The German match day experience

– May 13, 2009

02

I have been working on a project in Germany for the past few months, something which naturally aroused my interest in the Bundesliga and German football in general.

Knowing that I am football fan, one of my German colleagues asked me if I wanted to go and watch his team – Alemannia Aachen – take on the once great Kaiserslautern in a second division match. The answer, of course, was an unequivocal ‘yes’. Aside from the fact that it meant I could leave the office at four o’clock, I was also keen to find out how the German match day experience differed from that in England.

Ahead of yesterday’s game Allemania Aachen sat one point behind Kaiserslautern in sixth place both teams still able to make the promotion. With all still to play for and a sold out Tivoli stadium (just shy of 22,000 attendance), it certainly felt like a good place to begin an initiation into German football.

The set up was similar to something you would find in England about thirty years ago – standing room only, no cover (we survived with just a light shower), a fence between the spectators and the pitch, smoking and drinking both permitted in the stands, and a lot of flags being waved. A lot has been made of the demise of the traditional English terrace atmosphere and this game showed me what has been lost in terms of atmosphere. However, looking at the way the stadium was set up, it was also a reminder of how things could go so badly wrong if not properly marshalled.

The game itself was fast paced and certainly comparable to the standard of Championship football. Alemannia should have been ahead at half time but failed to capitalise on the chances that Kaiserslautern were allowing them. After the obligatory half time beer and currywurst, the second half started at a similarly frantic pace with Florian Müller’s pace down the left finally forcing a Kaiserslautern own goal. Benjamin Auer should have added a second when clean through on goal, but hit the post leaving Alemannia to hold on for a nervous few final moments.

One of the bizarre yet most memorable moments of the evening came after the match had finished. Alemannia are building a brand new stadium next to the old one, ready for use at the beginning of the 2009/10 season. For some reason, by luck or intention (I couldn’t work out which), the construction site was left unlocked leaving Alemannia fans to walk freely around their new stadium in a half finished state. It is an impressive one tier stadium and one which the fans, who were all terribly good natured, will enjoy watching their team playing in for seasons to come. Watching the penultimate game at the old Tivoli was good enough for me though.


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