RECENT REPORTS:
Notre Dame - Michigan State (19-09-2009)
Chicago Fire - Columbus Crew (20-09-2009)

UPCOMING GAMES:
Hertha BSC - SC Heerenveen (22-10-2009)
Eisbären Berlin - Iserlohn Roosters (23-10-2009)
Tennis Borussia Berlin - VFL Wolfsburg II (24-10-2009)
Notre Dame - Ohio State (Hockey) (30-10-2009)

INTRODUCTION

The terms "groundhopping" and "groundhopper" can not (yet) be found in any dictionary, yet there are hundreds of groundhoppers around, mostly in Germany. The word combines the terms "ground" and "hopping" and refers to the visiting of different sports grounds -- usually, though not exclusively, football grounds (for a German description, see Wikipedia).

Whereas normal football fans tend to visit only home games of their favorite team, particularly when they live closeby, and more fanatical fans also attend the away games of their team, the groundhopper aims to visit as many different grounds and teams as possible. Moreover, unlike the normal fan, who generally prefers to visit the big teams in football (e.g. Bayern München, Manchester United, Real Madrid), the groundhopper goes for the exotic (e.g. Avenir Beggen, Ozeta Dukla Trencin, Selangor PKNS) and the tiny, such as the third team of the city (e.g. Partick Thistle, Royale Union Sint-Gilloise, Spvgg Unterhaching, Tranmere Rovers).

While groundhopping is largely a non-organized activity, by individuals and small groups, there exist a few organizations of groundhoppers. The most famous is the German Vereinigung der Groundhopper Deutschlands (V.d.G.D.): it's website is one of the major sources of information on clubs, leagues, and stadiums in the world. For other groundhopper websites, see the links on the right.

This website provides an overview of the various groundhops of me, Grondhopper. I'm a Dutch academic and football fan, supporting PSV in the Netherlands and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany. I regularly travel abroad for both work and pleasure, and try to combine these trips with groundhops. In addition, I make several special groundhops every year alone or with one or more of my friends, some of which are active groundhoppers themselves. My list of visited clubs can be found here.

Comments are always highly appreciated. You can post them either here on the site or you can email me at grondhopper[at]hotmail.com.

Chicago Fire – Columbus Crew (20-09-2009)

One day after Notre Dame barely managed a victory against Michigan State, it was team for a game of the real football. So, together with my Brazilian colleague A. we set off for Chicago, roughly a 150 km drive. Unfortunately, we forgot that Illinois is one hour behind Indiana, so we arrived more than 1.5 hour before kick-off. We paid a disgraceful $15 (ca. €10) to park in front of the stadium – there are very few alternatives around – and walked in between some of the tailgaters to the ticket office. We bought tickets for $35 (ca. €25) each, which gave us a covered seat on the long side of the stadium.

Toyota Park is in Bridgeview, a suburb of Chicago, and is home to Chicago Fire, Chicago Red Star (professional women soccer), and Chicago Machine (professional lacrosse) and is also used for concerts. This typical American soccer stadium opened in 2006 and has a capacity of 20.000. Unfortunately, Chicago Fire never fills the stadium; its record attendance was a 94.1% capacity!

Today’s game was between the number 1 (Chicago Fire) and the MLS champion and number 2 (Columbus Crew) of the Eastern Division. Yet even for this game only some 7,500 showed up at the stadium; even though the website reported an official attendance of 16,549. Prominently among them Section 8, the hardcore home fans, and friends of the Timbers Army. There were also some 50 away fans, most of whom had made the roughly 600 km trip from Columbus, Ohio, in a supporter bus. Respect!

The crowd was classic for MLS games: many kids, youth soccer teams, and Hispanics. Most of the people would wear some type of Chicago Fire merchandise. Also typical, the game starts 6 minutes late – I have no clue why virtually all professional soccer games in the US start a couple minutes late.

The game started pretty well: after 3 minutes the Crew have to save a ball from the goal line, while two minutes later the Fire finish a good attack over the right with a great volley on the rebound: 1-0. A couple of minutes later Crew defender Pedula makes a nasty foul on Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Mexican international and star of the Fire; he gets away with yellow, but should have been sent off.

Much of the first half the pace is pretty decent and the Fire dominates the game. C. Blanco combines smart passes with useless tricks, which were unfortunately much appreciated by the Hispanic part of the audience. The game flows well back and forth, providing chances to both teams every three minutes or so. However, most chances are finished weakly; the few good finishes are saved. There is one exception, in the 34^th minutes, when poor defense of the Crew is punished by a hard shot in the corner: 2-0 (the second for Lowey). Just before the break McBride gets a great chance to make it 3-0, but tries to shoot where he should have headed. Half time score: 2-0 for the Fire!

