TSV Schwaben Augsburg -- FC Augsburg (28-06-2022)

As part of my COVID-19 self-isolation I drive from Berlin to Augsburg, in the Southwest of Bavaria, to see the friendly “derby” in that city between Bayernliga Süd (sixth tier) club TSV Schwaben Augsburg and Bundesliga (first tier) FC Augsburg. On the way I hear that my new COVID-19 test is negative, so I no longer have to worry about infecting people.

 

As I drive up about 30 minutes before kick-off (at 19.00), I’m shocked by the number of people who are walking towards the stadium. All have tickets and I don’t see open tickets offices. I start to panic slightly. The game is played in the Rosenaustadion, which used to be the home of FC Augsburg, before they moved to the Augsburg Arena in 2009. Currently the women’s and the men’s second team of FC Augsburg play their home games in this fairly old stadium, which has one main stand with 5,900 covered seats.

 

After having found a rare free parking spot, I walk to the stadium and find that they do still sell tickets (€10), but then I have to join a line of easily 400 people that is not moving — they only have one entrance open.

 

The people in the line are not happy and neither am I. Still, I’m relieved it wasn’t sold out and I didn’t drive 600 km to Augsburg for nothing. And there should be a good atmosphere. Still, I do learn that Germans are not very good at queuing.

 

Although most people waited a long time to get in, and then again to get food and drinks from the one concession stand that is open, they are very quiet in the stand. Even close chances get few cheers. Meanwhile, you hear people everywhere talking to each other. As far as I could see, both teams had a few half chances in between the 20th and 30th minute — I missed the first 20. It’s still 0-0.

 

In the 35^th minute I see the first real chance; a cross from the left and an FC Augsburg player is totally free at 5 meters from the goal and tips the ball in. I cannot believe it isn’t offside: 0-1.

 

A few minutes later FC Augsburg has another big chance, with an easy attack over right, but this time the goalie saves the shot from close range. Five minutes later an almost identical attack ,but this time the goalie is already in front of the striker as he tries to tip the cross in. 

 

Just before half-time FC Augsburg hits the crossbar from a free kick just outside of the box. Although Schwaben have had several counters in the first half, the final pass is lacking. Half time score 0-1.

 

In the second half FC Augsburg starts with a whole new team, while Schwaben does not. After seven minutes a rebound to a corner is saved by the Schwaben goalie, but falls for an Augsburg striker, who stands 2 meters from the goal line but also 2 meters next to the goal, and he shoots it across the goal.

 

Given the massive difference in divisions, the difference in quality is not clear enough. Not only does Schwaben get some counters, FC Augsburg is not very impressive in terms of first contact, positioning, or passing. To be fair, the Schwaben goalie also makes some saves. In the 63^rd minute, however, he has no chance when a good corner kick is headed in from 10 meters: 0-2.

 

Less than ten minutes later FC Augsburg scores the 0-3. Eventually, it will end in 0-5, as the Bayerligist totally falls apart. Still, although this was just the first friendly of FC Augsburg, and the result was nice, a lot needs to be done before this team is ready for the new Bundesliga season.

 

It is difficult to read too much into this game with regard to TSV Schwaben Augsburg, which usually doesn’t play in this stadium. Moreover, the vast majority (90%?) of the circa 4,000 people that were in the stadium this evening were FC Augsburg fans. This notwithstanding, it was a nice experience.

SV Tasmania Berlin -- SV Babelsberg 03 (26-06-2022)

 

As I rest a bit in Berlin, hoping to have passed COVID-19 without too much troubles this time, I see on Sunday morning that there is a friendly game in Berlin at 1 PM. So, I jump into the shower and head out. To isolate as much as possible I drive my car, even though public transport is easier, and find a parking spot just 300 meters from the park in which the football stadium (as well as a hockey stadium) is located.

 

The Werner-Seelenbinder-Stadion is in a beautiful park in the Berlin district of Neukölln. SV Tasmania Berlin has a big building with behind it a couple of artificial pitches and one grass pitch with a stadium with brick stands on two sides and some colorful plastic chairs on one end. Tasmania is a relatively new club in Berlin, founded in 1973, and plays in the Oberliga Nordost, the fifth tier of German football.

