The World Cup 2010 Timeline.

13/06/2008 by leo.

FIFA made an initial announcement that 204 out of its 208 members had entered their names to compete in the 2010 World Cup. While the draw for the qualifying competition is scheduled for 25th November 2007, some of the Confederations are playing prelimary matches in order to cut the numbers in that draw. Comnebol - the South American Confederation do not have a draw, as all ten teams from the continent play in a standard league format (18 matches each), but this has too start early - on October 13 2007.

The initial announcement meant that the Phillipines, Laos and Brunei were not entered, along with Bhutan - all from Asia. Oddly, when the preliminary draws were released, Bhutan were included (not that this meant much).

One of the points of this Timeline is to record how the numbers were whittled down from this original 205 entrants, to 32 finalists over a period just exceeding two years. The date when each of the 173 that fail to qualify will be recorded, using mathematical certainies, (i.e not the teams last game, but the when the team cann no longer get enough points to reach the next stage). Other important items such as a team qualifying for the next stage will also be recorded.

The record will be kept as a single file - I will delete from the archive each time it is updated and returned to the top of the blog.

Qualifying Formats
Each of the confederations has a different format for its qualification process, decided by the local confederation with the agreement of FIFA. the process ends with two intercontinental play-offs, one between teams from Oceania and Asia, the other between teams from North/Central, and South America.

Oceania
This is agreed to be the weakest confederation. It has 11 members since Australia defected to Asia. The winner of the OFC contest will play in the play-off against an Asian team.

Initially nine of the contenders (Papua New Guinea withdrawing before the start) will play in Samoa as part of the South Pacific Games - this produces three teams for the next stage where they are joined by New Zealand and play in the traditional four team group format, home and away matches.

The top two teams in the group will play a further two-legged match between themselves before the winner gets to play against their Asian opponent.

Asia
Of 46 teams, 43 enter the preliminary draw. A ranking table was drawn up to place them in order. Teams 1 through 5 on the ranking order (Australia, South Korea, Saudia Arabia, Japan and Iran - who not coincidentally played in the last World Cup finals) are exempt to the first group stage. The other 38 are divided into 19 seeds, and 19 non-seeds, and drawn into 19 first round matches. Of the 19 qualifyers, the 11 with the best ranking will go direct to the third round, while the other 8 will play in another four games to reduce the numbers further.

The 20 teams in the group stage will play in four groups of five.
Winners and runners-up will qualify, giving 10 teams then to play in two groups of five.

From the second group stage, the top two in each group head to the World Cup
- the two third placed teams play off with the winner being the Asian team to play against the Oceania qualifyer in the play-off.

South America
The simplest of all the routes - 10 teams play in a home and away round robin tournament (18 matches each). the top four are direct qualifyers for the finals, while the fifth placed team will face North or Central American opposition in a play-off.

North and Central America
35 teams - two (2 legged) knock out rounds will reduce the numbers from 35 to 12. All the teams have to play at least one tie, the top 13 on the rankings are exempt from Round 1.

The twelve teams play in three groups of four
Winners and runners-up qualify for a further group stage - a single group of six teams
The top three from the second stage go directly to the World Cup, the fourth team into a play-off against a South American.

Africa
53 nations - An added complication is that the same tournament is used to decide qualification for the African Cup of Nations in January 2010. this means that South Africa will be the first host country to play in the qualification process - but they will be in the finals, whatever the results.

Five teams will be knocked out in a preliminary knock out stage
The remaining 48 will be arranged in 12 groups of four.
All 12 winners go into the next stage, plus the eight ‘best’ runners-up.

This produces 20 teams which will be made up into 5 groups of four.
The group winners only qualify for the finals

-In the first group stage, matches against South Africa count in deciding who goes through.
-If South Africa makes it to the final 20, then their group will be a three team group for World Cup Qualifying (matches against South Africa will not count), but it will remain as a four team group for African cup qualification.

Europe
53 countries. To be arranged in nine groups, eight will have six teams, while the final one will have just five.

All nine winners qualify
Only eight runners up move on - they play in four knock out play-off matches to complete the 13 European country line up.

The Time Line

25-August-2007The first world cup qualification matches get underway, at the appropraitely named J.S. Blatter Playing Fields in Apia, Samoa. The matches start simultaneously at 15.00 local time, with two more later in the evening. The results of the first two matches are Tahiti 0-1 New Caledonia and Solomon Islands 12-1 American Samoa. Ten teams are arranged in two groups of five teams. Included in the competition is Tuvalu who are not a FIFA member and cannot go beyond this tournament, (they will gain only one point, from a draw with Tahiti, so this is not important). Not included are Papua New Guinea, who by chosing not to compete become the first withdrawal.

25 - August-2007 (or before). Papua New Guinea withdraw. 204 teams left!

31-August-2007. American Samoa eliminated 203 teams left
By losing their first three matches, one goal scored, 34 conceded - American Samoa are the first team eliminated. They will lose their fourth game by 4-0.

1-September-2007. Cook Islands and Tahiti eliminated201 teams left
Both teams are in Group A of the South Pacific games.

3-September-2007. Samoa and Tonga eliminated199 teams left
Two teams from Group B, including the host of these games, make their exit.

5-September-2007. New Caledonia and Fiji reached Oceania group stage
The two teams, both from Group A beat the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu repectively to reach the South Pacific final and the enter the next round of the World Cup

6-September-2007. São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic from Africa and Guam from Asia withdraw 196 teams left
The two African teams were due to meet each other, resulting in a reshuffle of the African knock out round - Swaziland and The Seychelles are given byes to the first group stage. Dijibouti and Somalia now meet each other, but in a single match in Dijibouti.
Indonesia are the team drawn against Guam, so they now have a bye and will wait to see if they have to play Round 2.

7-September-2007. Vanuatu progress, Solomon Islands eliminated195 teams left.
Vanuatu beat Solomon Islands 2-0 in the South Pacific third/fourth play-off
New Caledonia, who finished group A behind Fiji on goal difference, beat Fiji by 1-0 to claim the local title.

15-September-2007. Bhutan withdraw194 teams left
In a less than surprising development, Bhutan decide to withdraw, Kuwait are the lucky team to get a bye - and their seeding places them directly into the group stage in Asia.

8-October-2007.Asian Qualifying gets underway.
There are 17 two legged ties left after Guam and Bhutan had withdrawn, 8 take place on this date, the last one will be played on 22-October. All second legs are to be completed by the 28th

13-October-2007African Qualifying gets underway
Madagascar beats Comoros 6-2 - second leg next month

13-October-2007South American Qualifying gets underway
Five matches this weekemd, five more in midweek, another two rounds of games in November.

15-October-2007. Thailand progress. Macau eliminated193 teams left
Having won the first leg 6-1, the first tie to complete is a formality for Thailand, who end up as 13-2 aggregate winners.

26-October-2007. Afghanistan eliminated192 teams remain
Most of the matches are on Sunday, but as they are to use the same stadium as Tajikistan will use on Sunday (the security situation in Afghanistan not being such that even Syria want to play there), the Afghan match is two days earlier. 2-1 to Syria on the day, 5-1 on aggregate.

28-October-2007. 12 teams beaten in Asian second legs 180 teams remain

Iraq 0-0 Pakistan (aggregate 7-0)

Tajikistan 5-0 Bangladesh (6-1) - after a scoreless first half, a hat-trick by Khakimov made the difference

Nepal 0-2 Oman (0-4)

Hong Kong 8-1 Timor-Leste (East Timor) (11-3) - seen by just 1500

Maldives 2-0 Yemen (2-3)

Myanmar 0-4 China (0-11) (played in Kuala Lumpur, and in the heat and humidity of mid-afternoon, where only 200 turned out to watch)

Chinese Taipai 0-2 Uzbekistan (0-11) - decided by two goals in the final 10 minutes, in front of under 1000

Turkmenistan 4-1 Cambodia (5-1) Cambodia scored first, levelling the agregate scores, but eventually losing

UAE 5-0 Vietnam (6-0)

Qatar 5-0 Sri Lanka (6-0)

Malaysia 0-0 Bahrain (1-4)

Jordan 2-0 Kyrgyzstan (2-2) pens 6-5 - the last of the matches, and the closest. A goal in each half levelled the aggregate score. Kyrgyzstan had a man sent off in injury time of extra time and then lost the penalty shoot out.

Three matches scheduled for this date seem to have not been played.
India v Lebanon is now scheduled for Monday 29th.
The match between North Korea and Mongolia was not completed - more news on this to follow when I find out something
Palestine did not turn up for the second leg in Singapore, after losing 4-0 at home.

29-October-2007 The end for Mongolia and Palestine 178 teams remain

More than 24 hours after the match should have completed, FIFA put a result of North Korea 5-1 Mongolia on their site. No details have been posted. this gives the Koreans a 9-2 aggregate victory, but leaves one thinking that the full story here has yet to come out.

In Singapore, it is more straight forward - the Palestine team did not attend. Singapore expect the result to be awarded at 3-0. The reason for Palestine not attending is not clear, but this is not a new thing for them. They missed a game (also in Singapore) in the last Asian Cup qulaification process.

The remaining unplayed game, in India was off due to a Waterlogged pitch and is now scheduled for 30-October.

30-October-2007 India pay the penalty for Red Card 177 teams remaining.
India were trying to come back from a 4-1 defeat in the Lebanon, and made a good start, leading 1-0 at half time. But the 72nd minute proved too much for them, with the Indian keeper getting sent off, while Mohamad Ghaddar scored from the penalty sport. Ghaddar scored againto put the Lebanon ahead, and a late Baichung Bhutia equaliser was never going to save the tie for the Indians

16-November-2007 Djibouti Score a narrow win 176 teams remaining
Ahead of the weekends other matches, which will see four Asian and two African second legs, Djibouti have beaten Somalia 1-0 to gain themselves a place in the main draw next week

17-November-2007. Another six bite the dust in Asia and Africa. 170 teams into next weeks draw
Africa first - Madagascar took a 6-2 lead into their match at Comoros, and finished the job with another win (4-0), to take the tie 10-2 on agrregate. No goals in Guinnau-Bissau, so Sierra Leone go through thanks to their 1-0 home win a month ago.

In Asia, Tajikistan was up first, and scored in the first minute against Singapore, Noh Alam Shah balanced the scores before the break and with no further goals added, Singapore went through by virtue of a 2-0 home win.

Sarayoot Chaikamdee, who had scored for Thailand in Yemen, scored another in the home match to give his team a single goal win, meaning they progress 2-1 on aggregate.