After some good half time entertainment, notably the game between the local sports mascots, we get ready for the second half. Already in the 49^th minute the Fire gets alone in front of the goalie, but miss. Six minutes later the Crew is more accurate, finishing a great pass from the left with an easy header from 3 meters: 2-1. The game now starts to deteriorate, with the pace dropping significantly, but the home fans have some entertainment with flags to keep us busy.

The Fire creates two good chances in the next 10 minutes, but again fails to score. As so often, this is punished. In the 77^th minute the Crew gets a penalty after dangerous play by both players. Although undeserved, they do take the gift: 2-2.

In the last 15 minutes the Crew were the better team. The Fire were holding on, supported by an ever louder Section 8 (despite the rain). Despite some chances on both sides, the final score remains 2-2. A well-deserved draw for both teams.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by my visit to Chicago Fire, the closest MLS team to my home. The stadium doesn’t have much atmosphere and everything about it is expensive. The team has a decent level, but faltered in the second half. In contrast, Section 8 was silent during most of the game, yet came alive under the worst circumstances: heavy rain and a Fire team on its last feet. Then again, as friends of the Timbers Army, I’ll have to give them another chance to impress!

Notre Dame – Michigan State (19-09-2009)

After missing the opening game against Nevada because of a conference out of town, it was finally time for my first Fighting Irish home game. For those who have never heard of American football; first, the Fighting Irish are the sports teams notably the football team, of the University of Notre Dame, where I work this academic year, one of the most famous football schools in the US – even though their heydays are already more than 20 years ago. Second, college football is huge… and when I say huge, I mean H-U-G-E!

For every home game of the Fighting Irish, which is roughly 6-7 per season, around 200.000 (!) people descend upon the university campus. Mind you, the stadium hold ‘only’ 80.000. The rest come just to experience the atmosphere, which includes tailgating; i.e. putting a grill in front of your truck and having burgers etc. with your friend on the parking lot. Weird? Yes! But also fun. Not impressive enough? The game I attended was sold out… which made it the 207^th sell out in a row… in other words, all home games of the Fighting Irish have been sold out since 1973!!! And sold out means, just to remind you, 80,795 people (at a university of just 11.733 and in a town of just over 100,000).

Most of the people are alumni of the university, who come from all over the US to rekindle their college experience. All over campus students sell foods, while the Notre Dame Bookstore sells for more than $1.000.000 in that weekend alone! Add to that the revenue from the tickets and from the tv right, all home games of Notre Dame are live on a major national network (NBC mostly), and you will understand how the Football team brings some $25.0000.000 per year to the university budget!

In August I bought two season tickets at $770 for 7 games, which includes a 20% discount ($55 per ticket). This is one of the privileges of being an employee of the university. In fact, this privilege used to be presented as a plus when offering jobs to faculty, who were allowed to sell them with huge profits. This is no longer allowed and those who are caught will loose their ticket privileges for 5 years. As you can see above, our tickets are different and, to be honest, uglier than those for the regular public (who buy tickets through a tombola).

Roughly 10 minutes before kick-off (15.30), M and I take our places behind one of the goals. On the pitch is the Notre Dame band, the biggest university band in the US, which plays everything from Beyonce to Notre Dame’s famous Victory March. Before the game starts, we do not only get the obligatory national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, but also the equally patriotic “America the Beautiful” – both are sung by large parts of the audience. After that, it was time for the game. However, before the Fighting Irish start their game, they come to the crowd and get down on one knee for them. Respect!

As said before, the stadium was sold out. Opposite to us, in a corner next to the other goal, was the section of the Notre Dame students. Virtually all students will go to each home game and will wear “the shirt” – each year the University of Notre Dame makes a new, unique shirt for the season. This year the shirt is gold (one of the two school colors). After any score of the Fighting Irish, you will see students push up other students (once for each point scored so far).

There were also a remarkable number of away fans; I estimated some 2.000 white-green fans at least. True, East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, is ‘only’ 250 km northeast, but it is not very common that thousands of fans will travel with their team. I guess they were attracted by the fact that the Spartans won the last 6 away games at Notre Dame. And with both teams losing last game, they looked for a seventh.

