2.BUNDESLIGA, SV SANDHAUSEN 0-0 VfL BOCHUM, ATTENDANCE:5,465
After collapsing into bed before midnight, I managed wake up and drag myself onto the 0827 train from Dusseldorf to Sandhausen, which involved a change at Mannheim.
It was a raucous carriage as it was full of Werder Bremen fans en-route south to Freiburg. The drink was flowing (they did kindly offer me a bottle but, in my fragile condition, I had to decline) and the music was blaring out classic hits such as Ma Baker, Rock me Amadeus and 99 Luftballons. All good fun but I'm not sure the couple sitting opposite me agreed judging by the look on their faces!
From Mannheim it was a short regional train to St Ilgen-Sandhausen and I arrived in the town about 1 hour before kick off. It took about about 25 minutes to walk to the ground, which is on the very outskirts of the town. The Hardtwalstdion is a mixture of stands which have clearly been built as the club as progressed up the respective leagues.
The population of the town is around 15,000 and SV Sandhausen is the smallest professional club in the second tier of German football. Sportverein Sandhausen were founded in 1916 and spent most of their history in the lower leagues until before qualifying to be a founder member of 3.Liga in 2008. Sandhausen won 3.Liga in 2012 and promotion to 2.Bundesliga where they have remained thanks to consistent mid-table finishes.
The game finished goalless. I always try to be positive but this was definitely up there as one of the worst games I have ever seen and, as an Everton fan, I watched the Walter Smith era!
The game was stop-start with lots of fouls and never really got going. There were half chances but, in truth, neither goalkeeper was truly tested as both teams effectively cancelled each other out.
Nonetheless, it was pleasing to get in a visit to the Hartwaldstadion. The only slight downside, for me, is the ground operates a card system, which I don't like to get involved with, so I couldn't even have a beer to numb the pain! Fortunately Kraftpaule in Stuttgart, which was my base for the night, made up for that with some excellent beers on tap.
2.BUNDESLIGA, ARMINIA BIELEFELD 1-1 VfL BOCHUM, ATTENDANCE: 16,720
Once more I headed over to Germany for few games as the Bundesliga's traditional September "Englische Woche" got underway.
This is a full midweek programme of league games that happens twice a season (in September and March) and is dubbed the "English Week" as, because of the size of the leagues, in England midweek football is normal, whereas in Germany it is quite rare for midweek league matches (some may argue unnecessary, especially those clubs that have to make long journeys).
Nonetheless, the "Engilshce Woche" gave this groundhopper a chance to visit three grounds in midweek, starting on a Tuesday evening with a Bundesliga 2 clash between Arminia Bielefeld v Vfl Bochum.
I had an inauspicious start to my trip when flight my to Hamburg was cancelled and I was put on a flight to go via Dusseldorf. Luckily, as I was only flying one way with this airline, I left the airport in Dusseldorf, instead of getting on the connecting flight to Hamburg, and boarded a train to Bielefeld.
I arrived in the city in mid afternoon and, unless I am deceiving myself, I can confirm that Bielefeld does indeed exist and I definitely stepped off a train in a place called Bielefeld!
The football club get their distinctive name from Arminius, who was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci, who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (which is south of Bielefeld) in 9 AD.
Arminia have called The Bielefelder Alm Stadion home since 1926, but for sponsorship purposes it is currently known as the Schücoarena. It is about a 20 minute walk from the main train station and is in a residential area, with the ground rising between the houses. It does take a while to circumnavigate.
In 1996 rebuilding work began on the ground and was completed in 2007, creating the arena you see before your eyes. My tickets were ordered online for collection at the ground. For the uninitiated this is a hut by the south stand, which I must have walked past about three times!
Arminia are currently in the second tier of German football (they were founding members of Division 2 in 1974) but have spent many seasons in the top flight (their last spell was between 2004 and 2009) but were in Liga 3 as recently as 2013. Their most infamous spell in the top flight was their debut season in 1970/71 where they finished 14th but were found guilty of match fixing and were expelled the following year.
Back to the present and top of the table Bochum, who are unbeaten this season, deservedly took the lead after 28 minutes when Simon Terodde converted from the penalty spot (pictured left) after a handball by Bielefeld's Brian Behrent.
Fabian Klos equalised for Bielefeld with 8 minutes remaining when he got ahead of his marker to fire home a cross from Christopher Nothe.
It was a raucous carriage as it was full of Werder Bremen fans en-route south to Freiburg. The drink was flowing (they did kindly offer me a bottle but, in my fragile condition, I had to decline) and the music was blaring out classic hits such as Ma Baker, Rock me Amadeus and 99 Luftballons. All good fun but I'm not sure the couple sitting opposite me agreed judging by the look on their faces!