A hat-trick for Zaid Sha’abo as Syria demolish Indonesia by 7-0. Sha’abo also scored one in Inodonesia, and the aggregate score ends up as 11-1.

Finally, Turkmenistan secured a 3-0 home win against Hong Kong, which was also the aggregate score.

Two matches were played in Oceania - New Zealand winning their second away match, 2-1 in Vanuatu. The home side scored first, but Shane Smeltz levelled the scores and David Mulligan got the winner in injury time. Fiji were pulled back from 2-0 up to be held 3-3 by New Caledonia.

In South America, Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 to maintain their 100% record. Paraguay are second after a 5-1 win over Ecuador, while Brazil (1-1 in Peru) and Colombia (1-0 at home to Venezeula) are also unbeaten.

25-March-2008 Eritrea withdraw from African Qualifers

169 teams remain

Eritrea, from Group 11 in Africa and due to play Togo, Zambia and Swaziland have announced their withdrawal from the tournament.

26-March-2008 Caribbean and Central America First Round - First nine out of CONCACAF 160 teams remain

There were also matches in February, these were first legs in CONCACAF and the first of six match series in the Asian groups, so this is the biggest week until things hot up in June.

In Asia, it was a week of surprise results. Japan lost 1-0 in Bahrain, Asian champions Iraq went down 2-0 in Qatar and Saudi Arabia by 3-0 in Uzbekistan. Iran, 2-0 up within four minutes were held 2-2 by Kuwait, their second draw in two games. Two matches were played in China, the North-South Korean derby having been switched to Shanghai after the two countries could not agree over showing flags and playing of national anthems. The South Korean Flag and Anthem is not permitted in the North, and the South insisted that FIFA rules (that the flag is displayed and the Anthem played) were kept to. The game ended 0-0, which as both teams had one their openers, looks like a good score for both. In Kumming, China and Australia also drew 0-0, with China having the better of the game, and missing a late penalty. The Aussies will be the happiest with this result, while China - also held in their opening game against Iraq in Dubai will be more nervous.

After two matches, Uzbekistan and Bahrain are the only teams with six points, while Thailand, Turkmenistan and Lebanon have suffered two defeats.

In CONCACAF, the first round is to knock out 11 countries by use of two legged ties. However, three of the ties have been reduced to single leg, and the match between the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands involves two matches, both this week, and both in the Bahamas. The first leg finished 1-1. The closest of all ties was in Bayamon, where Peurto Rico won by a single goal, scored in extra time - this one of the three single leg matches and one must wonder what would have happened if the Dominican Republic had played their home game. Another single leg match was played in Grenada, where Blackburn’s Jason Roberts scored the first two of nine goals, seeing them through to play Costa Rica in June. The final single leg match, Montserat against Suriname was played on a neutral venue in Trinidad, Suriname winning 7-1.

In other matches, St. Lucia overturned a 2-1 first leg deficit to go through and meet Guatemala, while Barbados’ 1-0 home win gives them a match against the USA in the next round. Antigua and Barbuda were already 3-0 up from their away leg, and added one more goal to defeat Aruba and earn a tie against Cuba. Belize’s 3-1 win over St. Kitts and Nevis in the first leg proved to be enough - they drew 1-1 in the second leg and now face Mexico. Anguilla, who had lost 12-0 in El Salvador, switched their return tie to Washington DC, going down by 4-0. Finally, Netherlands Antilles beat Nicaragua for the second time (3-0 aggregate) to claim a tie against Haiti in the next round.

This leaves two matches to be played this weeked. The British Virgin Islands will play again in the Bahamas in their second match, and the Cayman Islands will play Bermuda - in both cases the first legs finished 1-1.

30-March-2008 Bahamas and Bermuda through - British Virgin Isles and Cayman out

158 teams remain

In the Bahamas, the second leg of the tie against Britsih Virgin Islands finished as the first did, level, thanks to two late goals by Anadale Williams. However, despite the two matches both being played in Nassau, the second leg was technically the Virgin Islands home match, and therefore with this match being 2-2, while the first was 1-1; it is the Virgin Islands who drop out on away goals.

It was true away goals that did for the Cayman Islanders. They may have been satisfied with a 1-1 draw in Bermuda, but in their home game they were quickly 3-0 down to two goals from Devaun Degraff and on eby Kwame Steede. The Cayman Islands pulled one back through a Marshall Forbes penalty but went down 3-1

07-June-2008 First Casualties in Asia Groups

156 Teams Remain

The five groups for the current round of Asian Games means that 10 teams will exit this world cup on Monday 22nd.

After four matches in each group, two of these ten are known, as Turkmenistan and Lebanon can say goodbye to their chances of qualifying. So far, only one team (Uzbekistan) is certain to appear in the next stage.

14-June-2008. Six more Asians teams out on day of decision - Puerto Rico fall

149 teams remain.

A big decision day in Asia, as all but two groups are settled - in Group 1, Iraq’s win in China sees the end of Chinese dreams for another four years, Asutralia won in Qatar and are through, while Iraq and Qatar will play for the final place

Japan won in Thailand, while Bahrain and Oman draw, but this means Thailand and Oman are out, Japan and Bahrain continue, as do both North and South Korea from group 3. Jordan who lost 2-0 in Pyongyang join Turkmenistan in being knocked out.

Uzbekistan won their fifth successive match in group 5, Saudi Arabia’s fouth win, in Singapore means they have also qualified. Singapore join Lebanon in going out.

Kuwait are the final team to lose out on the day, losing 3-2 at home to UAE. Iran are the only qualifyer from the group, thanks to a 2-0 win in Syria. Syria and UAE will have to settle their differences next week, with the odds strongly favouring the UAE.

Matches carry on this week around the world, except Europe, but the only decisive one was in Puerto Rico, where the home team, 4-0 down from the first leg, drew 2-2 with Honduras. Most of the other matches in CONCACAF are on the first leg of two

18-June-2008 Unlucky 13 for Bahamas - 148 teams remain.

Not that you can really count it unlucky - Bahamas lose their two legged tie against Jamaica by 7-0 and 6-0 (13-0 on aggregate) and bow out

20-June-2008. Canada get the better of St. Vincent and Grenadines 147 teams reamain
A 4-1 win in Montreal, aggregate 7-1 sees Canada take their expected place in te next round

21-June-2008. CONCACAF loses three more, Vanuatu and Seychelles stop dreaming 142 teams remain
For the three CONCACAF matches, see East Fork’s post above
Vanuatu, who drew at home to New Caledoniaa, lose the return match, and can no longer qualify.
Syechelles become the first African side to be sure of losing in the group stage, suffering their fourth defeat, 4-1 in Burkina Faso.

22-June-2008. Last two decisions in Asia, Doors close fo five more Africans, Six to go out in CONCACAF. 128 teams remain
Asia - Syria go out despite winning 3-1 in UAE, while Iraq, whose ‘home’ game is also played within the UAE lose 1-0 to Qatar and are out.
Africa - In group 1, neither Mauritius (1 point) or Tanzania (2 points) can qualify. The same fate also applies to Niger, Mauritania, and Djibouti, all of whom have lost four out of four
CONCACAF -
USA win 1-0 in Barbados - perfectly good, as it seals a 9-0 aggregate win.
Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 Bermuda (T & T 3-2) Stern John gets the clinching goal in the 69th minute.
Cuba 4-0 Antigua & Barbuda (Cuba 8-3)
Guyana 1-2 Suriname (Suriname 3-1)
Netherlands Antilles 0-1 Haiti (Haiti 1-0) An 81st minute own goal sends Haiti to the next stage!
El Salvador 3-1 Panama (El Salvador 3-2) Trailing 2-0 on aggregate, El Salvador nets 3 goals in the final 20 minutes to eliminate the canaleros!

28-June-2008 Lesotho lose postponed qualifyer and chance of going through 127 teams remain

In the match postponed from 31 May, Gabon beat Lesotho 2-0 with two goals from Angers striker Fabrice do Marcolino. This keeps Gabon in the contest but its the fourth defeat for Lesotho, ending their chances of going through.

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The 6-5 Principle.

01/06/2008 by leo.

FIFA have chosen to oppose the European Union, but to take a populist stance with the 6+5 formula that would provide minimum quotas for Englishmen in the English Leagues, but will this really improve the England team, or may it make us look better, by making the opposition worse?

The FIFA statement makes it look like a great step forward, with the resolution voted for by an overwhelming 155 to 5 of delegates at the FIFA congress. However, the proposal had already been neutered by UEFA’s insistence that the wording was just one of negotiation. The resolution requests that “the Presidents of FIFA and UEFA to continue to explore … all possible means within the limits of the law to ensure that these crucial sporting objectives be achieved”. Anyway with 201 associations at the Congress, (seven did not turn up), 41 must have abstained. The voting record – exactly who voted against, or just abstained would have been interesting.

English football is very much in the mind of the people who are promoting the plan, Franz Beckenbauer said that “Everyone regrets that England will not take part in Euro 2008”, while Blatter said “This is a subject close to my heart. I want to protect the national teams and prevent leagues having only a small number of clubs with any chance of winning the title”. To be honest, it is an idea that has a general popularity with fans as well. Reading comments sent in to the BBC’s web site, the majority are in favour of rules to increase the number of Englishmen on view in the Premiership. Statistics (also provided by the BBC) point out the degree of the problem – just over one in three of all players who appeared in the Premiership are actually English, while on average, only 72 of the 220 starters on any given Saturday are English. To look at this from the other direction, 41 of the 368 registered players for Euro 2008 play in England, only Germany (58) and Spain (42) have more, and they of course are both in the finals.

The 6+5 plan means that in any domestic league match, a minimum of 6 of the players that start the game must be qualified to play for the country in which the club is domiciled, (i.e English, for clubs in the English League, except Cardiff and Swansea which are domiciled in Wales, and so would have to field 6 Welshmen). Ideally FIFA would phase this in with a minimum of 4 qualified players in 2010-11, and 5 the season after. Now, naturally this would not create much of a stir outside Europe as most national leagues already run with more stringent regulations in place. The only exception that immediately comes to my mind is the S-League in Singapore. While most teams are limited in the number of foreigners they field, they have three clubs that are associated to other countries, and none of these play any Singaporeans at all, but have squads that are 100% Japanese (Albirex Niigata), Korean (Korean Super Reds) or Chinese (Dalian).

Within the European Union, though, the situation is clear. Any player who is a citizen of the EU has a right to sign for and play for any club within the Union. Also a rule that discriminates the choice of one citizen over another is not permitted. Naturally there is nothing to prevent a rule being placed that at least 6 players in the starting line-up are EU citizens.