The weather was perfect for a game. It was roughly 24 C with the sun at our back. Around us where locals and alumni, all of them with much more knowledge of the game then me. Most fans were tense and skeptical, after several poor seasons under coach Charlie Weiss and last weeks last-minute defeat against Michigan still fresh in their heads. Moreover, many were convinced that last weeks defeat was the result of biased refereeing; Notre Dame plays many teams of the Big Ten (including Michigan and Michigan State), but is itself one of only three non-divisional college teams. Hence, fans feel that Big Ten referees discriminate against them. And, to be fair, there were some very dodgy calls against both Michigan and Michigan State!

The game started very well for the Irish. After the first period, which consists of 15 minutes pure play which is stretched over almost an hour, the Irish were up 13-3. The second period went terrible, however: 3-14 for the Spartans. Most depressing, however, was a clear touchdown of the Irish, at the end of the period, and therefore the first half, which was ruled out. Not just no six points, which according to replays on tv were deserved, but the key receiver injured himself and will be out for the season. Half time: 16-17. :-(

After entertainment from both school’s bands, the MSU band played songs from Bruce Springsteen (although that was almost impossible to hear), the third period started around 17.45 (more than two hours after kick-off!). The Irish were able to grab the initiative again, but played extremely careful. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw almost no ball and it took them ages to get the 10 yards down. Still, after the third period we were 26-23 up; much less than we deserved.

The fourth period was going to be a tight one. With just over 10n minutes to go, the Spartans scored their touchdown and conversion: 26-30. Five minutes later, Notre Dame scored a touchdown and conversion: 33-30… but the ball with the Spartans. Slowly but steadily they advance to the endzone… letting the time tick away, so that if they score the touchdown, Notre Dame won’t have time to come back. With less than a minute to go, and less than 10 yards for MSU, the Spartans quarterback throws and… an Irish defender intercepts! Game over and everyone goes crazy. Not a great game for either team, but enough to keep hopes alive and Charlie Weiss in the coaching seat.

Football at Notre Dame is a special experience. The stadium is a huge, concrete arena filled with passionate fans. Mind you, with a capacity of just over 80.000, it is not even in the top 10 of college football stadiums! However, the descending of some 200.000 people upon the campus is unique. I can’t wait for the next games!

Pittsburgh Riverhounds – Charlotte Eagles (08-08-2009)

On my way back from New York to Indiana, I stopped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, famous for (at least) two things: steel and sports. Currently, the Steel City hosts two ‘world champions’: the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of the XLIII Super Bowl, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of the 2009 Stanley Cup. However, I came for a little-known team, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who compete in the USL2 (Third Division).

The Riverhounds play in the stadium of the (huge) Chartiers Valley High School in the Bridgeville suburb of Pittsburgh. Normally home to the school’s American Football team, the Colts, the stadium holds 4,600 people. I buy a general admission ticket for $9 – as it is Ladies Night, women enter for $4. Officially, 853 people turn up this evening; I estimate some 25 away supporters, divided into four families. Whether they have made the 450 mile (720 km) trip for this game, or are local, I don’t know.

The game starts thunderous: after 24 seconds a Riverhounds player comes alone at the Eagles goalie and, although shooting poorly, scores: 1-0! Probably the quickest goal I have ever seen. After that quick goal the game moves quickly back and forth. In the 6^th minute the visitors attack over right and finish well: 1-1. Not much later, it would become even worse for the hosts. In the 13^th minute the Eagles have a sneaky free kick which is met with a strong header: 1-2! Three goals in under fifteen minutes, amazing! Obviously, the fans around me are stunned and pissed off.

The level of play is quite decent, in part because of the astro turf, which makes controlling the ball and setting up combinations much easier. I particularly enjoy the number 21 of the Charlotte Eagles, Toby, a short black player with fantastic technique. But there is much else to see, as the chances keep coming up on both sides. The Eagles are the better team, and have in their experienced number 12 a great passer, who does need some defensive compensation though.

Even in the last two minutes of the first half both teams have a decent chance, which they squander with bad finishing. Overall, we have seen a great first half, but most of the spectators are understandably disappointed.

The second half starts explosive too: in the 46^th minute the Pittsburgh goalie weakly boxes the ball out of the goal, but the rebound is headed out and a consequent counter-attack is just shot wide. Five minutes later, the annoying number 4 of the hosts is sent off after a push in the face and, in the following consternation, another Pittsburgh player is red carded (I guess for protesting in an uncivil manner). The Steel Army goes crazy!

Despite being two men down, it’s the Pittsburgh Riverhounds who get the next big chance. In fact, they stay well in the game, as the Charlotte Eagles by and large go on autopilot. But despite all the possession, and the low pace of the visitors, it is the Eagles who easily score their third goal of the match: 1-3.

