Bundesliga 2016/17
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Andrew___K
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Someone asked about possible future Pep's successor. Beside Tuchel, keep an eye on Nagelsmann's work :) Very impressive already.
Watched a good few Bundesliga games this season,Been watching the first half of the Colonge v Hamburg game,what a lump of shit the Bundesliga is.
The ref is giving Hamburg everything,ironically,he is an ex Hamburg player,how does that work?
The ref is giving Hamburg everything,ironically,he is an ex Hamburg player,how does that work?
cptaidan88
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Bit slow in getting round to writing a quick review of my latest trip as I've been moving house, but here goes.
It started in Barcelona, which I've grown tired of after 3 visits in 4 years (never imagined saying that when I was growing up). The Nou Camp remains the greatest disappointment of all the stadiums I've visited as its just a big, crumbling shit hole. The away fans get put up in the gods behind a net/glass screen and we get charged ridiculous prices. Maybe my opinion would be different if we ever get a result there though! On the plus side I shook Diego Maradona's hand whilst wandering round the port area earlier in the day.
Once I got the obligatory defeat by Barca out of the way my proper trip could begin. I flew from Barcelona to Vienna on Thursday, had a few hours wandering round Vienna (very nice) and then went to the new Allianz Stadion, home to Rapid Vienna for their Europa League game against Sassuolo. It ended 1-1 with a farcical own goal scored by Rapid in the second half.
After the game I had a bit of a rush to the train station, followed by a major panic when I realised I'd managed to lose my locker key, but thankfully with seconds to spare the station manager unlocked the locker and I was able to board the night train to Germany. Not the best nights sleep, particularly as the Bundespolizei woke everyone up at 4am in Salzburg to do a passport check. I boarded another train in Munich and then arrived at Würzburg before 10am.
I had a great day wandering round Würzburg, which even in overcast conditions was quite picturesque. I'm led to believe Britain basically flattened it in 1945 which is a shame, but I think the fortress at the top of the hill remained intact and the restoration of the centre seemed to have been done faithfully to the original. Its a bit out of the way, but if you're in the vicinity I'd recommend a visit.
The ground itself is a bit basic. I believe they've generally been in the lower leagues for the majority of their existence and have only recently surged up the leagues. I met up with the guy that runs the German Football Grounds website at the game and swapped ground-hopping stories. In addition to completing the top 3 German leagues, he has also done 90 of the 92 English league grounds and I've agreed to go bloody Wycombe in a couple of weeks when he ticks off another.
Back to Würzburg - the news of Alcohol-free beer was not welcomed as it was a pretty poor game. My train connection after the game was a bit tight which was not helped by a floodlight failure delay just before the second half kicked off. I had to leave a few minutes before the end, and I had to run about a mile to make sure I got it - which was difficult after I'd had a Schwein Schaufele washed down with a few local red wines earlier in the day. Having checked the score on the train, I hadn't missed anything as the game finished 2-0 to Karlsruhe.
After a long sleep, I woke up in Darmstadt and had a little walk around. Theres a strange Pantheon type church, a tall column in a big square, and Palace which is quite impressive, but even including those, my tour didnt take long. Again I met up with the guy from GFG which in retrospect was lucky because I'd have never found the entrance to the away section without him. You've basically got to walk through a forest to get to it and there are no signs to help you.
This news may surprise you, but Wolfsburg didn't fill their allocation and there was plenty of space so we got a good spot near the top. About 20 minutes into the game it started lashing it down, and there is no shelter at all. I'd bought a new coat before the trip and I'm pleased to report it passed its first test and kept my upper body dry. My lower half however got soaked and I've still got man-flu from it now. I'm not sure whether Darmstadt played well, or Wolfsburg were crap - probably a combination of the two, but Darmstadt ran out deserved winners 3-1.
After the game I jumped on another train to Leipzig. It was late when I got there so just grabbed a drink from the hotel bar and watched whatever the German equivalent of Match of the Day is called. There's a bit too much chatting for my liking, particularly as I'm still unable to understand what they're saying, but I was able to catch up on the days Bundesliga games (and the 3-0 Frankfurt win in Hamburg the night before - well done @Bembeltown).
First of all I need to reiterate that I disprove of Red Bull, because otherwise this will sound a bit too positive. Leipzig is arguably the nicest German city I've visited. It felt modern, and there is plenty to see and do. Even the train station is impressive.
I visited the Volkerschlachtdenkmal and had a good wander round the city centre in the morning before I made my way to the ground which is both impressive and unusual. They've retained the outer bowl from the old ground and built a new stadium (not too dissimilar from the Etihad) inside. There are bits where they've left the original benches exposed on the outer bowl and they've left the communist buildings at the side and the end to retain the history.
The supporters are loud and everyone was wearing red and white. I laughed a bit when they actually sang "Rassen-Ballsport" but the people of Leipzig are clearly enjoying supporting and are fully behind this team despite opposition from everywhere else.