There is another string to the European Argument. There are clearly around five leagues within Europe that have a big financial advantage over all the others; these leagues provide most of the finalists for European club competitions. An international player who wants to prove himself among the best wants to play in one of these five leagues. Indeed the lack of good competitive play in his home league means that the player practically has to leave his home country in order to gain the experience required. On the way to Euro 2008, England were beaten by Croatia – only one out of their squad of 23 plays in the Croatian League, while three play in England.

Apart from England, concern over the number of nationals in their own league expands to Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands – but despite the money on offer, the situation is nowhere near so acute in either Italy or Spain. So is the problem for the English Leagues really due to the foreigners coming in, or is it due to the lack of Englishmen coming through the training regimes? The quota system suggested by FIFA may well help England do better against the likes of Croatia – but this may not mean the English team is any better – only that we restrict the chances for the Croats, and make their team worse.

Posted in The European Game, Political Footballs | No Comments »

The Search for the Next Game

26/05/2008 by leo.

In the first and third week of my tour, I had mid-week fixture lists to enjoy, giving me a choice of fixtures, even if in many cases they were only second division matches in the country’s concerned. The middle week was different, though – the appearance of a bank holiday on the Monday concentrated the fixtures onto that date. This left me with the choice of either missing out on my hope to see a match on every day for the validity of my 22 day rail pass, (which would have allowed me to head further afield, for a single game), or to pick up those matches I could find from the re-arrangements after postponements. For example, if I had chosen to miss Tuesday and Thursday, my Wednesday match could have been in Belgrade.

Having rejected this plan, I dropped my levels, seeing a match in the Swiss 2.Liga Inter-regional (4th level) on the Tuesday, and a Landesliga (5th level) game in Germany on the Wednesday. Now the fifth level of the English pyramid is the Football Conference – with highly developed minimum ground standards and average crowds well above the thousand mark. But England is not like the rest of Europe (or the world). We have more professional clubs, and more clubs with regular crowds over 1000 than anywhere else. Only the Italians come close. Germany has two regional divisions at its third level, nine oberliga at level 4, and no less than 27 (called either Verbandsliga or Landesliga) at level 5. This means that far from being an equivalent to the Conference, the teams are more in line with lower division Southern League, or even Hellenic League football.

My fixture was in a place called Grebenstein, which research had shown to be deep in the very centre of Germany. In fact, quite easy to get to from Basel – the fast and comfortale ICE train speeds me as far as Kassel, and then a local regional tram deals with the last 18 km. The regional tram was a new one on me – it turned out to work as a normal tram around the streets of Kassel, and then transfer to the railway tracks for the longer out of town journeys. I tried to walk around the town in Kassel for a while before transferring out – this proved impossible after a week or more of good weather, the temperatures in this part of Germany had risen to 32°C in the middle of the afternoon. So melting after just a short walk, I bought an ice-cream and found the tram. As it was, I think I should have made the transfer earlier, as Grebenstein did not turn out to be a dead residential suburb, but a small village full of half-timbered houses; more rewarding to the eye than Kassel’s modern but dull centre.
As is often the case, the railway station and football ground are both on the edges of the village – one at each end, but this is a small place, fifteen minutes comfortably takes me from one to the other. The Sauertalstadion has been built (or more accurately dug) from a hillside on the edge of the town. It is a standard bowl shaped ground, but with grassed sides too steep to be used as terraces. A path, about 2 metres wide has been cut all around the ground, at a level height apart from at the bottom end of the ground, where it follows the natural slope down to pitch level. The entrance level is a little higher again, and at this point too there has been levelling out to provide the essential buildings, dressing rooms and bar. A flight of steps take the players and officials down to the pitch. On a warm spring evening, with the shadows lengthening over the pitch, there can be few more pleasant locations to sit, enjoy a beer and watch a game. The game itself is nothing special, both teams are away from the action zones of the league table. For the record, the match in the Landesliga Hessen Nord, and the away team VfL Eiterfeld beat the home, TuSpo Grebenstein by two goals to nil.

After the game, the regional tram takes me back into Kassel, another local train to Gottingen, and then an overnight one through to Vienna. Sometime in the middle of the night, Paul and Kevin who I had last seen a week ago in Switzerland (Gossau) boarded the train on their travels away from an East German game. We only meet as we get off the train, and transfer to the local trains taking us south of the Austrian capital to Mattersburg.

If we had wanted to go to the main football stadium in Mattersburg, then none would be easier to find. Mattersburg has two railway stations, Mattersburg Nord and Mattersburg, and the ground is settled below the viaduct that holds the tracks between the two stations. Of course, life is never quite this simple, but I will get to that later.

In fact, the first priority on arriving at the town is to find somewhere to stay. Arriving at the station around 10 in the morning without a plan – or even a map to find the town. Finding the town is the easy bit – one picks on the only landmark (except the football ground floodlights) and heads in the direction of the church spire. To find out if there is a hotel once we arrive is more difficult. With nothing immediately visible and no signs, Kevin takes the novel step of asking a local. He gets some indistinct directions, and we in fact have to ask again before we found the town’s only hotel. As it happened, the Florianihof was a pleasant and reasonable hotel, at a reasonable rate – and providing one service one does not always find even in the best quality of hotels.

As I mentioned, life is never too simple – Mattersburg have reached the top division of Austrian football, and their league season was over before we arrived in the town. Anyway, I had been to the stadium to see them lose 2-1 to Austria Wien in 2005. The plan on this occasion was to see Mattersburg Amateur – the reserve team – playing in the Regionalliga West. The match was not at Mattersburg, but in a village called Hirm, about 8km away. We had confirmed there was a bus to the village although it would have meant arriving two hours before kick-off, but we also knew there was no bus back.

So we wandered off to the stadium, to find the football club offices and see if they could help out three stray Englishmen. Not surprisingly, there was no transport laid on for supporters, but they did say they would try and find someone to help us. Then the lady we were talking to had a brainwave. Are you staying at the Florianihof, she asked? Yes, we replied. Well, then – ask the manager of the hotel, Herr Bandat, as he is a regular supporter and goes to most of the matches.
And so, we returned to the hotel, ready for our lunch, (the Florianihof puts on a very good value buffet lunch), and asked to speak to the manager. Sure enough he was intending to see the game and could give us a lift there. And he would talk to some of his friends and find us a lift back as well. As it happened, he made the return journey with us himself, going out of his way as he could not find anyone else to make the journey. This is certainly service that you tend not to get with the best five star hotel.
Demonstrating an independent spirit, and more energy than us oldies, Paul and myself, Kevin walked out to Hirm, while I was more than happy to accept the lift. With around 300 people watching the match, the Alfred Wiesinger Sportanlage in Hirm was an ideal setting, whereas the big stadium in Mattersburg would have dwarfed the crowd. There is a covered stand along most of one long side, and flat standing in front of the clubhouse behind one goal. On the other two sides, there is no room for spectator accommodation. The visiting team was St. Polten, a team I had seen play at home in the top division of Austrian football nearly 20 years before. They have had a number of years outside the professional levels having fallen bankrupt, but are now on their way back, and led the Regionalliga Ost going into the match. Although Mattersburg scored both first and last in the game, for most of the 90 minutes, St. Polten were just too strong for them. The final score was 4-2 in favour of the visitors.

The next day, Paul and Kevin were up early, and had left the hotel before I started on breakfast – heading for somewhere at the far end of Austria again, (I think). We arranged to meet again on Sunday morning in Budapest! I had elected to make the short journey to Vienna and to see another team that I had seen grace the top division (away) near enough 20 years ago. This club was First Vienna – although the name (in English, never German) could just as easily be First Austria as they claim to be the country’s oldest club. As I left the hotel, I met with Herr Bandat again, and he presented me with a bottle of local wine as a memento of my visit. Thanks again sir - you are a gentleman and a football fan!

In 1990, I had seen First play away in a Vienna derby at Rapid Wien. Rapid and Austria Wien have been the top clubs in the capital and country ever since. First have dropped two divisions, so this was again football in the Regionalliga Ost. Rapid’s amateur side also play in this division, and now hire the ground from First. When both teams are scheduled to play at home, they play a double header with Rapid Amateur starting at 5.30, First Vienna two hours later. A €9 ticket allows one to see two matches, while the small A5 programme covers First’s game only.

The ground at Hohe Warte must be almost as old as the club. Out in a northern suburb of the city, one side of the ground is a vast hillside, now almost completely overgrown, but with just enough sign to show that once it was completely covered with terracing. The nearest equivalent in England would have been the valley, but Hohe Warte is taller. This one side of the ground must have once been able to hold at least 20,000 people. Nowadays, only a small part of the lower terrace is being used, and rather than renovate the old terrace, a new terrace has been build using steel scaffolding and aluminium coverings. Opposite the large slope is a quite modern stand, while the curves behind each goal were hardly used.

In both matches, the Vienna based side were among those in the chasing pack behind St. Polten, although they did not harbour any hope of promotion this season. The visitors Schwechat in the first game, and Zwettl afterwards were both near the bottom of the table. In fact if both were to win their matches, then Mattersburg would be dumped into the relegation zone. I had discussed this the night before at the Mattersburg match. Having not been in the top division for long, they are only just developing their Amateur side. It was a very young team, more youth then reserve, but they were desperate to keep at this level, where they think there is more chance of the players developing that are suitable for the first team.

As it happened both matches were comfortable 2-0 home wins, leaving both the top and bottom ends of the table unchanged. Both the Vienna sides played some good football at times, but neither could manage to dominate the game in the way that St. Polten had the night before. Stan turned up, returning from London, midway through the first game. It had always been his intention to see the second game (i.e the First game) only. Afterwards Stan disappeared in search of an overnight train, while I headed to a hotel, which was to allow me reasonable access to Hungary the next day.

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Halle, and back to Switzerland

21/05/2008 by leo.

Please excuse the shortage of photos. They take time to download, but I will try to add some next week.

Sunday was again heavy on the mileage, even if I had dealt with a lot of the problem Saturday evening. I stayed overnight in Dresden, which required five hours on the rails after the match at Brno. The only reason for this was that it seemed to be the most convenient stopover point. In the old East Germany, the sun sets early in winter, and this leads to 1.30 kick offs soon before and after the winter break. In May, of course, there is far more latitude to choose the kick off time, but some teams including Hallescher FC, choose to stick to the early kick off. I arrange to arrive by midday, to give myself a short amount of time to see the city before the game. I know I have a choice of trains later, (Frankfurt having been chosen as the next break point), and so can return to the centre.

