The German match day experience: Part 2

Regular readers of The Football Blog may remember the report I wrote of my initiation to German football back in May, when I went to watch Alemmania Aachen play their penultimate game at the old Tivoli stadium. On Monday, I fortunately and unexpectedly got the opportunity to go and watch the first game at their new Tivoli Stadium.

As you might expect, anticipation levels amongst Alemmania fans were sky high for the game. Their team narrowly missed out on promotion last season and were hoping to go one better this time around, with room for more fans (and hence more noise) inside their impressive new stadium giving the team more support than ever before.

Arriving at the stadium ahead of the match, Aachen fans could be forgiven for pinching themselves. This was a club which was nearing bankruptcy at the start of the millenium, following the discovery of financial irregularities. The new Tivoli is just reward for their gradual improvement both on the pitch and financially, the high point of which was an appearance in the 2003-2004 German cup final and the UEFA cup the following season.

The ground is made up of three seated sides and one standing end. I was in the packed standing end and very grateful for it given the superb atmosphere ahead of kick off. The opposition for the evening was the infamous St. Pauli, a club recognised for its unique culture, left wing support and large popular following as one of the country’s ‘Kult’ club. Needless to say, they were also in good voice.

Unfortunately, from an Alemannia perspective, the less said about the game the better. Aachen went close early on with a header from Szilard Nemeth (Middlesbrough fans will remember the name), but once Marius Ebbers had put St. Pauli in front after 24 minutes, it was all downhill for the home team.

Ebbers added a second just four minutes later at which point my colleague, who had kindly scoured eBay for my match ticket, decided it was time for a bratwurst. At 0-2 the match was still salvageable for Alemannia. Unfortunately once he returned from his refreshment break, it wasn’t. They conceded a further two goals in the next ten minutes, one of them a penalty, and went into the half time break 4-0 down.

Given the irretrievable nature of the game, the atmosphere was understandably somewhat subdued during the interval and the second half. Alemannia threw on all their substitutes in order to give their fans at least a goal to cheer about but, despite going close on a couple of occasions, it was to no avail. The misery was complete when St. Pauli added their fifth with four minutes remaining. Final score: Alemannia Aachen 0-5 St. Pauli.

To say that this is not the way that Alemannia would have wanted to start life at their new stadium would be an understatement. However, as my colleague said to me afterwards, ‘that’s football’. It was all put into perspective after news came through that a St. Pauli fan had fallen from a fence in the stadium following celebrations at the end of the game. Fortunately, we found out later that despite some injuries, he had survived.

Anticipation and expectation levels were sky high for this game, which perhaps added the pressure on the field for the players. It’s a long season however, and Alemannia have plenty of time to get their campaign back on track and give their fans something to cheer about at their new stadium, of which they can rightly be proud.

August 19, 2009