RASENBALLSPORT LEIPZIG (Red Bull Arena)

2.BUNDESLIGA, RB LEIPZIG 1-1 SC FREIBURG, ATTENDANCE: 25,869

A Thursday night live TV game afforded the chance to visit one of the most contentious German clubs of recent times and, in the process complete a hat-trick for myself.

In 2009 Austrian energy drinks manufacturer Red Bull bought the licence of  fifth division side SSV Markranstädt and changed the team's name, crest and kit colours to that of Red Bull, becoming the fourth club in the world to do so following Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls (these are the two clubs I had visited previously) and Red Bull Brasil.

The German Football Association would not allow the corporate name Red Bull to be part of the team name so, in order to comply with these regulations, the club adopted the name RasenBallsport Leipzig, which literally translates as "Leipzig Lawn Ballsports" it is a meaningless name as such, but the club now have the initials 'RB' in their name.

In 2010 RB moved to the 44,300 capacity Zentralstadium in Leipzig, which had been rebuilt for the 2006 World Cup but wasn't in regular use by any team. The ground was actually built on the footprint of the old ground, so the pitch is in the same position. The old terraces are now grass banks but you still enter via the same steps. It is a hugely impressive stadium.

Since Red Bull took over in 2009, Leipzig have moved from the fifth tier in to the second tier, winning promotion three times in five seasons. I will not bet against them being in the Bundesliga top flight before too long. The club are putting money where their mouth is. For example, this season they signed German youth international Davie Selke from Werder Bremen, a multi million Euro contract encouraging him to drop down a division.

It has been used as another stick in which to beat the club. RB Leipzig has been met with hostility and protests throughout it's short history but the flip side of this coin is that since the fall of the wall no East German side has met with any long term success, maybe RB Leipzig could be a club to break the Western stranglehold. The club are managed by a man with plenty of Bundesliga experience, ex-Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick

Visitors to Leipzig tonight were SC Freiburg, who were making another ridiculously long journey for the 'Englishce Week' with their fans being subjected to a 1,200km round trip. A fair few made the journey north to support their team.

RB Leipzig were fourth at the start of play, with Freiburg in second place. On paper it looked a tight game and so it proved.

Nils Petersen (29) gave Freiburg the lead in the first half before Red Bulls levelled through Davie Selke (47) soon after the restart. Freiburg's Alexander Schwolow was the busier of the two goalkeepers as the home side took control in the second period, but the game ended all square.

The legendary Jurgen sinks a few ales whilst watching the game!

SV WERDER BREMEN (Weserstadion)

BUNDESLIGA, SV WERDER BREMEN 0-0 SC FREIBURG, ATTENDANCE: 40,423

My friend and I annual autumn jaunt into was slightly curtailed this year as the Champions League was not particularly kind, so it was a three day, three game trip across two countries. Not as extensive as last season's France/Romania/Germany but just as enjoyable.

The weekend started with a £15 Ryanair flight to Bremen, landing just after 9.00am in the morning. A tram took us to the main station where there was a hive of activity as workers cleaned up the debris from the first night of the Bremen Beer Festival. I was completely unaware of this but my mate said oh yeah forgot to tell you about that....

The Bremen Festival is the Cities answer to Munich's Oktoberfest and combines beer and fairground rides, surely a dubious combination? The most thrilling ride appeared to be Olympic Ride, which was basically a loop-the-loop through the 5 Olympic rings. I thought to myself I must have a go on that later!

We met up with a pal from Hamburg and his friend and the pre-match supping began. It would have been rude not to get on the Beck's seeing as Bremen is where it originates.

The talk in the bar surrounding the ghost goal that Leverkeusen 'scored' against Hoffenheim when the ball was headed wide but went through a hole in the side netting and bounced out of the goal. The referee awarded a goal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQZmRqxnH6M

At least that provided a taking point, which was more than can be said for the game we saw.

Bremen and Frieburg played out a drab 0-0 draw, which was the first of the Bundesliga season, the closest to a goal was when Bremen's Luca Caldirola hit the post. There's not really much more to add.

Bremen's last major success was in 2004, when the completed a league and cup double, though they did reach the UEFA Cup Final in 2009, and on this evidence it might be while yet before success returns.

The Weserstadion is located on the banks of the River Weser and despite redevelopment the ground was not chosen as a venue for the 2006 World Cup.

Once the game was over, it was a few more beers and a taxi ride back to the fair. We had to go and check into the hotel first and I took the chance to lay down for a quick power nap. There endeth my night and I never got the chance for any fairground thrills!

SC FREIBURG 1904 (Dreisamstadion)

BUNDESLIGA, SC FREIBURG 0-0 HAMBURG SV, ATTENDANCE: 24,000

A train south took us to from Frankfurt to Freiburg im Breisgau. Freiburg is one of the most southerly cities in Germany, being very close to the Swiss border.

Sport Club Freiburg were taking on Hamburg in a Bundesliga encounter.

We met some Hamburg fans on the train south and enjoyed a good laugh whilst polishing off a few pre-match beers.

The game, played in persistent rain, was a drab affair.

Hamburg had former Spurs player Rafael van der Vaart and ex-Wigan player Paul Scharner in their starting line up, but Scharner's afternoon only lasted 35 minutes when he received a second yellow card. This led to Hamburg effectively shutting up shop and settling for a point.

 The closest there was to a goal was right at the death when Freiburg's Jan Rosenthal's effort hit the post.

Freiburg's  Dreisamstadion, named after the River Dreisam which flows through the city, was built in 1953 and was apparently Germany's first solar powered stadium. Sadly there was nothing illuminating about this game today.