Halle is a seat of learning, and the birthplace of Handel. Its centre has been preserved as historic monuments, but I have just arrived from Brno, and by comparison, it is the same but smaller. One of the major monuments is cloaked for repairs, and a fair is set up crowding the central square. Walking just off the main square past the cathedral is a small square that was the setting for one of the first anti-communist uprisings of the 1950s. It seems a pity to me that this is not better commemorated. The tourist office seemed surprised when I asked about the football stadium; they found me directions to it, although it is not in the area covered by the tourist maps. This is a pity, because in itself it is a gem – a splendid example of either fascist or communist architecture, (in stadium terms, they tend to be similar), wrapped up in red stone. I suspect it was build after the communists came to the area – the six statues outside the main gateway are of workers and certainly appear to be communist style, (although one, in what must be a nod to Halle’s status, appeared to be an academic). Sadly, the ticket windows cut into the old walls are no longer in use, and the same steel cages that protect almost every ground in Germany have been build around the entrances.

Inside, it is a typical bowl. The steps are not as steep as Brno, and the whole place is on a smaller scale, and there are no shortages of recently added fencing. Plastic seats have only been added to a central section on one side, and the main area, including the covered zones. The cover anyway also appears to have been a later addition. Unusually, this is on the North side of the ground, and as a compensation, and extra shade has been hung from the front edge, to keep at least some of the best seats in the shade.

The game was in one of the nine Oberliga that currently make up the fourth level of German football. With the new national third division being formed next season, and only three regional leagues at the new level 4, the most important thing for the Oberliga teams is to try and see if they can qualify for the new leagues. Hallescher lead their division (Oberliga Nord Ost, Staffel Sud – or North East League, Southern Group – which reminds me of some of the English non-League divisions). The visitors for day, Germania Helberstadt are just off the pace, but would certainly come back into the competition if they could win this game.

As it is, Hallescher take the lead in only the second minute, but then hang back and try to absorb pressure. This is not a successful tactic, and Halberstatdt equalise half way through the half, and continue to attack to the break. In the second half, we again see the home side take an early lead, but this time they do not give away chances so easily. Still they appear incabale of adding to the lead, even when a long distance shot is handled on the line by the Halberstadt captain. The resultant penalty was saved, but the red card given to the visiting player was probably the deciding factor in keeping the scores unchanged (at 2-1) to the end.

From Halle, it was on to Basel, a Swiss city with borders to Germany and France – a cathedral overlooking the Rhine, and a completely different definition to me of ‘reasonably priced hotel’. I had to pick on a cheap hotel instead – about £60 per night. I think I’m glad now that I’ve not got Euro 2008 tickets. Seriously, what I got for my money was quite reasonable, and the local authorities throw in free local transport for anyone who books a hotel, (they also charge a local tourist tax). It did not take me long to get onto the local transport. In all, I used two trams and a trolleybus to get from the hotel to the Rankhof stadion. A journey of less than 15 minutes, including a full minute waiting for a connection!

The Rankhof may be the ultimate in municipal stadiums. There has to be some beauty in the sterile symmetry of the concrete blocks that make up the stadium, a symmetry that is broken as soon as the first member of the crowd enters. Naturally, in a stadium that worships the right angle, there are no curves anywhere, and all four sides sit square to the pitch. On three sides, we have around seven steps of concrete terracing made up from large concrete blocks. Smaller blocks provide steps. The final side has a stand built well above ground level. In fact the path at the front of stand sits level with the highest step on the other three sides. This allows a bridges to connect between them, although each had a gate that stayed locked shut. The stand was similar is scale to the terraces, while the space underneath provides places where food and drink can be provided. The dressing rooms themselves are a level underground. On a hot, sunny day, the area under the stands provides the only shade from the sun, for those who have not bought seat tickets, and there was a brisk sale of Bratwurst, beer and even ice-cream. Onto the roof of the stand, naturally a cantilever, efficiently styled in concrete, the single word “RANKHOF” is displayed in large red letters, reminiscent of the almost identical signage used airside, at so many international airports.

Entrance, to spoil the symmetry of the stadium cost 15 CHF (about £7.50), an A4 sized programme was free. One felt that scoring goals would be a travesty, an imperfection, and for a long time it appeared that the teams felt the same way, meandering through 85 minutes that brought new meaning to meaningless. But then, in a shock move the home side Concordia Basel actually scored a goal. This certainly took the visitors, Shaffhausen by surprise and the only response they could think of was to allow Concordia a second goal, just as the game entered injury time.

A match that kicks off at 4 p.m. on a Swiss Bank Holiday does not have to be the end of my day though. I was not quite so lucky with the trolleybus and tram connection – I only rode two this time, but spent longer waiting than riding, still this was comfortably early enough to catch my train, and with two further changes arrive in Wohlen (on time, of course) at 19.42.
The trouble with arriving in a quite strange town, just 18 minutes before kick off, is that one does not know exactly which way to turn, so one has to turn to a taxi driver. I spent about 2 minutes in the taxi, and he built up a metered fee of 15 CHF (£7.50). I then had to pay another 18 CHF to get into the game. Programmes were free, but there were none left! (Fortunately, when I started to ask around, I managed to find one). I had been to Wohlen before, and they then played on a pitch on the edge of town, next to farmer’s fields and with a small wooden stand. They now play on a pitch on the edge of town, next to farmer’s fields, but with a large concrete stand. I had been told it was a completely new ground, but to be honest, I could easily have been made to believe it was the same one with a rebuilt stand. When I got back to the station later, I did manage to locate the two on the map there, not much over a kilometre apart. Incidentally, the walk back took not much over 15 minutes!
Apart from the modern stand, which is the main feature of the new ground, Niedermatte at Wohlen has one step of terracing around most of the ground. Typically, there are food and drink vendors on both sides of the ground, but it is otherwise generally featureless. The away team was Gossau, who I had seen at home the previous week. Having seen them play defensive on their own pitch, I was surprised to see them play a more open game here, while despite their higher league position, Wohlen looked nervous and unconvincing, they kept their own defensive positions up even though they were a goal down midway through the first half. This was an own goal, and may be the only way that Gossau could hit the target, but over the period of ninety minutes they were the better side, and should have achieved a bigger win. Speaking to a journalist who was covering Gossau, I was told this was typical of the team, who had picked up more points on their travels than at home.

My third match on this trip to Switzerland, (which meant for the first time on tour, I stayed in a hotel two nights in a row – pity it was the most expensive I had stopped at) was for a match in what is called 2. Liga Inter-regional. The structure of football in Switzerland has to some extent remained unchanged for quite some time. Ever since I have started watching Swiss football, the professional league has been divided into two divisions, if the numbers in each have changed. When I started watching there were 24 professional teams, while this season there are 28 in divisions of 10 and 18. Next season, the lower division (Challenge league) will lose two teams in number, and the professional ranks will be 26. Within this, there is a big difference in class and scale between the two divisions. The next league down, which is certainly semi-professional consists of three regional divisions, and is called 1. Liga (first league). Some of the professionals run U-21/reserve teams at this and lower levels. Despite three divisions at this level, play-offs are always required, as I have never known more than two places to be available. Most of the grounds are relatively basic by English non-league standards, and it is only the big end of season matches that can draw big crowds, around two to three hundred being typical the rest of the time. The next level down has five divisions, and is known as second league inter-regional. Clearly sometime in the past, this has been interposed between the 1. Liga and the leagues run by the regional associations, as all of these have 2. Liga as their top level.

So a 2. Liga Inter-Regional game, between Belfaux, a small village outside Fribourg, and Breitenrain, a suburb of Bern. I have chosen the match because it is the only fixture I could find – this mid-week being used only the re-arrangement of a small number of postponed games. It is not a bad choice though – as Breitenrain come into the match just two points behind the league leaders, so a win would take them to the top. Belfaux is a small village, centered on an improbably large church. It has two railway stations, CFF on the main Swiss Railways line, and Village on a small independent line. The CFF station, at 15 minutes is the longer walk from the ground, which is reached by simply dropping down the hill until the village stops. A small lane takes you to the sports fields – strangely on one side of the lane is the main pitch, reached by a bridge over a small river, and guarded by ticket sellers. (The match programme, which is free, was originally produced for the postponed game, but comes with a sheet of paper giving updated league tables). On the other side of the lane is the club house, bar and another floodlit pitch. It is clear why this is not the pitch of preference – it is very much undersize, but I wonder at what level in England a club would be allowed to operate with players crossing the road to the pitch?

Not surprisingly, the ground consists of nothing more than a pitch with a rail around it. Hard standing is limited to an area near the entrance. The ground is not even enclosed. There is another small road bridging the river by one goal, going up to a farm, and there is nothing to stop people parking here, and entering the ground on this side. With Breitenrain needing to win the game to go top of the league, I was expecting them to provide a formation to attack the home side and put them under pressure from the start. On the contrary, it was a safety first performance, abetted by cynical diving, players feigning injury and general poor sportsmanship. Whereas I can understand in the professional game, the pressure for results means that this sort of play can be almost necessary, but this is an amateur game – the objective is more for the enjoyment of the players than the spectators, and I cannot believe that players enjoy being harsh and cynical in their play. Anyway, the team clearly had the ability to win the game by fair means, but ended up doing so in a way that left a foul taste in the mouth and which could win no friends. In the end, the Bern team won 1-0 with a long distance second half shot that took a deflection. They celebrated the win as if they had win the European Champions League. I did not feel the desire to applaud, but instead returned to the trains, where for a while I had the chance to speak to a Swiss based groundhopper, who seemed to feel the same about the game – except that he thought this was par for the course in the country.

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Vocklabruck and Brno

15/05/2008 by leo.

For the fourth match of my tour, on the Friday, it is a return to Austria, with a simple but quite lengthy journey from St. Gallen. Paul and Kevin, who had been with me at Gossau made a shorter trip along the same line, while the Wolves fans, Peter and Stan were coming up to meet them with a complex overnight journey from the south of Switzerland. All four had a further overnight to come, to get them into the Czech Republic, whereas I choose my matches to give myself more day time travelling, and the luxury of a bed for the night.

There is another reason why the others shunned my choice of match, despite the fact that the home side are liable to be promoted to the Austrian League next season. This is the opposition, Austria Kärnten Amatuer are the reserve team of a team in the Austrian top division, and some groundhoppers will not watch reserve football under any circumstances. The trouble one finds with reserve football is that a team may suddenly become weaker, (or on occasion stronger) due to the demands of the first team. I certainly accept that reserve teams can be an unbalancing factor on a league, with uneven results if they can field a much stronger squad one week than the next – and I would prefer it if the leagues themselves stopped them from competing, creating separate reserve competitions instead. But once a team is in a league, I will not deny myself a match just because they are the away team. I even allow myself an occasional match where a reserve side is at home, although I have a strict rule that a new ground cannot be ticked for reserve team football, unless it does not share with the first team (or exceptionally, when watching a double header, with the first team game to follow immediately after the reserve match).

