RM Hamm Benfica – US Mondorf-les-Bains (11-03-2018)

 

The last game of the weekend is in Luxembourg, a standard location for our brotherly groundhops. This time we go to RC Hamm Benfica, one of a few team in the country named after a famous Portuguese club, a consequence of the enormous Portuguese community in Luxembourg (16 percent of the population!).

 

The “stadium” is just outside of the city center of Luxembourg, tucked away on a hill. Rapid Mansfeldia Hamm Benfica was founded in 2004 as a fusion of two small clubs, which initially played in the second division. In 2007 they got promoted to the National Division (First Division) and they have been in the top flight of Luxembourg football ever since.

 

We pay €10 for a General Admission ticket. The ticket itself is generic and dates to the 2015/16 season. That gives you an indication of the level of professionalism. RC Hamm Benfica plays at a ground, simply named Luxembourg-Cents, after the district, which allegedly can hold 2,800 people. It is the smallest ground in this league I have ever visited. It has one stand, which has only 3 rows.

 

There are roughly 120 people, mostly men, and some 30-50 are Portuguese speakers. One small group of 10 younger men have a banner and sing during the game. There are also some 25 away supporters, who only had to travel 30 km. They also sing and even have a drum.

 

Benfica has the first decent chance, in the fifth minute. In the next fifteen they have the best of the game, but create few chances. The play is roughly as bad as the pitch: really bad!

 

In the 38^th minute the hosts have another chance, but the rebound from 16 meters goes 5 meters over the goal. While the game goes back and forth, the control and passing is bad, and the ball rarely gets into the box.

 

In the 41^st minute the visitors finally have a good attack, with a deep cross, but the header is too late. The inevitable half-time score is 0-0.

 

In the 49^th minute Benfica has a good attack: a hard shot leads to a good safe by the goalie. Three minutes later the hosts have another attack, which is stopped by a foul, and leads to a counter by the visitors, which ends with a hard shot over the goal. A bit later Monsdorf has another set of chances, mostly because the goalie screws up, and the defense is terrible.

 

The play is getting really bad. Both teams only master 2-3 passes before the lose the ball. Consequently, the only notable occasions are free kicks, which occur regularly. In the 79^th minute a free kick is put into the box and headed in goal: 1-0. Nope, the player had pushed, so the goal is disallowed.

In the last ten minutes both teams still squander a half-chance, but in the end, the inevitable happens: 0-0. Both teams could have played for 90 minutes more and still wouldn’t have scored! According to my brother, this was the first time in over two decades that we saw a goalless draw together. In the end, RM Hamm Benfica has the atmosphere of a third or even fourth division team in Austria or Belgium. Even by Luxembourgish standards it is really small. The main attraction is the exotic name.

CS Fola Esch – FC Déifferdéng 03 (15-10-2017)

 

The last game of our groundhopweekend, which included four games in four countries in three days, was in Luxembourg, a destination that I feel is too often shunned by my fellow groundhoppers. Fortunately, my brother shares my soft spot for football in the Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, so on a remarkably warm and sunny Sunday afternoon in October, we drive to the small town of Esch-sur-Alzette to visit one of their three (!) clubs in the Luxembourg National Division, the top division in the country.

 

Having parked our car on the hilly small road next to the stadium, we are blows away by the entrance to the Stade Émile Mayrisch, home to the Cercle sportif Fola Esch (Sporting Circle Fola Esch), better known as Fola Esch or simply Fola. It is the oldest club, which was founded by an English language teacher in 1906. They play in the oldest stadium in the country, which has a majestueuse façade, behind which hides a pretty basic football and athletics stadium with one modest covered stand. The total capacity is 4,900.

 

We get a general admission ticket for €10. As we are early, we visit the little canteen and get some coffee, before the snack bar opens up to provide us with excellent fries and sausages. After that, we sit on the simpler bleachers, as the weather is too good to be covered. There are roughly 500 people, some 100 fans of FC Déifferdéng 03, who have made the 10 km trip from neighboring Differdange.

 

In the 5^th minute the visitors head the ball softly at the goalie. Six minutes later the hosts attack, but the player hits over the ball. After fifteen minutes we have the first (weak) shot at goal, from FC03. The next play Fola loses the ball in midfield, FC03 passes the ball to the striker, who shoots at goal from the penalty box: 0-1. Three minutes later, as I’m still circling the pitch to take some pictures, Fola shoots from 20 meters, low, but the goalie jumps over it: 1-1.