Like them or hate them, they have a good side and they dominated Bremen. 3-1 was not flattering and on another day it could have been more. Keita scored twice and was the best player on the pitch. I don't hate RB Leipzig as some do, but its still frustrating to see Red Bull plastered over everything. I've never been anywhere that has more varieties of an Energy drink than Beer on sale.
Its easy to say now looking at the league table, but I fully expect them to finish in the top 3, and we'll see in the summer if they want to 'give it a go' and spend to try and compete with Bayern and Dortmund next season.
If City were to draw them next season in Europe I'd happily return.
That brings me up to 17/18 Bundesliga grounds and 33 different German grounds in total. I'll be returning in November, but not adding any new ones - just revisiting the Allianz (first time I'll see 1860 there though),Dortmund if I can get tickets, Gladbach and Schalke.
I still need to tick off Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, but will probably try to get the remaining ones in Buli 2 as well.
It started in Barcelona, which I've grown tired of after 3 visits in 4 years (never imagined saying that when I was growing up). The Nou Camp remains the greatest disappointment of all the stadiums I've visited as its just a big, crumbling shit hole. The away fans get put up in the gods behind a net/glass screen and we get charged ridiculous prices. Maybe my opinion would be different if we ever get a result there though! On the plus side I shook Diego Maradona's hand whilst wandering round the port area earlier in the day.
Once I got the obligatory defeat by Barca out of the way my proper trip could begin. I flew from Barcelona to Vienna on Thursday, had a few hours wandering round Vienna (very nice) and then went to the new Allianz Stadion, home to Rapid Vienna for their Europa League game against Sassuolo. It ended 1-1 with a farcical own goal scored by Rapid in the second half.
After the game I had a bit of a rush to the train station, followed by a major panic when I realised I'd managed to lose my locker key, but thankfully with seconds to spare the station manager unlocked the locker and I was able to board the night train to Germany. Not the best nights sleep, particularly as the Bundespolizei woke everyone up at 4am in Salzburg to do a passport check. I boarded another train in Munich and then arrived at Würzburg before 10am.
I had a great day wandering round Würzburg, which even in overcast conditions was quite picturesque. I'm led to believe Britain basically flattened it in 1945 which is a shame, but I think the fortress at the top of the hill remained intact and the restoration of the centre seemed to have been done faithfully to the original. Its a bit out of the way, but if you're in the vicinity I'd recommend a visit.
The ground itself is a bit basic. I believe they've generally been in the lower leagues for the majority of their existence and have only recently surged up the leagues. I met up with the guy that runs the German Football Grounds website at the game and swapped ground-hopping stories. In addition to completing the top 3 German leagues, he has also done 90 of the 92 English league grounds and I've agreed to go bloody Wycombe in a couple of weeks when he ticks off another.
Back to Würzburg - the news of Alcohol-free beer was not welcomed as it was a pretty poor game. My train connection after the game was a bit tight which was not helped by a floodlight failure delay just before the second half kicked off. I had to leave a few minutes before the end, and I had to run about a mile to make sure I got it - which was difficult after I'd had a Schwein Schaufele washed down with a few local red wines earlier in the day. Having checked the score on the train, I hadn't missed anything as the game finished 2-0 to Karlsruhe.
After a long sleep, I woke up in Darmstadt and had a little walk around. Theres a strange Pantheon type church, a tall column in a big square, and Palace which is quite impressive, but even including those, my tour didnt take long. Again I met up with the guy from GFG which in retrospect was lucky because I'd have never found the entrance to the away section without him. You've basically got to walk through a forest to get to it and there are no signs to help you.
This news may surprise you, but Wolfsburg didn't fill their allocation and there was plenty of space so we got a good spot near the top. About 20 minutes into the game it started lashing it down, and there is no shelter at all. I'd bought a new coat before the trip and I'm pleased to report it passed its first test and kept my upper body dry. My lower half however got soaked and I've still got man-flu from it now. I'm not sure whether Darmstadt played well, or Wolfsburg were crap - probably a combination of the two, but Darmstadt ran out deserved winners 3-1.
After the game I jumped on another train to Leipzig. It was late when I got there so just grabbed a drink from the hotel bar and watched whatever the German equivalent of Match of the Day is called. There's a bit too much chatting for my liking, particularly as I'm still unable to understand what they're saying, but I was able to catch up on the days Bundesliga games (and the 3-0 Frankfurt win in Hamburg the night before - well done @Bembeltown).
First of all I need to reiterate that I disprove of Red Bull, because otherwise this will sound a bit too positive. Leipzig is arguably the nicest German city I've visited. It felt modern, and there is plenty to see and do. Even the train station is impressive.
I visited the Volkerschlachtdenkmal and had a good wander round the city centre in the morning before I made my way to the ground which is both impressive and unusual. They've retained the outer bowl from the old ground and built a new stadium (not too dissimilar from the Etihad) inside. There are bits where they've left the original benches exposed on the outer bowl and they've left the communist buildings at the side and the end to retain the history.