Vöcklabruck is a small town between Salzburg and Linz, it is simple enough to get there, as it is on the main line through north Austria, although not all trains stop there. After arriving at the station, I walked into the town, which rather unsurprisingly was reached by crossing a bridge over the river Vöckla! The town is pleasant but small with the central area running between two entrance towers. These would date back to the town being a market centre in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now it is the sort of place where tourists might stop for an hour or two, and so it has plenty of bars and restaurants in the centre. I took the time to eat there after the match.

The football ground is outside the centre and the opposite end of town to the station, but this is not a problem – the distance could comfortably walked in 20 minutes. It is a multi-sports stadium belonging to the municipality. It has a running track, with a pathway all the way around, always raised somewhere above ground level. This is relatively narrow behind the southern goal and on the Eastern side, (where a sports hall would prevent any further development). The northern side has a series of club buildings, with fried sausages, coffee and sandwiches, and course, Beer. The main development is a stand on the West side. While several people watch the game from the areas where the bars are, there is another beer seller in the stand for those who prefer to sit down, and find it too far to walk back. The official crowd figure given for the match is 500 – which fills most of the seats. The club sits proudly at the head of the Regionalliga Mitte table, and has been given the licence required to take its place in the professional ranks next season. A small group of younger fans were creating a little noise and showing their banners. One of which had a stylised footballer made out of a dollar sign, within the traditional road sign, a circle with a single line through it, (international for not allowed, or at least not wanted). I asked them about this, and they explained they were protesting the damage caused by the money coming into football. The example given was Red Bull Salzburg, where the owner of Red Bull – one of Austria’s richest men is putting in far more than the average sponsorship. But so far, this effort has failed to give the team a competitive advantage, with the 2007 title, being the only one in three years of sponsorship so far. Far more worrying is the name changes that can lead to the fan unsure of who to support. It has long been accepted that sponsors names are attached within club names, Vöcklabruck are actually 1 FC RFE Vöcklabruck, but more recently the sponsors have managed to obliterate the town name. At Parndorf, the team from Schwanenstadt was officially known as SCS Bet-at-home.com, The biggest of all these was the small township of Pasching, just outside Linz. In a period of about six years, they went from the fifth level to a place in Europe, but then lost their name and became Superfund FC. When the controversial Jorg Haider, regional president in Kärnten, wanted a top division club to fill the newly rebuilt Wörtherseestadion (Euro 2008 venue), he did not go back to Kärnten FC, who had been pushed out of the stadion while it was being rebuilt, and had been relegated in the meantime. So instead he looked to the top league clubs. After making overtures to the Graz club GAK, (finding the debts there to be too big – the club was wound up and took their reserve team’s place in the regionalliga), he came to agreement with Superfund, and moved the whole club some 200 km south. I imagine this came as some shock to the authorities in Pasching, who spent a lot to build up the stadium, only to find the club back where it started the fifth level (Pasching also repaced theie own reserve side). The new club for Kärnten are now known as Austria Kärnten. Kärnten FC, who had used the Wörthersee stadion before rebuilding remain at the small Fischl stadion and only just escaped a further drop this season.

The visitors at Vöcklabruck for my regionalliga game, Austria Kärnten Amateur, are connected to the top division side. I do not know their provenance before this season, but I can say they put up precious little in resistance to Vöcklbruck’s promotion challenge. Two goals in the first half hour showed the home sides determination to please their own crowd. Kärnten then pressed the self destruct button and managed to collect two red cards before the break. Not surprisingly, it was even more easy going in the second half, with a final score of 6-0.

Arriving in Brno the next day, it is easy to receive a bad first impression of the place. The area around the station is nothing except a series of seedy fast food restaurants, and 24 hour herna bars. (A herna bar is basically a gambling club, which features mainly electronic fruit machines). However, this is just at street level, you just have to raise your head to see that the buildings above them are on a massive scale. Walk away from the station and into the city, and you come across one of the best examples of late Hapsburg era cities anywhere in Europe. I had been to Brno before, but had little time to see the centre and walked straight out to the cold gray concrete Bobu Centrum, where a football stadium exists next to theatre and cinema in a multi-leisure complex, that unfortunately just looks ugly. In the 19th century, when Brno was the fastest expanding city in the region, due to the industrial revolution, it was known as the ‘Czech Manchester’. The Bobu centrum could be called the ‘Czech Arndale’.
At that time, the club was known as Bobu Brno, but having moved on, they have dropped the name and become 1. FC Brno. The new ground (more likely it is an older ground, also used before they went to Bobu), is further away from the centre, and I was pleased to find a bus that could deliver me to the door.

Three sides of the stadium are a typical bowl with some quite steep steps, and concrete, (unusually for older grounds in Eastern Europe), in good condition. Plastic seats cover most of the areas in use by the public, with only those in the away enclosure forced to sit on bare concrete. There are big fences all around in front of the pitch, with the result, that the front five rows of seats are avoided.

The exception is the modern covered west stand, with has only about seven rows of seats, and which is the only covered part of the ground. The front row is at least two metres above pitch level, so viewing is good from all seats, although barriers at the front must mean the back seats are best.

Brno need points from the game in their bid to make it to the UEFA Cup. Their bid was boosted by a win at leaders Sparta Prague a week earlier. The team Brno need to overhaul to reach Europe, Banik Ostrava, were co-incidentally away to Sparta at the same time as our game. The away side, Slovan Liberec do not need the points – they have already made it to European competition, regardless of the result of the following week’s Czech cup final, as their opponents, (yes, Sparta again) are certainly in the Champions League, whether they finish the season as champions or runners-up. The home fans had a nice take on this, unveiling a poster to say it was the league, not the cup that mattered – but I wondered if this was just poor sportsmanship, as Brno had fallen in the semi-finals – to Liberec.

Anyway, despite the need to win the game, Brno struggled in the first half to create any clear cut chances, except for one header which went just wide. Liberec certainly did not seem to be distracted by the coming cup final, with more chances coming their way at the end of the first half, and in the early second half, and Filip Dort lobbed the ball onto the cross bar on 53 minutes. With the news at half time being that Ostrava were winning in Prague, Brno needed something to keep their hopes alive, and it came in the form of a rash challenge by Jiri Bilek. I did not get a clear view of the alleged foul, but there was little complaint from the away fans, and Petr Pavlik stepped up to score the penalty. Being ahead seemed to galvanise the home team, and they took control, although their finishing was woeful. They came close again when Tomas Dosek hit the cross bar in the 78th minute. This was Dosek’s last significant action, as he was replaced by Libor Balaz, who himself had time to claim two clear chances. The first, from the right side was blasted over, but as the 90th minute was reached, and from the left side, he found the target to give Brno a 2-0 win. Unfortunately, Ostrava repeated Brno’s achievement and won at Sparta, so Brno enter the last day of the season with goal difference between them and Europe, and Sparta have been overhauled by city rivals Slavia

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Interblock and Gossau

11/05/2008 by leo.

From Vienna, I take a morning train, and for the next six hours it winds its way south through Austria and into Slovenia, fetching up at the capital Ljubljana six hours later. Convenient train scheduling means that the rest of the party, who had spent the previous evening watching Bad Aussee arrived just thirteen minutes ahead of me. There then follows the routine for a town where we are not staying. Before leaving the station, most of the luggage must go into storage, and a quick check is made on the departing trains for later.

On a sunny afternoon, the city is a pleasant place to spend a few hours, although getting six people to a single plan of action would be impossible. Some would like to sit idly in places, to have a drink and watch the world pass them by. Others are determined to be the world passing by, and to see as much of the town as can be possible in the short time available. One member of the party is staying overnight, and disappears quickly in the direction of a cheapish hotel. Some others (which would have included myself, if I had not left the envelope back at home) had old Slovenian money, which could only be changed at a single bank in town. Even though the tourist office said this would be closed, we still stopped to check.

As it is, we have only three hours in the city before the start of our game, so after about 90 minutes walking around the city, we are strolling out towards the stadium. The stadium is between two converging railway lines that meet, just at the city end of the ground – the maps say we have to walk well past the stadium and then come back again, but in fact, there are several paths across the tracks, and only motor traffic has to go the long way.

The stadium, marked simply as Sportni Park on the map is also known as ZSD or ZSD-ZAD stadium. It is a straight forward athletics track with most of the facilities built into the main stand. This is raised well above pitch level, so views are generally good. There are a few rows of uncovered seats on the far side, but with plenty of room for everyone (and then some) in the stand, these are sparsely populated. Around the stadium there are a number of small clubhouses, for different purposes. For example, a tennis club has facilities are the land narrows for the railway, and a small clubhouse. We find one belonging to FC Ljubljana, where we get into conversation with Alois Krapez, the president of the club that actually owns the stadium. Once they would have played at a higher level, but as with many clubs, they have had financial problems, and changed their name from the Slovenian form, where NK means football club, to the English.
NK Interblock, the home team for the game rents the stadium from FCL, Interblock were formed after the main team in the capital, Olimpja went bankrupt in 2005 (and the clubs other team, the one now known as FC Ljubljana were relegated for financial reason). The owner of the Interblock company, Jose Pecenik, known as the “king of roulette” choose to keep football running in the capital. He bought out Factor (which is also a sponsor’s name) which was then a second division club and has seen them through to a stage where they are challenging for a place in European competition. According to our hosts from FCL, only 4% of the budget for Slovenian league football comes from TV contracts and sponsorship, while at most clubs only 2% would come from gate receipts. The portion from gate receipts is even less at Interblock, as tickets are in fact free. This means the vast majority of a club’s expenditure is directly funded by the owner. With an annual budget of €2 million, Interblock is reputed to have the highest budget in the league. For comparison, this is similar to the turnover of a club such as Cheltenham Town, whose budget is reputed to be the lowest in League-1. Meeting and talking to officials of small clubs is always a highlight of any tour, as it gives a valuable insight into the operation of football. The conversation was helped on its way be a local Slovenian dark beer, which was referred to as Slovenian Guinness. This was clearly a stout, and had a strong and pleasant taste but was less heavy than the Irish original. We said out goodbyes and entered the stand to watch the game.