 

While the pace and quality of the play remain quite mediocre, the game itself is entertaining. In the 22^nd minute the Fola goalie tips a good shot wide, and the next minute the F03 makes a good safe at a shot of the striker. Five minutes later both goalies have made another good safe, one after shot from close by, and one from a clever free kick.

 

In the 32^nd minute a surprise attack leads to a Fola player making himself free, tricking the defender, and then passing to a free teammate, who scores from 2 meters: 2-1. Although there are several more chances, the half time score is 2-1.

 

The second half is even crazier. Within the first fifteen minutes Fola scores two more goals from close range, after exceptionally clumsy defense by FC03. In the 70^th minute Fola counters, a cross is missed by all, which leads to an easy finish and a stunning 5-1 score.

 

But we are not done yet. As the away fans around us get a bit grumpy, Fola again counters, but this time the goalie saves well. Two minutes later, in the 81^st minute, a Fola defender launches a beautiful long ball, which is controlled by an attacker, who goes around a defender, pulls around the goalie, and finishes easily: 6-1!

 

The majority of away fans who are still in the stadium, mainly because of the good weather, get a little bit of consolidation when FC03 finally has a good attack again, which leads to a cool finished: 6-2. Two minutes later, they have another attack, which is finished from 2 meters: 6-3. There are no more goals in the last five minutes of the game.

This was my eighth game in Luxembourg and definitely the most entertaining – although almost all have been very entertaining. However, 9 goals, while sitting in the sun and being able to use free wifi, all for just €10 – not to speak of the delicious snacks, which were also very affordable – can hardly be beaten, not in Luxembourg, and not anywhere else.

FC Viktoria Rosport – CS Fola Esch-Alzette (01-03-2015)

After three games with my brother, I exchange groundhop partners and go with my friend P. to Luxembourg for the fourth and last hop of the weekend. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Luxembourg, with regard to groundhopping, as it is extremely difficult to get accurate information about games (dates, times, locations), and I have at least twice been stood up. Still, I keep trying, and this time the information seemed reliable.

I had chosen FC Viktoria Rosport because of the perfect name of the stadium: Stade du Camping (Camping Stadium) – incidentally, the team also seems to play in other stadium, named, much more pretentiously, ViktoriArena (capacity 2.500). Anyway, the name really fit the location, as it is next to a camping and it seems that their accommodation is used, at times, by the camping.

Rosport is a small town only a few miles across the German border. We have little problem parking close to the stadium, and camping, and make our way to the ticket office. I forgot the exact price, which is also not indicated on the generic ticket, but I think it was 10 euro.

The stadium is really tiny and has just one small, semi-covered stand – although you can stand all around the pitch. It also has a real canteen, similar to the ones the amateur teams had that I used to play for. In it there are some pictures of old teams and big games as well as a nice older woman who takes cares of a limited offer of drinks and snacks.

 

I count some 150-200 people, of whom at least 50-75 are away supporters, who made the 65 km (40 mile) trek north from Esch-sur-Alzette (also home to Jeunesse d’Esch). The official count of 355 seems highly inflated.

The game is characterized by slow pace and movement, but quite decent passing, which is often broken up because of a too slow or imprecise pass. Fola is the top team in Luxembourg and this is clear from the beginning. They simply have the (much) better players, many quite young.

In the 21th minute a Fola midfielder can walk roughly 20 meters and than shoot beautifully from just outside of the box in the far upper corner: 0-1. Three minutes later they have another good attack, with a half volley cross that is met by a half volley shot that is saved by the goalkeeper.

In the 32th minute an easy Fola attack is finished cool in the far corner: 0-2. By now it is clear to anyone in the stadium, the Viktoria players included, that Fola is simply too strong. Half time score: 0-2.

 

The second half starts where the first half ended. A long Fola attack ends on the goalpost. In the 50^th minute a good attack over right and an excellent cross is finished cool with a header: 0-3. Ten minutes later a Fola counter ends with a shot from outside of the box that goes just wide.

Although the hosts don’t really give up, they seem fully aware that they are no match for Fola. Still, in the 78^th minute a corner is deflected, the first shot saved, but the rebound is scored from close up: 1-3. Is there still hope?

The answer comes just two minutes later. A quick counter with a great cross and a cool finish brings the lead back to three goals: 1-4. One minute before the end of the game a long pass to Fola’s striker is scored in two attempts: his third goal of the game. 1-5 is also the final score.

I can’t help it, I have a weak spot for Luxembourg football. It reminds me of watching my own Dutch team play in the third division of the amateur leagues. It’s homey and cozy.