 

I am here for a pre-season friendly against SV Babelsberg 03, which plays one tier higher. There are some 200 people, more than half are away supporters, who have made the 30-minute trip from Potsdam. As Babelsberg 03 is known as one of the most outspoken progressive clubs in the former East, there are a lot of black clad, “alternative” away fans. The crowd is very male and very white, particularly for Berlin.

 

The first chance of the game is for Tasmania, in the 4^th minutes, but the striker who goes alone at the goalie shoots well over. Two minutes later, after a wild challenge in the box, Babelsberg gets a penalty, which is shot calmly in the corner, 0-1. 

 

Almost a minute later, as I’m still typing the info about the penalty into my phone, the visitors score their second, clinically: 0-2. And five minutes later, a Babelsberg striker goes alone at the goal and finishes easily in the far corner: 0-3. The celebrations of all goals are fairly muted.

 

After about 35 minute the game becomes a big pedestrian, although there are still some fairly rough fouls. This is not just because it is an early pre-season friendly but also because it is very hot.

 

Although the visitors get several more good chances, it is the hosts who score in the last minute of the first half, when a through pass is deflected and lands well for the Tasmania striker, who calmly finishes in the corner: 1-3. This is also the half time score. Time for more refreshments.

 

After a slow first 10 min of the second half, a Tasmania defender misses the ball completely and a Babelsberg striker can go alone at the goal and score hard through the inside of the post: 1-4. Not much happens afterward. There are too many player changes. It is too hot. And it is too clear who is the better side.

 

Of course, this was not really a close game, and there were few people, but it was still a very nice afternoon and SV Tasmania Berlin is definitely a club to visit for groundhoppers who want to go off the beaten track in Berlin.

BSG Wismut Gera — FSV Zwickau (25-06-2022)

 

After contracting COVID-19 one day before scheduled to go to Oslo and Stockholm, I have to reschedule everything and decide to self-isolate by driving around Central Europe and watch a few games (masked and several meters from anyone else). Unfortunately, there are only friendlies and many of these friendlies are not played at the home ground of the teams in question.

 

Fortunately, BSG Wismut Gera is celebrating its 70th birthday by playing a friendly at the start of the pre-season schedule against big neighbor, 3. Liga team FSV Zwickau. Although it can trace its origins back to 1904, the current club is a fusion team that only in 2009 was renamed BSG Wismut Gera, under which a predecessor had played in the first but mostly second tier of football in the German Democratic Republic. Currently, Wismut plays in the Thüringenliga, one of the state leagues that constitute the sixth tier of German football.

 

Wismut plays its games at the Stadion am Steg, which is tucked away next to a mishmash of roads, yet is still pretty hard to get to. It looks like an old athletic ground that was abandoned and then repurposed as a soccer stadium. It has only one (concrete) stand, , which has 7 rows with seats on only two of them. The other long side is just grass, but you can sit there too. Behind one goal is a big canteen and the VIP section. Officially, the stadium capacity is 7,000, although only 450 seats.

 

It is a beautiful day, very warm (27C), a bit cloudy, with a nice breeze. Between 300 and 400 people have come out for the game, mostly local, but also some 100 away fans (it’s only 50 km). The crowd is pretty mixed in terms of age and gender but also very white (like the town). Before the game there are real cannon shots fired and a local band plays.

 

In the 9^th minute a too easy Zwickau attack is shot at the goalie from 5 meter. Within one minute, the striker shoots low but too weak and the goalie saves again. He is going to be in for a busy afternoon.

 

It is a typical Testspiel (friendly); low pace, too big difference in quality, but not too many big chances or goals because the big team is still figuring things out. Somehow, I missed the first goal and then also the second goal, as I was taking a picture of the ticket. So, a good 20 minutes in and the score is 0-2.