Around the ground, the wire fencing is covered by a series of ‘shirts’ showing the current Interblock squad, plus the name of the team and there well known red and black ‘pentagram’ badge. There are about four wire panels without a cover, and it appeared that each one had a single spectator behind it, gaining a free view. This seemed strange to us – who needs to gain a free view, when tickets are in fact, free? The badge, with its similarity to an occult symbol has led to the club’s rivals referring to them as “The devil’s club”.

If this should have been a highlight of the trip, with both sides looking for a place in Europe, then it was disappointing. Despite, or maybe because of the visitors taking the lead early in the game, it never reached the heights. With so little coming from their earlier endeavours, it came as a surprise to us when Interblock equalised with just ten minutes to go. This did lead to an interesting finish, as the home team could suddenly see a chance of victory. However, it was clear that Koper had been playing within themselves in defending a lead, and in injury time, it was the Interblock defence that was found wanting, and Koper went away with a 2-1 victory

With the exception of Hutch, who was staying, we had just over 90 minutes after the match, before our train left. For once the group is unanimous – food was the order of the day. Sometimes finding the correct time to eat can be a problem on these trips – for example in France, where most matches kick off around 8 p.m., the period 8-10 in the evening are the central business hours for restaurants, and in smaller towns, there is a limit to what you can get earlier or later. A kick off at five o’clock, may not be the best for the crowds to reach after working, but does mean all the restaurants are open at the game’s end.

Then onto the train – five of us in a six couchette compartment for a near twelve hour journey. The conductor took one look at us, and decided to move the other occupant, an elderly woman, to the empty compartment next door. Preparations (only one person can make up the bed at a time in the narrow compartment) take a while, and the area starts to smell of sweaty men’s socks. It takes a while after the train gets away for the air conditioning to bring some comfort to proceedings, but eventually some sleep is to be had. Generally, I do best, as I am the only one who is not to be woken by my snoring – but I still never sleep well in transit, and I have a tendency to wake each time the train stops for a while.

We end up in Zurich, where we find some small breakfast, (for some large price, we are in Switzerland now) and then break the group into two. The Wolves fans are heading south to Locarno, whereas the rest of us take the short journey east to St. Gallen. This is a relatively small town, but with a very attractive old centre. The baroque cathedral dates back to the 18th century, and is impressive both inside and out – although it did appear that one of its best features was the lawn outside, as the city was otherwise devoid of green space in its centre. Around the cathedral, many half timbered houses date back to the same period, when the town was wealthy from the textile trade.

St. Gallen’s Football Club won the Swiss League in 2000, but this was very much a one-off, with the bigger city clubs having returned to the fore since. A new stadium well out away from the town is to be opened this summer, but the club risks playing in front of tiny crowds in the second division (known in Switzerland as the Challenge League, the top division being the Super League). It was a neighbouring Challenge league team we had come to see – Gossau is eight minutes down the line from St. Gallen. We took a twenty minute walk around the town and confirmed that as far as seeing the sights are concerned, this is twenty minutes too long.

The football ground is also easy to find. Exit the station at the southern side, and cross the road, (it’s not a big road). The majority of one side has been built up with about half a dozen wooden steps – about three quarters of the stepped area is covered by the simplest of wood and corrugated steel covers (with support pillars in the front), while the seating area takes up about half the zone. There are also a few steps of terracing without cover on the opposite side, and another similar area, this time fenced in behind the goal furthest from the railway – this being the away enclosure. The visitors, Lausanne-Sport brought about 30 fans with them, while the total crowd was given in the following days papers as 800. (There is some doubt among my compatriots about the counting which meat this healthy looking crowd was apparently only 100 more than the sparse one at Interblock. Interblock may have their reasons for reporting a relatively high crowd, and as tickets are free, they do not need to tie crowd figures to gate receipts. Gossau benefit from the fact that small crowds look better in compact stadia, and I think their 800 may be correct.

As for the game, it never got into second gear. Despite league positions that mean both teams are fairly certain to stay in the Challenge League next season, (either side would guarantee their place with a win), they both played a defensive game showing more fear of losing than hope to win. It was not until after the break that we really saw some effort from the two teams to win the game. Lausanne took the lead with a long shot that took everyone by surprise, while the home team’s equaliser, seven minutes later was from the penalty spot – and that too took us by surprise.

So after three matches in different countries, the tour has yet to take off in footballing terms. It seems that defensive formations and tactics are ruling the roost. The next match will see me alone again in Austria – but will the football pick up?

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The Lore of the Eurotour

08/05/2008 by leo.

There are a number of factors that make May an ideal time of year for groundhoppers to set out on European tours. First and foremost among these is the fact that most football in England has come to a halt within a week of the start of the month, while European Leagues continue late into the month. These leagues, often regimented to weekend football through most of the season, take advantage of the late spring sunshine to add midweek fixture lists.

I was first introduced to the idea some twenty years ago, and have managed at least ten tours in that time. Some of the others, despite already having done a few trips before I started have barely missed a year since, (although in the case of home and away club fans, they make far fewer long weekend trips during the season). The law of diminishing returns applies, as we are not looking to return to football grounds we have visited before – so most of the major clubs in most major European capitals have already been done. It used to be that trips would always start and finish in Germany, and this would be the ‘spine’ of Europe, thanks to its fast connections. I now look at the trip in a different light, and have decided to concentrate my efforts on the South-East of Europe, with much of the tour being to countries bordering Austria.

The idea of a tour is not the same as a weekend trip. On the weekend, a relatively small number of people go to the same places, and generally the same matches. On tour, you choose your own matches, but in the knowledge that others are making similar tours, and that you will meet up with them on different days. Sometimes I have met over a dozen English hoppers (and maybe a couple of Germans as well) in a two week period. This time, I have co-ordinated with five others in advance, although this does not mean they will be the only ones I meet. The cast for the trip is as follows, Paul and Kevin, are full timers, and like myself are spending three weeks abroad. Hutch, who is only here for the first week, plus Pete and Stan, two Wolves supporters who arranged to do two separate trips, in the hope that their club would be in the play-offs in between. Pressures at work keep the trips unchanged, even though there are no Wolves games back in England.

We all started on the 6.30 flight from Stansted to Salzburg, care of Ryanair, but immediately, different philosophies and needs came to the fore. I alone took the 11.00 train to Vienna to see Parndorf, whereas the others had a later connection and were going to Bad Aussee. Why do I shun this match, (it’s not somewhere I’ve been). Because I am still trying to get to the stage where I have been to all teams in the top two divisions of the Austrian League, and it is almost a waste to go to a team already consigned to relegation back to the Regional leagues. The others see this as their last chance to see Bad Aussee as a league side, plus they are hoping the need of Kapfenberg to pick up a single point (in this, or two remaining games) to be certain of the championship and promotion should make for a better game.

At Parndorf, I am watching a team that still has a chance of avoiding relegation, although the current Austrian set up makes for a lot of change in the professional line ups. The Bundesliga has ten teams, and exchanges one a season with the Eerste Division of 12 clubs (two of which are reserves of Bundesliga clubs). The bottom three of the Eerste division get relegated, with the Champions of three Regional leagues promoted in their place. Parndorf are 10th of 12, and need points if they are to avoid the drop.

The town is not far south of Vienna, and is closer still to the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. There are two stations, and I choose the one that appeared to be closest to the ground – maybe not a good decision as the area was deserted when I arrived, the other station is nearer to any activity the town has to offer. It was not a difficult walk to find the stadium, although just too far for me to make the early train back, leaving me waiting almost an hour on the deserted station. The only other people there were a van full of police sitting just outside, looking for the hordes of trouble makers from the visiting team. The fact that these hordes did not appear before the game, and were absent throughout the match, does not mean they should not be policed afterwards! It is clearly this strong policing that keeps the lower division free from trouble, (well, it couldn’t be down to the fact crowds rarely raise much above 1000, and only a handful of fans travel away).

The Heidebodenstadion is a low lying structure. Its main side consists of covered seats the whole length of the pitch, but only six rows of seats. There is a walkway at the back, giving access to various refreshment points, I had a cooked meat in a bap, a change from the standard burger. The opposite side, the buildings are lower, with the spectator accommodation uncovered. To one end was four rows of seats, at the other end, a few steps of concrete terracing – in the middle, an open area with tables at the height for standing around. There are no restriction on alcohol sales, except the only beer on offer being a quite tasteless frothy lager. The areas behind both goals were generally flat and unused by spectators. At one end was a large marquee for VIP and business guests to eat and drink, whereas the other end had a small area built up as a terrace and then fenced off. With the away hordes staying away, this remained empty.

The true advantage of this low level ground, is it that an attendance as small as 900 takes up over half the seats on the main side, and makes the ground seem fairly busy.

The game started slowly, and rather scrappily, with the referee rather too willing to give a free kick and bring on the trainers. I think the turning point may have been when the ref got fed up with this. A visiting player had gone down, his appeals for a free kick were ignored. He stayed down, and even refused the referee’s hand to pull him up after the play had stopped. The ref continued to refuse to allow a trainer on, the player eventually limped to his feet, pointed to his ankle, and was finally shown the yellow card. Not surprisingly, this did have a curative effect. The visitors were Schwanenstadt, but sadly the need for sponsorship mean they now go under the name of SCS Bet-at-Home.com. No wonder the fans stay away, one cannot chant “Bet at home, bet at home”, so perhaps it is better to stay home, check the score by internet, and actually, Bet-at-Home on the final result. Starting in a defensive 5-4-1 formation, the home team were clearly concerned not to concede early, and this did restrict the chances on offer. It did mean it required a free kick or corner to get sufficient numbers upfield to create a real threat. It was indeed a free kick that allowed them to take the lead on 29 minutes, the ball being half cleared and then kicked back into the area, where centre half Matthias Novak stabbed it home. Schwanenstadt levelled just before half time when the home defence relaxed its grip for a moment. Early in the second half, Parndorf were confident enough to make a change and move to a more attacking 4-4-2, although it was more the opposition that then gifted to points. On 63 minutes, a silly foul allowed Marcelo to regain their lead from the spot, and five minutes later, Schwanenstadt had centre half Ratajczyk sent off for his second booking.

A substitution meant they changed to 4-4-1 formation, but failed to threaten the goal again. Parndorf created a few chances, but had to wait until injury time when a parried save left the opportunity for substitute Hörtnagel to increase the score.

Meanwhile at Bad Aussee, the score was 1-1. Kapfenberg are therefore champions, (other results meant they would have been even if they had lost).

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The Mainz Event

17/04/2008 by leo.