Although it is clear that the game is played, the 9 Riverhounds put up a commendable fight, and the 11 Eagles totally miss an opportunity to work on their goal difference. Many chances and half-chances follow, but the score remains (somewhat disappointingly) 1-3.

Clearly, the Riverhounds are not Pittsburgh’s biggest team. In fact, their attendance isn’t particularly impressive for the USL2. But if you find yourself in the region, and can’t get tickets for the Steelers or Penguins (which you won’t), do pay them a visit!

Colorado Rapids – New York Red Bulls (25-07-2009)

Although tired, I had little problems with making the 537 miles (865 km) from Sandy, Utah to Commerce City, Colorado in time for the third and last game of the road trip. The Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is a soccer-specific stadium in a northeastern suburb of Denver; as so much in the US, it is only reachable by car.

It was opened in April 2007 and is the home of the Colorado Rapids (MLS) and the Denver Dream of the Lingerie Football League (a women’s American football league; really, it exists!). Its capacity for football games is 18,086 (all seating) and most Colorado Rapids games are near capacity. For this Saturday night game against New York Red Bulls official attendance was 16,816, although I doubt more than 13,000 were actually in the stadium (the curse of corporate tickets?). However, the crowd was remarkably diverse in terms of age, gender and ethnicity.

I had again opted for a ‘cheap’ ticket at $20, which put me in my trusted spot in the corner of the pitch. But before I took my seat, I first sampled the excellent stadium food, which included a very tasty chicken tender basket ($6.25) and a Jamba Juice smoothie ($5). Let the game begin…. uhm, well, after the national anthem, of course.

Colorado is having a mediocre season and was clearly looking forward to playing the even more struggling Red Bulls. Still, it would be the visitors who would have the first ‘chance’, a shot from 25 meter well over the goal. That would also be the only semi-serious ‘threat’ of the Red Bulls that evening. This notwithstanding, I would hardly hear the Rapids ‘ultras’ this evening; in fact, I could hardly locate them.

In the 5^th minute the Rapids created a great counter attack over the right wing and the low pass was easily finished in the middle: 1-0. Shortly after that it started to rain quite heavily, but people seemed well prepared and continued to enjoy the game in their colorful rain coats.

And they would be well rewarded for their perseverance, but not just yet. Because of the bad weather and many interruptions (injuries) the first half just dragged out. While both teams created some chances, no one was able to finish them. The Red Bulls thus remained in the game, despite their fumbling goalie, until one of their defenders mad a nasty late tackle in the second minute of extra time and received a well deserved red card. Half time: 1-0 and one man more for the Rapids!

After a diverse half time entertainment program, which featured amateur cheerleaders and kids football, everyone was eager to see the second half play out. They wouldn’t have to wait long for the inevitable: already in the 46^th minute a clever through pass was coolly finished: 2-0. Game over, as even the few Red Bulls fans accepted, seeking their entertainment around the drink stands instead.

With a 2-0 lead and a man more on the pitch, the Rapids shifted to an even lower pace, which gave the Red Bulls some air to breathe. Still, with such an unreliable goalie another goal was inevitable, and after a terrible fumble Real could not but score the rebound: 0-3 in the 60^th minute.

It was painful to see how poor the Red Bulls were both collectively and individually. No wonder they are at the bottom of their division. The 66^th minute provided the highlight of the evening, a beautiful free kick in the top far corner (captured equally beautifully by yours truly): 4-0.

Despite the fact that this launched a wave to go through the stadium for minutes, the rest of the game was a brutal example of anti-football. The last 20 minutes were simply pissed away on the pitch. Rather than making the most of this near perfect situation, and work on your goal difference, the Rapids players decided to simply pass the ball around and let the minutes eat away; who cares about the fans who have suffered through almost an hour of rain. Hence, 4-0 was also the final score.

Although the game never really took off, because of the weakness and stupidity of the Red Bulls, it is clear that the Colorado Rapids are another MLS team with a solid support base and professional infrastructure. While the numbers are not very impressive, they do make for a well-filled stadium and decent atmosphere.

Real Salt Lake – FC Dallas (24-07-2009)

Directly after the Timbers game I had jumped into my car to drive at least another 4 hours to keep me en route for game 2 of this road trip, 778.7 miles (1253 km) away in Sandy, Utah. I had agreed with a colleague, who lives in Salt Lake City, that I would call him from the road if I was certain that I would make it. So, when I crossed the Idaho-Utah border around 17.00, three hours before kick-off, I called him and we agreed to meet in front of the stadium.