 

A minute after the Wismut goalie saves a volley from 5 meters, he is unable to hit the ball out of the net as a cross is headed in from 5 meters in the 27^th minute. Two minutes later, after the first real good attack, a fast cross over right and a strong header from a totally free Zwickau striker, the score is 0-4. Six minutes later, terrible defense by Gera leads to a comical goal: 0-5.

 

A few minutes later a rebound is shot into wall of Zwickau players who are all offside, one scores, the linesman sleeps, and it is 0-6. In the 40^th minute another long Zwickau attack and a dribble in box is finished simply: 0-7. That is also the half-time score. Wismut had 0 chances, and its goalie made at least 5 good saves! No one seems impressed, not even the away fans.

 

In the 55^th minute Wismut gets its first “chance” but the player shoots soft and far over the goal. Two minutes later a Zwickau player goes alone at the goalie and shoots hard in the goal: 0-8. After that both teams exchange many players, which disrupts the flow of the game (as does the heat).

 

The visitors gets some more chances but don’t seem too concerned with scoring anymore. The hosts struggle on, while most supporters enjoy the beer and sun. Final score is 0-8. Unfortunately, the scoreboard is old school, which means that I can’t capture the score.

 

Obviously, the “game” wasn’t particularly good but I liked the chill atmosphere and the special occasion. Moreover, while it might not be the real “Wismut Gera,” I am happy to finally have seen the club, in some ways a relic of forgotten times.

 

FK Banik Most-Souš — FK Zlany (18-06-2022)

 

The first game of my three weeks in Europe during the extremely hot summer of 2022 takes me to Most, roughly in between Berlin and Prague, the two cities I have to be in. I meet up with my former student JW to see one of the few official games still to be played in Central Europe, albeit in the lower regions of Czech football. We meet up at Stadion Zdeňka Fibicha, which has one main stand, and a capacity of 2,500 people.

 

FK Banik Most-Souš is a small club from the city of Most in North Czechia, which plays in the  Divize B (Division B), the fourth tier of Czech football. It was founded in 1919, had many name changes along the way, and most recently (in 2020) merged with the successor to the defunct FK Banik Most, Mostecky FK, to be renamed FK Banik Most-Souš. The original FK Banik Most had been founded in 1909 and knew a relatively successful period in the 2000s, when it was owned by an Italian gas company. But, as so often, the success turned into disaster, and in 2016 the club was dissolved.

 

In the past years, FK Banik Most-Souš has largely replaced FK Bank Most, as the main team of the city, and many of the old clubs loyal supporters have migrated too. On this extremely hot Summer day, they celebrate winning the championship and promotion with their fans, by offering the first 500 glasses of beer for free.

 

We pay CZK 50 ($2) per ticket and join some 350-400 people, including about a dozen (East) German groundhoppers. Most of the fans are very local — the group of ultras (ca. 50) used to support FK Banik Most, and are celebrated by the players before kick-off.

 

In the first minutes it is clear that this is going to be a one-sided game, in which FK Banik Most-Souš wants to treat its supporters in its last game and Zlany doesn’t care (I don’t think there are any away supporters). Still, it is actually the visitors that score first. In the 9^th minute a beautiful shot from the penalty box comes back from the post, past the goalie, and is finished by a Zlany striker: 0-1.

 

The lead lasts two minutes. Then, a simple attack over left finds one of two free Banik strikers, who finishes easily in front of an open goal from 5 meters: 1-1. Time for the home fans to get their pyro going.

 

In the 18^th minute a Zlany defender shoots at a Banik attacker, the ball bounces to another striker who comes at the goalie, passes to another free attacker, who passes to yet another free striker, who shoots at goal and a defender uses his hand: red card and penalty. The penalty is easily scored (2-1) and the game is practically over.

 

In the 23^rd minute a Banik shot is stopped by a Zlany defender, goes high up in the air, and is volleyed low in the far corner from outside the box: 3-1. A few minutes later another Banik attack over left, low cross, headed out by a falling defender, and a free Banik player has all the time in the world to pick a far corner: 4-1.