Following on from my Easter Saturday visit to Luxembourg, as reported in our last home programme, and before returning to Whaddon Road to see us beat Orient on the Monday, I was in Germany on the Sunday to see Mainz play Hoffenheim. German football loves initials and dates, so to be official, I saw 1. FSV Mainz 05 play TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, that is 1st Fussball und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 against Turn und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim. The dates 05 and 1899 gives dates of the foundation of the sports clubs (almost certainly sometime before they turned to football – generally the earliest possible date, as the clubs tend to be mergers at some time. Both Sport-Verein and Sportgemeinschaft basically means Sports club, while Mainz add the word Fussball, and Hoffenheim add Turn (meaning at one time, gymnastics were more their thing). In fact, one of the teams in the Mainz combination was founded as a football club in 1905 – quite early for football in Germany – although the use of the prefix 1, is taking a bit of a liberty – there was a club formed in 1903 as well which had gone bust before this one formed. I believe no club in Germany has 2. as a prefix. In Hoffenheim’s case, football was not played until 1921, which is when football was coming to the fore in Germany, and many athletics and gymnastics clubs were taking to the sport.

I have always thought of Mainz as a solid, second division club. This is because I started to watch football on the continent at the end of the 1980s, and Mainz were in the second division then, and managed to avoid changing divisions for 15 seasons. However, historically, that was not the case. Germany only formed a national league in 1963, and Mainz as a moderate team in the regional leagues before that date were not founder members. They did join the second division when it was formed in 1974, but despite two mid-table seasons, they pulled out on financial grounds. So in fact, when I first started to watch in Germany, they were new boys to the second division having won promotion in 1988, they were relegated as season later, returning for the long stay only in 1990. From then on they stayed at the level. I attempted to visit them in 1995, but it was one of those days when it was best to let fate decide. I struggled to achieve the speeds required in driving from the Swiss border in extremely wet weather, and decided to give up the idea somewhere near Stuttgart. I was not in a hurry, really – Mainz had been selected due to its proximity to the Airport, but I was not flying until Monday morning. So, instead of Mainz, I went to Reutlingen, a third division side (situated somewhere near Stuttgart). Oddly, as soon as I stopped the car, the weather front, which I must have been chasing up the motorway passed on ahead of me, and I saw a good game of football in good weather.

In 2004, Mainz surprised everyone and won promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. Visiting them now became very difficult, as they stayed in the top division for three seasons, and during this time, the stadium was full to capacity more often than not. This season sees them back in the second division, but now with plans to open a new stadium in the near future, I needed to make a trip if I was to ever visit the old one.

By comparison to Mainz, the name Hoffenheim would not have come up back in 1990 – they then played at the seventh level of the German pyramid. By the end of the decade, they had moved up two levels to the Verbandsliga Nordbaden – which meant they were in the listings book published annually by German groundhoppers. At about this time, Dietmar Hopp, who had made a lot of money in the software industry, decided to return to the club where he once played as a youngster. He immediately decided to build a new stadium, good for 5000, which must have been seen as something of a joke in the area – few clubs at that level exceed 100 fans. But Hopp was not content to see the Dietmar Hopp Stadium, (as he named it) lie empty, and he also financed the team, winning the Verbandsliga in 2000, and the Oberliga in 2001. The club had now risen to the Regionalliga Sud, the third division of German football, which is a good level, some teams being professional, others part time, and also including the reserves of some of the biggest top division sides. I went to a game there in 2004, and 2,250 people saw them lose to Augsburg.

Last season, the average crowd at Hoffenheim was about 3,500 and with Hopp’s money, they had a squad that finished second in the league and won promotion. The champions, last season were Wehen – from an even smaller town and also dependent on one man’s finance. Wehen have moved some 10km to Wiesbaden, where a new stadium was quickly erected, and they have played in front of an average just under 9,000 this season. This still leaves Wehen as the third smallest crowd in the division – Hoffenheim have increased capacity to 6,500 and are near full most games, while Paderborn who are also about to open a new stadium struggle at the bottom of the league table and attendance list.

The answer to Hoffenheim’s stadium, as the location of the Dietmar Hopp stadium is such that further expansion is not possible, is now a 30,000 seat stadium in neighbouring Sinsheim. Sinsheim is only about 3 km from Hoffenheim and is a larger town – at least it has a hotel, (I had to stay in Sinsheim when visiting Hoffenheim). You may even be familiar to the place if you have driven down the motorway in that part of Germany, as its transport museum includes some quite large planes parked next to the Autobahn. For Hopp, this is the go-it-alone solution, as other ideas, such as merging the club and moving it 30km to Heidelberg have been rejected. Whether this creates a solution remains to be seen. For the club to survive on its own, it surely needs to exceed 10,000 regular spectators if in the second division, and twice that if it wins promotion to the top league.

Which brings me back to Mainz, on a chilly afternoon which fortunately was dry but for the odd flurry of snow. Repeated phone calls in the week before had found me a ticket in the full stadium, (none were available on the day). The good news is that this costs only €17 (about £14). The bad news is I am in an uncovered corner stand, with the view inhibited by the supporting pillar of another stand. The stadium has clearly been drastically refurbished – but only one stand uses concrete in its construction. All the others, three sides and two corner fill in, are built on top of a maze of scaffolding poles. Only the corner sections have been left uncovered. Mainz are eager to return to the top division, and are third in the division behind leaders, Borussia Moenchengladbach, and visitors TSG Hoffenheim.

In Germany, colours and particularly scarves are still popular, even in the VIP sections, and before the game, everyone raises their scarf for that well known football hymn “You’ll never walk alone”. During the game, there is always a lot of chanting mainly coming from the far end, when they chant “F-S-V”, the rest of the stadium responds “Mainz-0-5”.

Hoffenheim were the stronger side in the first half, with the Ivorian striker Demba Ba being particularly impressive, but also prone to the over theatrical dive. Ba headed in from a corner after 37 minutes, but the referee found fault with it – I have watched the TV replay, but never found the problem, and ‘Kicker’ magazine said it was unexplained. Mainz did better second half, going ahead when a Gunkel took a free kick from the left. Although Spilacek beat Pekovic to the ball, his header went into the net as an own goal. Ba’s diving eventually got him a yellow card a few minutes later – by my reckoning, he should have had more than one, but he stayed on the pitch to turn and shoot low to level the scores after 83 minutes. Hoffenheim’s Hungarian international defender, Zsolt Löw received his second yellow card in the final minutes.

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The Portuguese Connection

31/03/2008 by leo.

Although Easter is not normally a good time to travel, with high prices all around due to school holidays, I found good enough prices to allow me to go to the airport at the centre of nowhere, Frankfurt Hahn. Flying out of a Saturday, back on a Sunday, I thought I might miss some of the high holiday traffic, but too many other people had similar thoughts; both Stansted and my plane proving to be as busy as ever.

Saturday was the day for the Coupe de Luxembourg. I love Luxembourg, few smaller places can have such a confused history. The country was once four times in current size, although not then properly constituted as a country. The French, Germans (or Prussians), and Belgians taking giant slices off it at various times, while Napoleon just claimed the whole territory for France, (it was the treaty after the defeat of Napoleon that defined the Grand Duchy, less the Prussian bits – Belgium snatched its selection a few years later, and even grabbed a bit of the German slice in 1919).

The major languages are French and German, but then there is always the local language, Luxembourgish sitting somewhere in the background. Added to this, the country’s position at the centre of Europe have drawn in other people from all over the EU and many from further afield. Fortunately for me, most of the locals speak English as well. Luxembourg has a single professional league of 14 teams, although with average crowds, one wonders if this is completely full time. The second division, known as Promotion D’Honneur (in French, anyway) is also a National division of 14 teams, while there is a small pyramid of more localised leagues below this. All the teams play in the National Cup, with the more senior clubs exempt from the earlier rounds. In February, all the top division teams entered and all were given away draws. Eight of them went through and of these, seven had away ties at Easter, the exception being the one all top division tie, there was also one tie which was only Promotion D’Honneur teams, (two lower teams had made it to this round).

My first match was at FC Mamer 32. The name tells you most of what you need to know about the club, it comes from Mamer (a small town, just West of the capital), it is a football club, and it was founded in 1932. In 2006, they won promotion into the top division, but had a miserable season, finishing bottom of the table and were replaced by PH champions, the rather over-named Rapid Mansfeldia Hamm Benfica. Hamm Benfica play in the capital, and have merged several different club names over the years, including FC Hamm 37, Manseldia Clausen, Rapid Neudorf, and from 1986, Rapid Mansfeldia. Playing for a while as Rapid Mansfeldia Hamm for a few years, they were ‘adopted’ by local fans of the Portuguese club Benfica two years ago. It appears that any connection between this club and the Portuguese giants is tenuous at most, although it may be part of a plot to take over Europe. There is already a Benfica club in London as well, although Sport London e Benfica (the Lisbon club’s official name is Sport Lisboa e Benfica) plays only in the Spartan South Midlands League.
In London, the Benfica club is linked to the local Portuguese population through its players, while its only support are friends and relations of the players; in Luxembourg, it is the supporters who are Portuguese, whereas the team is from a wide range of sources such as the Congo, Tunisia, France, Portugal and even Luxembourg.

The town of Mamer seems small, quiet and mainly residential (and by and large, closed – as shops and bars all seemed to be closed), but when I drove a little further down the road, I found a hive of activity in the form of a major out of town shopping mall, featuring C&A and Habitat (there was a time where you could find something different in the shops by travellng). Returning back towards the centre, past a school named after Josy Barthel, Mamer’s only ever Olympic gold medallist (actually, Luxembourg’s only ever Olympic gold medallist), one finds the football ground. It is next to a sports hall and within a running track, and overlooks a field between here and the town hall. There is one small covered stand, clearly recently erected, probably in honour of Mamer playing in the top division last season.

The match ticket is €6, which thanks to a drop in the value of the pound is almost £5, there is no programme, but just an magazine giving an annual review of the club. I soon find out why Hamm Benfica were promoted and Mamer were relegated last season – the visitors are ahead after just three minutes, thanks to their Tunisian striker, Aoued Aouaichia. The score is three within 24 minutes, after which the game appears to be more of a training effort, with no pressure on either side, Hamm end up 4-0 winners.

From Mamer, it is only 12 km to Steinfort, the last village on the road before the Belgium border, (which makes the use of a German name, rather than a French one slightly surprising). Steinfort have also decided to go ‘Portuguese’, although not with much noticeable success. The club is now defined as Sporting Club de Steinfort, (which is really only a small change from last season’s Sporting Steinfort). By changing the name, which according to their magazine brings them within the family of Sporting Club de Portugal, they have gained a new badge (identical to the Lisbon club, except the name), and have switched from playing in red to green and white hoops. Unlike Hamm Benfica, who had a number of supporters wearing both their own colours, and those of their Portuguese namesake, there was no obvious connection among the fans. As it turned out, one member of each side’s starting XI for the match was Portuguese, while the home side could also both players from France, Belgium and Senegal, the visitors were, with that one exception, made up entirely of Luxembourg citizens.