We bought tickets for $25 each, which were only the second least expensive (!), and gave us a seat in one of the (uncovered) corners in the beautiful new stadium. Fortunately, as we would soon find out, the Rio Tinto Stadium doesn’t have any real bad seats, so our view was excellent.

The Rio Tinto Stadium is a brand new soccer-specific stadium, opened in October 2008, in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. It holds 20,008 people and is home (exclusively) to MLS team Real Salt Lake. For this Friday evening game against FC Dallas 18,882 people had shown up, deterred neither by the high ticket prices nor by the expected rain. I was amazed by the high number of people sporting Real Salt Lake gear and the high number of Latinos among the (hardcore) fans.

Under the tunes of Guns & Roses (in a Mormon stronghold!) the teams entered the pitch and, after the obligatory national anthem (proudly and loudly sung by those around us, hand on their heart), the game started. It needed some heating up, with a hard shot in the side net in the 9^th minute, but soon after the game was on! In the 12^th minute a fairly lame covered shot of Dallas caught the Real goalie on his wrong foot: 0-1. All four away fans went crazy. ;-)

The crowd was really stunned ten minutes later, when FC Dallas laid down a beautiful rugby-like attack over five players that was finished by Dutchman Dave van den Bergh: 0-2. As far as my colleague and I were concerned, it was game over. The rest of the first half Dallas remained the better team, even if they failed to take an even bigger lead. The 0-2 was a highly deserved half time score and was met with fairly loud booing of the home crowd.

At half time I sampled some of the excellent food offers at the Rio Tinto Stadium, including a highly acceptable pulled chicken sandwich ($8). We took our places for the second half, which started exactly as the first had ended: with FC Dallas dominating but not finishing its chances. However, Real was getting back into the game and, after three corner kicks in a row without a goal, scored somewhat unexpected in the 54^th minute: 1-2. Five minutes later the Real striker was clearly held in the box and the penalty was converted: 2-2.

Within five minutes a game that seemed over after 20 minutes, was totally open again. But while the home fans could taste victory, it would be the visitors who would get the next chance. In the 69^th minute, after a free kick hit the hand of a defender, Dallas also got a penalty… but missed!

Just minutes later there was a confusing situation were it first seemed that a Real player was sent off, but it then turned out to be their coach. This seemed to inspire the players even more in their thirst for victory. After increasing pressure they would also finally get what they increasingly deserved, even if it was through an own goal: 3-2.

A couple of minutes later, in extra time, Real finished a perfect counter with a hard shot low in the corner: 4-2! What a comeback! This led one of the increasingly frustrated Dallas players to a hard foul (and red card), which started a short brawl. An unfortunate end to an amazing football game.

While my colleague stayed for the post-match fireworks, I made my way back to my car, as I had a few hours more to drive, so that I stayed on course for a three games in three days schedule. Whatever next days game would bring, I already knew that tonight’s experience would be extremely hard to beat. Real Salt Lake has a beautiful stadium and a great sized fan base which remains enthusiastic even without alcohol!

Portland Timbers – Puerto Rico Islanders (23-07-2009)

Although I have (unfortunately) left the Northwest, for now at least, I had one last opportunity to see my Timbers at home, when I flew back to Eugene to drive our second car cross-country. I arrived at PGE Park just 10 minutes before kick-off and was faced with long lines in front of the ticket offices.

With some delay, I bought a General Admission ticket for $12 and made my way to the Timbers Army section(s). I had just missed the national anthem of Puerto Rico (well, if Northern Ireland can have one, why not Puerto Rico!), but am sure these Islanders fans enjoyed it.

A stunning 14,103 people had come this Thursday evening for the big game in the USL 1 (the Second Division) between the actual leaders, the Puerto Rico Islanders, and the virtual leaders, the Portland Timbers, with less point but also less games. The expectations for the game were high, particularly in Portland, even though the Timbers have had troubles scoring against good teams. Timber Joey had his chainsaw and wood ready…

Unfortunately, we were not in for a treat today. While the game started with a chance (for the Islanders) in the 1^st minute, this would turn out to be one of few in the first half. The Islanders also were the better team of the first half, but created few real chances, and thus 0-0 was a logical half time score.

The second half didn’t bring much more, although the Timbers were able to enforce a bit more pressure on their guests. Even the Timbers Army seemed affected, as they were less lively as normally. I recall only three notable attacks; in the 58^th minute the Islanders led a good counter over 40 meters but shot just wide, while in the 71^st and 82^nd minutes the Timbers wasted good attacks with weak finishes. The final score of 0-0 was therefore more than deserved.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by my ‘last’ game at PGE Park, although it was clear that both teams were tired and of equal strength. And even though the Timbers Army was not at its strongest that evening (no critique here, as I hardly ever sing or shout myself), they still provide the best football atmosphere in the US.