 

At the half hour mark a high cross from the left finds a Banik striker, who stands in between two defenders who don’t move, and he easily puts it in the net from about 5 meter: 5-1. That is also the half time score.

 

Compared to the explosive first half, the second half is a bit pedestrian. In fact, Zlany has about as many half-chances as Banik in the first fifteen minutes. Then again, it is extremely hot (well in the 30s degrees Celsius) and soon the teams start to exchange many of their players.

 

In the 65^th minute a high cross from the right is volleyed into the goal from close range (the defender just ignored the ball): 6-1. In the next 3 minutes Banik hits the crossbar, and the rebound is headed over, as well as another volley from close by (same striker), but this time goalie saved.

 

In the 73^rd minute a long cross from the right is headed in from the far corner into the other corner of the goal: 7-1. That would also be the final score. Both teams seem fine with the score and it is simply too hot to do much more.

 

After the game, all the Banik players come to the main stand to celebrate the game and the championship with their fans. Although really small scale, the celebrations are pretty impressive, including the serious pyro of the ultras.

 

The afternoon ends with fireworks and undoubtedly a lot of more beer. All in all, an exceptionally nice game for such a low league. No doubt FK Banik Most-Souš will do well in the Third Division and will grow its local support further. Definitely a very good groundhop opportunity!

 

LSA Athlético Lanier - Georgia Storm SA (07-05-2022)

This is the season opener for the NPSL Southeastern Conference, which has only a 10 games season. Until a day before the game, there was no sign of the game outside of the general NPSL website — neither club has a particularly useful website.

 

The game is played at the Allen Creek Soccer Center, a large soccer complex with 10 or more pitches in the woods somewhat outside of Gainesville, GA. The home team, LSA Athlético Lanier (yes, they really write Atletico like that), also seem to go by LSA Sharks; at least, that is their url. They have been in the semi-professional National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fifth tier of US soccer, since 2020.

 

There is one long side with bleachers, no tickets, and seemingly no place to change clothes, as most players of the away team, Georgia Storm SA (not to be confused with Georgia Storm FC!) arrive at the same time as me, ca. 15 minutes before kick-off. They are all Hispanic, as are all but one of the officials, of which one is a woman, the referee — not uncommon at this level in the US.

 

 

It is a chilly May evening for Georgia. It is windy, clouded, and at best 15 degrees Celsius.  As so often, both clubs are soccer academies, which make their money from youth soccer and field a “pro” team for PR, mostly. Unsurprising, then, that there are only some 50 visitors, almost all families and friends of the players.

 

The pitch is real grass but in a poor condition. It is very dry with patches of sand. Refreshingly, the little boombox is so weak that you can barely hear the national anthem before the game. Much of the audience seems also unbothered by it.

 

 

The game is played mostly in between the two penalty boxes, with both teams having a hard time controlling and passing the ball. In the 20^th minute, after an obvious dive that is waved away by the referee, the visitors shoot from 25 meter just over the goal.

 

Overall, there is very little happening. The home team complains a lot, about virtually every rough push or tackle, while the visitors have most of the game. I am getting cold and hungry, so I decide to go and get some food just before halftime.

 

As the stadium is so remote, I have to drive almost 15 minutes to get something to eat – moreover, two places are closed, so I end up at Sonic (don’t ask!). As I return 15 minutes into the second half. I’m told that LSA Athlético Lanier leads 1-0, which surprises me, as they are clearly the weaker team.

 

In the last 30 minutes as little happens as in the roughly 40 minutes of the first half I see. The hosts continue to complain about anything to the referee – I seriously doubt they would also have done that to a male referee – while the guests mainly play but cannot really create good chances. In the end, it remains 1-0.

 

 

This game was overall pretty similar to the hundreds of pick-up games that are being played across the US, albeit with bleachers and a bit more friends and family. Absolutely nothing points at the existence of actual football clubs, let alone semi-professional football. This is the problem of the NPSL, which has some nice teams and venues, but mostly is soccer academies sporting a team to attract more kids. I don’t think I can do many more of these games.