The visitors here were Etzella Ettelbruck, who had finished as runners up last season. This allowed them to play their fifth European campaign, but they lost both legs of the tie against HJK Helsinki. In ten matches, Etzella have yet to win a single game in Europe, and have only three goals to their credit. The ground was tightly enclosed, with concrete paving only on the side where the entrance is. A shed like stand is set well back from the pitch, with a wide expanse of concrete between it and the barrier. This has a few rows of plastic seats, but these were widely ignored by the spectators, except for a group coming from Ettelbruck who considered this to be a good place to situate their crate of beer.

An unusual feature of the ground was that although the dressing room block formed a boundary to the ground, it has no entrances at all pitch side – the players have to leave the dressing rooms roadside, and enter the ground through the same gate as the spectators. Perhaps the walk from the dressing rooms is a feature of the division – at Mamer, the players changed in the sports hall facilities, and then walked along a path and across a small wooden bridge, which brooks the stream running between the hall and the playing field.

For the spectators, a small club room and bar is situated by the entrance and a traditional barbeque where German style ‘wurst’ was available by half time. The game was much more competitive than the earlier one, despite Etzella again being well placed in the league.
The game was far more competitive than the afternoon venture and the first half ended goalless, with Steinfort having the best chances. It was not until the hour mark that Etzella broke the deadlock with a goal from Alphonse Leweck. By this time the amount of beer being consumed was having an effect, and it became clear from chants that the visitors preferred the moniker Etzella, while the home support did stick to the town name, but not Steinfort as in the club name – they preferred Stegefort (three syllables, Steg-e-fort), which is the Luxembourgish pronunciation.

Steinfort level the scores from the penalty spot with just over ten minutes to play, and the game goes into extra time. Chief beneficiaries appears to be the bar, which is now doing a roaring trade, there being no ban here on drinking around the pitch and the visiting fans original supply being well finished. Along the side of the pitch, just inside the barrier fence, the area seems littered with empty bottles; even within a sliding tackle’s distance of the touchline.

Ten minutes into the extra period, Claudio da Luz put the visitors back into the lead, (despite the name, he is a Luxembourg international), and Charles Leweck added another soon afterwards to give Etzella a 3-1 final score. As it turned out, there was a run of away results, and seven of the final eight in the cup are from the top division. The only home win was in the all top division game, whereas the only survivor from the lower division is Sporting Mertzig, who won away at fellow Promotion D’Honneur club Muhlenbach, thanks only to a penalty shoot-out.

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Return Trips.

26/03/2008 by leo.

My groundhopping trips are not all far flung foreign adventures. I also spend my time trying to keep up with the game at home.

Returning to visit clubs who have moved to new stadiums allows me to see again some significant rivals of old. Two successive days last month not only followed this pattern, but also gave me the satisfaction of once again having completed the visits to all grounds in the top four levels of non-League football in England.

The first club of the trip was Chelmsford City. The old ground in New Writtle Street was in the centre of town. It was especially well known for the atmosphere at night games, which then, as well as now traditionally took place on a Monday night. Cheltenham and Chelmsford had a long rivalry, with Chelmsford joining the Southern League in 1938, just a couple of seasons after us. They were Champions of the Southern League in their second season, and repeated the feat in the first post war season, then again in 1968 and 1972. They have, however always had a reputation for more ambition than their finances permitted. The 1970s was a period when non-League football on the whole lost was finding support hard to come by, with a drastic reduction in gates compared to a decade before. Chelmsford’s directors remained ambitious in this period, but ambition with dropping crowds, and a council set against other means of improving income (they rejected an ambitious bid to add office accommodation to the ground in the early seventies, and also the idea of using the ground for greyhound racing later in the decade) led to inevitable financial problems.

A drop in form through the seventies led to the club being relegated from the Southern League’s Premier Division in 1977, just two years before the formation of the Conference. Hence they were not among those applying for the new national league, and have been playing ‘catch-up’ ever since. The club returned to the Southern Premier when it was reformed in 1982, and almost made it to the Conference (then Alliance Premier League) when finishing second to Welling in 1986. This was a flash in the pan, though and Chelmsford were struggling more than successful over the following years, (and relegated for a singular season, 1988-9). The story almost ended in 1993, when a supporters club buyout saved the club from liquidation. Somehow the club limped along in the Premier Division for another four seasons before relegation. But worse was to befall them in that season. When the club went through administration, the ground was one of the few saleable assets, and with it sold by the official receiver; they finally found themselves without a home at the start of 1997-8 season.

The club found solace ten miles away as tenants of Billericay Town, (they later also shared at Maldon Town), and they should have won promotion within a single season. However their promotion bid fell foul of the Southern League. In what is seen by many people as a political decision as part of long running arguments between the Southern and Isthmian Leagues, the Southern League refused the accept the ground as suitable for Southern League Premier Division, even though it was graded to allow host club Billericay to be promoted that summer. In 1998, the Southern and Isthmian League’s set their own standards for promotion, but the inconsistencies between leagues was still showing last season when the Southern League graders failed the facilities for Evesham United, despite the fact they now share at Worcester City, playing at a higher level. Chelmsford had to wait another three seasons before promotion was again available.

Those here that remember the Southern League will remember a league with a footprint covering most of the Southern part of the country, but with practically no clubs in the London area – that being the domain of the Isthmian League. By the start of this decade, most of Chelmsford’s near neighbours were Isthmian League sides, rather than Southern. Chelmsford were therefore one of the winners when the FA finally managed to bring about a reformation of pyramid. The Southern League Premier area covers much of what we remember, but no longer includes any clubs in London, Sussex, Kent and Essex – the Isthmian League now had all of these, but has lost those clubs to the West and North of London, (some of whom have suffered since, as their travel bills have shot up). So Chelmsford are now one of the former Southern League sides that have moved leagues, and they are again on the up.

Two Views of Chelmsford’s new Ground

Last season, they returned to playing in their home town, (despite the name, Chelmsford has never been a city). The situation is not ideal, playing on an athletics stadium in a residential area some two miles from the centre of town. The ground consists of a main stand, with around a thousand seats, and raised well above ground level to allow reasonable viewing despite the track. A disabled section to the front of the stand is also raised, which made my viewing better as my friend Chris, who is confined to a wheelchair joined me for this one. Opposite this are a few more rows of seats, covered by a roof hung from an adjoining building – but this would be much poorer to watch from, lacking the height above ground. While most of the pitch surrounds are just level tarmac outside the track, behind both goals there about four steps of metal framed terracing – built up on the curve of grass inside the track – with walkways across the track defined by temporary fencing removed after every game. Apparently the ground has received a grading sufficient to allow it to be promoted to the Conference South, but the ambitions of the club must reach higher, and it is difficult to see how this can be achieved within the current surrounds.

As for the game, visiting Carshalton Athletic are struggling in the lower reaches of the league, and never looked like a challenging opponent for league leaders Chelmsford, who won 3-0. The crowd was just over 1000, following 1190 two days earlier for the visit of Horsham. Since I visited, Chelmsford have consolidated their position at the top of the league, and the big result, a 3-2 win over AFC Wimbledon last Saturday (attendance 3201) means they are 11 points clear of their rivals with just seven games to play.

Another day, another game. After heading East on the Monday, Tuesday was North to Wakefield. Now you may remember at the start of the article that I was visiting old rivals of Cheltenham – but you may also say that Cheltenham have never played Wakefield. This is because of another tale of ground moves and obscure ground grading regulations. While Cheltenham have not played in Wakefield, they have been up on the moors above the town, where they played Emley in the quarter-final of the FA Trophy. Cheltenham won that afternoon, (a fraction short of 9 years ago) with a single goal from Neil Howarth, in front of 1239.
Emley started to make their name in the 1960s, when as a member of the Huddersfield League, they reached the last 16 of the old FA Amateur Cup and squeezed over 5000 into the Welfare ground when losing to Barking. They joined the Yorkshire League the season after that victory and won the title four times before the league became part of the Northern Counties (East) League which was founded in 1982. It took a couple of seasons before Emley found their feet, but by the middle of the decade they were one of the leading lights of the new league. Emley reached the semi-final of the FA Vase in 1987 and then the Wembley final a year later – losing to the well financed Colne Dynamoes by a single extra time goal. Also in 1988, Emley were league champions, but promotion was denied as the ground was considered not up to standard. Retaining the title a year later, they were now promoted to the Northern Premier League’s lower division. Two seasons later they reached the Premier, and also went on a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy, losing to Kidderminster. More success followed, with a run to the third round of the FA Cup in 1998, beating Lincoln City in round 2. When they finished runners-up in the Northern Premier League to Stalybridge in 2001, 3708 people turned up for the final home game, when Stalybridge won 3-2 and ended up taking the title by just one point. Still, knowing that whatever happened, promotion to the Conference would be denied to Emley at the Welfare ground, the following season they moved in to share the Rugby League ground of Wakefield Wildcats. After a year the renamed themselves Wakefield & Emley (and later tried Wakefield-Emley), but this did nothing to help the club out of decline, and crowds have dropped season by season since the move. The club’s reserve team never moved away from the Welfare ground, and in 2005 they divorced themselves from the old club and joined the West Yorkshire League as AFC Emley, gaining election to the Northern Counties (East) a year later. Wakefield-Emley reacted to the change by dropping the Emley part of the name and moving again, from the rather oversized Rugby League ground, to the smaller confines of the what was a Rugby Union ground, until the club had gone bankrupt. They also suffered relegation at the same time. What they have gained is a neat ground, with seating for around 300 and some terracing each side of the stand. The badge on the stand is that of the old Rugby club, and in fact the name Wakefield Football Club is displayed. A small piece of cover has been erected, for no apparent purpose behind the goal furthest from the entrance. This consists of scaffold poles covered by thin plastic above three steps of terrace.

Wakefield in action on their new ground

Having narrowly avoided relegation last season, Wakefield have done a little better this time, and are currently in mid-table. I saw them lose a disappointing game to promotion challengers Curzon Ashton by 1-0. The crowd was just 98, close on the average for the season of 102 (the lowest in the division). Meanwhile, two divisions lower, AFC Emley are also in mid-table – but have average crowds of 121.

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