German Football...Same game but world of difference.

After watching a fair bit of German football on ESPN for a couple of years i was always impressed by the atmosphere that seemed to be created at many games by the fans and by the open football so when a friend suggested a weekend in Dusseldorf to see the home team play local rivals Duisburg in Bundesliga 2 i jumped at the chance.

We took the Eurostar from Kings Cross on a cold February morning in 2010.A magnificent journey that only took just under five hours which included changing at Cologne.

Dusseldorf is close to the Belgium border in the Ruhr,a heavily industrial area similar to both The Black Country and Greater Manchester.The one big difference being that their factories are actually open for their designated purpose and not waiting to be turned into Premier Inns and out of town shopping Malls.

The other similarity is that it's surrounded by a large number of well known football clubs,most notably Schalke,Monchengladbach,Dortmund,Leverkusen and their hated rivals Cologne.

Dusseldorf is also famous for it's local brew Altbier and has many Alt bars,which unsurprisingly we took full advantage of...As you can see...It's also the birthplace of Kraftwerk & punk band Die Toten Hosen(who have sponsored Fortuna Dusseldorf 95 in the past)

So to the football.The first difference that's noticed is the price.For a huge local Derby which was expected to be a 48,000 sell out we payed the princely sum of 13 Euros(approx £10) which included the price of a return ticket on the local tram.I am assured that these low prices are common place in German football.
Once at the stadium we were corralled to be searched.Everyone got searched,and i mean everyone.In front of me were two young girls of about eight years old and even they got the full frisk...

Which begs the question...How the hell did the Duisburg fans get a flare in? Probably best not too think to long about where it was concealed...

There was a rocking atmosphere in the ground with both sets of fans giving it their all,including some wanton chair destruction from some of the 7,000 strong away support.Surprisingly the local plod did'nt seem too bothered about intervening while this went on.They just clocked the ringleaders on video,no doubt to pick up afterwards.

The ground itself was very well appointed with food & drink outlets about every 25 metres.This meant that all queues were at a minimum,this is also helped by the fact that drinks can be taken into the stands while the game is on.In real sturdy plastic glasses with a 1 Euro return deposit on each--a fact not lost on local kids who collect discarded glasses to supplement their pocket money...Oh and for the smokers among us it's ok to have a puff in the ground while watching the game as long as the sliding roof is open...

There also appeared to be a hell of a lot more women at the game than you see at British games,and as befits an area where Claudia Schiffer grew up,many were very attractive--Yes i know it's wrong of me to point that out but hell, why deny it?

The game itself was an easy 2-0 win for FD95.With goals from Harnik & Lambertz...

Harnik celebrates the opening goal...

Not all things are better...They clearly did'nt put more than a minute thinking up the design of the mascot...

We hung around in the stadium for about an hour after the game having more beer.Something which never happens in British football,where they try to get you out the ground as quick as possible.They certainly would'nt sell any more beer...

I can't deny there was some trouble outside between both sets of fans,but even this was an eye opener.I am used to it in Britain where the police seem to see every fan as a potential hooligan and treat us all in a disgusting manner.Here they knew who the trouble makers were and left the rest of us to go about our business...

Once back in Dusseldorf we hit a local bar for more football,plenty on offer...

...although i'm a bit disturbed to find i support "Woles"!

Final thoughts: I was very taken with the German way of doing football,the fans are treated as an asset rather than an unfortunate necessary to be endured.Consequently there seems to be closer ties & mutual respect between supporters and players.

If anyone gets the chance to go over to Germany to witness their football at first hand i urge you to do it,you won't regret it but you may be a little jealous of our distant cousins...

Finally a German Elvis...sort of...

Thanks to Dave,Mazza,Guy and Scott for a cracking weekend...