The supporters are loud and everyone was wearing red and white. I laughed a bit when they actually sang "Rassen-Ballsport" but the people of Leipzig are clearly enjoying supporting and are fully behind this team despite opposition from everywhere else.
Like them or hate them, they have a good side and they dominated Bremen. 3-1 was not flattering and on another day it could have been more. Keita scored twice and was the best player on the pitch. I don't hate RB Leipzig as some do, but its still frustrating to see Red Bull plastered over everything. I've never been anywhere that has more varieties of an Energy drink than Beer on sale.
Its easy to say now looking at the league table, but I fully expect them to finish in the top 3, and we'll see in the summer if they want to 'give it a go' and spend to try and compete with Bayern and Dortmund next season.
If City were to draw them next season in Europe I'd happily return.
That brings me up to 17/18 Bundesliga grounds and 33 different German grounds in total. I'll be returning in November, but not adding any new ones - just revisiting the Allianz (first time I'll see 1860 there though),Dortmund if I can get tickets, Gladbach and Schalke.
I still need to tick off Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, but will probably try to get the remaining ones in Buli 2 as well.
aguero93:20
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- Some gobshites in day-glo green and black.
If I were you I'd scrub my hands with lightly bleached water before going near any sniffer dogs in airports after that.
cptaidan88
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I realised the day after that the 'hand of god' was his left hand anyway. Wash my hands thoroughly anyway and had no issue with the sniffer dogs thankfully.
Bembeltown
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Sounds like you had a good time, but it seems you are really unlucky with the weather. Either you get soaking wet or burned to a crisp (Stuttgart). ;)
aulblue
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Having myself just got back from a similar trip (9 matches in 8 countries in 9 days) as my first introduction to European football, I would say it is totally worth it. I'll set out the itinerary here although not strictly Bundesliga focused as this thread does seem to attract fans of travelling to foreign games in general. We did
Saturday
aulblue
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Sorry
Saturday Lille v Bastia
Sunday Brondby v Aarhus
Monday IFK Gothenburg v AIK
Tuesday St Pauli v Hertha (Pokal)
Weds Inter v Torino (terrible mistake by Joe for their first but great save just before Torino equalised and nothing he could do about the late winner)
Thursday FC Zurich v St Gallen (Swiss Pokal)
Friday Borussia M v Eintrach Frankfurt (BM totally outplayed in first half and very susceptible to the high press I noticed)
Saturday Admira Wacker v Rapid Vienna
Sunday Slovan Bratislave v Podrbrezava
Saturday Lille v Bastia
Sunday Brondby v Aarhus
Monday IFK Gothenburg v AIK
Tuesday St Pauli v Hertha (Pokal)
Weds Inter v Torino (terrible mistake by Joe for their first but great save just before Torino equalised and nothing he could do about the late winner)
Thursday FC Zurich v St Gallen (Swiss Pokal)
Friday Borussia M v Eintrach Frankfurt (BM totally outplayed in first half and very susceptible to the high press I noticed)
Saturday Admira Wacker v Rapid Vienna
Sunday Slovan Bratislave v Podrbrezava
Vienna_70
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cptaidan88
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Wow, that's a lot of travelling - even by my standards. Sounds great.
I'm keen to get to some of the places you've ticked off there too.
aulblue
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Yeah it was awesome - the best things were the unexpected ones like FC Zurich fans being complete maniacs and letting off so many flares the game was held up for 5 mins or that Admira Wacker have a full brass section behind the goal belting out songs for 90 mins. Can't say the quality of football was great but there were some amazing atmospheres.
aulblue
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As a thanks for all the advice re Hamburg and Moenchendgladbach, happy to reciprocate of course if you manage to get to any of them.
Vienna_70
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Good win for Hertha tonight; 3-0 against 'Gladbach.
Hat-trick for Saloman Kalou, including a cracking header for the first.
Hat-trick for Saloman Kalou, including a cracking header for the first.
cptaidan88
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They're going well, but they started well last season and tailed off right at the end.
Hopefully they can keep it going this season. Would love to go back there with City next season.
Inter Me Nan
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I went to Berlin earlier this year, easy place to get around and the ground is ace.
Andrew___K
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Nagelsmann schooling Anci right now, using much weaker squad. Pressing in pep-style.
Vienna_70
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It is.
I went there a few times during the 2001/2 season; it hadn't been touched since the 1936 Olympics and it was, frankly, a bit of a tip. But now that it has been redeveloped, it's a great arena.
I love Berlin. It's a great city.
Scaring Europe to Death
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We were there on the same day that Suarez bit Ivanovic and City lost 3-1 at White Hart Lane.
Remarkably, whilst walking around the grass perimeter, we stumbled upon a cricket match, adjacent to the stadium.
It later transpired that northern Germany has it's own cricket league.
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