaway moves were finished off by Robert Zulj (21 & 68) to ensure the points went back to northern Bavaria.

Post match the buses were plentiful and I was back at the train station very quickly after the game finished. There was lots of time for a beer before beginning the journey home, another excellent German adventure over. Until next time.... 

Until next time, Danke!