Cincinnati Kings - Cleveland Internationals

Football in the US often provides surprises. For example, because of the lack of adequate infrastructure teams often play well outside of their own town; hell, sometimes even outside of their own state (e.g. Spokane Spiders). This is also the case with the Cincinnati Kings from Ohio, who play at the Town & Country Soccer Stadium in Wilder, Kentucky; which is actually more like a suburb of Cincinnati, 10 km to the south of the city.

We arrived just after kick-off, hence missing the national anthem, and joined the roughly 200-250 other fans on the four-row make-shift bleachers on the one long side of the pitch. For some reason, there was no entrance fee (there were not even ticket offices). It seemed that only one fan had made the 250 miles (400 km) trip south from Cleveland.

Both the Cincinnati Kings and the Cleveland Internationals are relatively new teams, founded in 2005 and 2004 respectively, and are at the bottom of the table in the Great Lakes Division of the Premier Development League (PDL). Hence, it comes as no surprise that the level of play was not very high. It also shows the big differences within the PDL; even within leagues (e.g. the Kitsap Pumas were of a different planet than fellow-Northwest Division team Spokane Spiders).

Although the level of play wasn’t high, the game was quite entertaining. In the first 10 minutes both teams created a good chance, but it would be the hosts who scored first, after a clever through-pass: 1-0 in the 12^th minute. This brought more pressure from the visitors, who equalized in the 28^th minute, after a terrible screw-up by one of the Kings defenders.

And it would come even worse for the startled hosts. In the 35^th minute the Internationals, through a substitute who has just come on the pitch, scored again after a defensive blunder: 1-2. Three minutes later the same guy scores again, but now from an offside position, so no score. Hence, 1-2 is the half time score.

The second half provides even slower play, but at least with some drama. After a good chance for the visitors in the 51^st minute, the Kings punish a slow reaction from the Internationals goalie: 2-2. This seems to be the turning point of the game, as after that it is only the Kings that create serious attacks.

Still, as so often, when one team doesn’t finish its chances, the other one will profit, and so it also came this night. In the 79^th minute it was again number 8 (Nagbe), who coolly finished a rebound: 2-3. The following ten minutes of ultimate pressure from the Kings couldn’t change the result.

SV Eintracht Trier 05 – FSV Mainz 05 (12-07-2009)

On the last day of my trip to Europe, my brother T.M. and I made our way to Trier, in Rhineland-Palatine, a good four hour drive. The local SV Eintracht Trier 05 had been on my list for over a decade, although I always hoped to combine it with a game in France or Luxembourg. However, as most European teams were still on their summer break, we were already happy to find an interesting friendly within a 500 km radius.

We arrived at the Moselstadion with more than half an hour until kick-off, got tickets for just 5 euro a person, and made our way to the Currywurst and Pommes Weiss (French fries with mayonaisse). We then went to the (mobile) fan shop, where T. bought a pin, but I found no pennant. :-(

SV Eintracht Trier plays in the Regionalliga West (Fourth Division West). While never a big team, it did play in the 2. Bundesliga (Second Division) from 2002 till 2005 and regularly features in the first round(s) of the DFB Pokal (German Cup). The Mosel Stadium was built in 1930 and, with some (minor) upgrades, holds 10.254 people (only 2.000 are covered, however). Halfway the main stand one can still find the (no longer used) old scoreboard.

The game against FSV Mainz 05, which after relegation in 2007 returns to the 1. Bundesliga (First Division) in the new season, was the headliner of Eintracht’s fan day. A somewhat disappointing 2.000 people came to the game, among them remarkably few kids. Roughly 50 away fans had made the 150 km trip from Mainz to Trier.

As I forgot my phone in the car, I have no notes on the game. Moreover, the Eintracht website doesn’t have a game report, while Mainz has a very short one. I will therefore not write too much about the game.

The first half was pretty unspectacular, with Trier fighting hard for every ball, and Mainz mainly looking for balance and plays. Few good chances were created and we were particularly disappointed by the performance of the guests. Still, in the 30^th minute they did manage to score: 0-1 was also the half time score.

The second half was much the same, although with mostly different players. Both teams changed virtually their whole squad during half time and the second half, which disrupted the rather poor interplay even more. Moreover, the tension was out of the game soon, as Mainz scored its second in the 58^th minute.

In the 75^th minute Mainz scored its third and last goal. At that time they created a couple more chances, but still looked far from 1.Bundesliga-ready. Trier didn’t play bad at all and should be a contender in the Regionalliga West this season.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the Moselstadion and the Eintracht Trier-experience. There is nothing really wrong with it, but there is also nothing special to it. Hence, there are a lot better alternatives in the region (e.g. Kaiserslautern), including various teams in Luxembourg.

K. Lyra TSV – KV Mechelen (05-07-2009)

As I had to be back in Europe for a good week, I took the opportunity to see some games. It had been way too long; although I do enjoy to visit ‘soccer’ games in the US, they often miss the atmosphere of even the small league European games. Anyway, this Sunday P.S. and I decided to stay close to home, i.e. the Antwerp region, and go to Lier, a mere 15 minutes by train, to see a friendly game between K. Lyra TSV (Fourth Division) and my Belgian team, KV Mechelen (First Division).

A short history of the hosts is necessary here. K. Lyra TSV was founded in 1972, in protest of the fact that the original Koninklijke Lyra (Royal Lyra) had merged with Lierse SK, the other team from the ‘city’. The original K. Lyra was founded in 1909 and became an established name in Belgian football in the 1930s, even making it to the cup final in 1935. In the 1950s things started to go wrong, leading to relegations and the eventual merger. Although K. Lyra TSV was officially a new team, they consider themselves the official successor of the original team, and therefore claim to exist 100 years. The game against KV Mechelen celebrated the (constructed) occasion.

We arrived at the Lyra Stadion, an old-school inner-city stadium that allegedly holds 6.000 people. We were well in time for snacks, drinks, and pictures. It was a subtropical summer day, unusual for Belgium, so perfect to watch a game (but less attractive to play one). We bought tickets for the covered stand at € 12.50 each – I had been caught cold by a tropical rain burst earlier that day, so I wanted to be safe – while uncovered standing places cost € 9. There were a good 500 people, roughly 350 fans of KV Mechelen (a mere 15 km away).

Even though this was probably the biggest game for Lyra in years, they missed various players because the holidays had just started in Belgium. As a consequence, they played with various ‘mercenaries’. KV Mechelen, on the other hand, had started their campaign and used the game mostly to test new players. This would make for a very uneven, but still entertaining game.

From the first minute KVM created chances. In the 5^th minute, after a good pass from the left, one of the strikers headed the ball in from 5 meters: 0-1. Roughly 7 minutes later an almost identical attack was finished by another striker: 0-2. Although the lead of Malinwa was deserved, they didn’t play very well, and were particularly vulnerable in the back. After 20 minutes the referee stopped the game for a short drink break – well deserved in that heat and humidity.

Only minutes after the break the visitors scored 0-3, again after a pass from the left winger, but this time finished by foot and low in the corner. Again two minutes later they scored from a corner, after two headers: 0-4.

This seemed to fulfill the visitors’ ambitions, as they stopped pressuring and even allowed a fairly easy ‘counter attack’ to go in: 1-4. This was also the half-time score, even though both the speaker and the scoreboard insisted on 1-3.

As a consequence of substitutions and tiredness (at least in part a consequence of the heat) the second half was slower and less exciting. Malinwa created several chances, but the finishing was poor. Lyra created only a few chances, most notably a good shot from roughly 20 meters at the goalie in the 55^th minute. However, the next minute the visitors got a clear penalty, which was converted successfully: 1-5.

The rest of the game I was mesmerized by the Tidiane Baba Kourouma (#27 of KVM), an 18 year old holding midfielder from Guinea-Bissau, who seemed a bit lost on the pitch, but out of nowhere made great offensive interceptions with his telescopic legs. His first interception was in the 63^rd minute and led to the 1-6.

Roughly 10 minutes, after another drink break, he had another interception, followed by a great pass, but a bad finish. In the 82^nd minute a KVM player got injured and, as they had already used all their substitutions (including the goalie), they finished the game with 10 men. This didn’t change the game or score.

To be fair, much of the great experience was due to the company, the weather, and the many away fans. But even without that, K. Lyra TSV is worth a visit by any real groundhopper. The Lyra Stadion is one of the few remaining inner city stadiums, in the middle of a residential area (though behind a gas station), and still has the atmosphere of football in the 1950s.

Kitsap Pumas – Portland Timbers (09-06-2009)

With only two weeks left in the Northwest, I try to take every opportunity to see a game, particularly if it involves my new team, the Portland Timbers. So, when I found out that they played a game in Bremerton, Washington, on a Tuesday night, I took the day off and drove up to the most northwestern part of the USA. Normally you would drive the roughly 450 km in 5 hours, but because of horrible traffic it took me over an hour longer (excluding stops).

Still, having left Eugene before noon, I arrived at the Bremerton Memorial Stadium, part of Bremerton High School a good twenty minutes before kick-off. I even had time to look at the fan stand of the home team, the Kitsap Pumas. While the stand itself was not very professional, the choice of merchandise was the best I’ve seen for a PDL team.

As the weather was glorious, I paid $7 for a generic ticket that gave me access to the whole stadium except the small covered stand. As I entered, I made my way to the hamburger stand (i.e. a woman, a table, and a home bbq), as I was starving. I walked around the stadium, which looked like a fair.

I don’t think I have ever been at a football game where there were clowns making dogs from balloons and where they sold cotton candy. Welcome to Kitsap Count(r)y! A couple of minutes before kick-off the players came out of the high school building and made their way to the pitch, preceded by the local Washington State champions.

So, this game was between the Kitsap Pumas, a new PDL team, and the Portland Timbers, an established USL team. The occasion was the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a competition open to all clubs affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. Since 2008 this competition has attracted the attention of the major US teams, as the winner has the right to play the CONCACAF Champions League.

Although the Kitsap Pumas were founded only a year ago, they have had a great start to their first season, not losing a game so far (of 7 played). The also had a very decent crowd, roughly 500-600, including some boisterous youngsters. The Timbers Army arrived to the stadium around kick-off time, no doubt delayed by the horrible traffic, but it took them a good 10 minutes to enter the stadium (don’t ask me why). I estimated that they were roughly 75 men, women, and kids strong – not too bad for a Tuesday evening game (and a 277 km drive!).

As a European, who has been around some tough crowds, I find it very funny how some people in the US react to the Timbers Army; as if they are the Chelsea Firm. J Around me various people got worked up over the few provocative songs and curses that the Army threw around.

As a groundhopper, and loner, I kept my space among the home fans and waited for the Timbers to make me cheer. And this almost happened in the first minute, when the Pumas goalie bravely saved a good chance for the visitors. Little did I know that this would be the best Timbers chance of the first half.

The hosts reacted swiftly, having their first header (somewhat) on goal the next minute. After that the chances would become fewer, as most of the game was between the two penalty boxes, with the lower-ranked Pumas easily holding their own against the fairly lame Timbers. There was little pressure on the ball and players, which obviously helped the Pumas, while the passing of the Timbers was sub-standard. I guess this game wasn’t very high on their list of priorities, or they simply assumed they could win in without much effort. Hence, a well-deserved 0-0 half time score.

As the Timbers Army used half time to change sides, in the hope to be behind the goal where the goals would be, forcing the home fans to switch too, I got myself a chili dog and found the memorial of the stadium, in a corner, commemorating those Bremertonians fallen since WW I. Nice that this can be respected in a football stadium.

Like the first half had, the second half started with a vengeance. Before the Pumas even knew they were back on the pitch, the Timbers had scored the 0-1. It all looked very easy and made me wonder why they hadn’t done this before. The Timbers directly sat back, but it took the Pumas almost 10 minutes to overcome the shock. In the 54^th minute they had a good attack, but the goal was canceled because of offside. Just two minutes they had an almost identical attack, but this time it was shot wide.

Although the Pumas were the busiest team on the pitch, the Timbers did have the better opportunities to score. Most were screwed up either at the stage of the end pass or of the finish. Some were stopped by the loud, but skilful goalie of the Pumas.

As I was already heading over to the scoreboard to take my picture of the final score, a Pumas defender headed the ball too softly back to his goalie, and the Timbers striker got between them and coolly lobbed the ball over the unfortunate goalie: 0-2 in the 89^th minute. Barely one minute later, in extra time, a frustrated Pumas defender makes a rough tackle in the box, although there was no pressure on the goal, and the referee gave a penalty.

Even though 0-3 looks like a clear victory, I must say that I was rather impressed by the Pumas and disappointed by my Timbers. Sure, they didn’t try hard, and the Pumas are clearly not an average PDL team, but a team like the Timbers, who want to play MLS in 2011, should play much better against this type of opposition. I saw very few good combination or attacks, and overall a lame performance. Fortunately, the players did come over to thank the Timbers Army for coming out to support them.

The Kitsap Pumas are definitely worth a visit if you are in the Northwest. There is something authentic about them, even if the small-town fair atmosphere is a bit odd at a football game. Be prepared to drive for a long time, however, as Bremerton is in the ass end of the US. I was back in Eugene at 2 AM, tired but quite satisfied.