Yes, at last it’s here, the moment you’ve been waiting for (or not): the latest Euro report. Apologies for the delay but as I am sure most of you will appreciate it has been a very busy time of the season with countless early kick-off opportunities and the odd bit of work to do in-between.
Having previously visited Deutschland on many occasions, Osterreich football-wise was virgin territory, although it was actually Ryanair that flew us from Stansted to Salzburg. Snow-peaked mountains provided a spectacular sight on arrival though the temperature was in the 70’s for most of the weekend.
Linz on the River Danube was our Friday evening destination. The Linzer Stadion – Auf der Guhl, with a capacity of nearly 21,500, is Austria’s largest club ground, but the team are struggling near the foot of the 10-team Ersteliga (second level).It’s a three-sided oval shaped ground round a running track. Continuous covered stands on the three sides. Permanent seating on the main side while the rest has terracing, but much of it with fold-up padlockable seats allowing the ground to become all-seater if required. The remaining end is dominated by the electronic scoreboard while the rocket like floodlight pylons in each corner are pretty impressive.
L.A.S.K. Linz achieved the league and cup double in 1965 but have won little else of note and need a few more points to be clear from the threat of relegation. Tonight Linz twice hit the woodwork with explosive long range shots but miss a sitter from a couple of yards before mid-table visitors Rheindorf Altach take the lead. Linz do manage to level but the game then peters out a bit, finishing 1-1.
Saturday afternoon brought a trip just over the border into Germany for an Oberliga – Bayern (4th Level) match between Passau and Wolfratshausen. The Drei Flusse Stadion is an impressive ground that was used during the 1972 Olympics. Another oval shaped ground round a running track. Bench seating in the main stand on the far side, flanked by open benches. Terracing at the ends, one of which has grass banking above the terrace and a high-level pathway above that, providing fine elevated views of the game. The near side has just two levels of flat hard standing with the jumping pits for the athletics curiously to the rear of this. 5 euros charged for admission with a free programme.
Passau are in the bottom half of the table but the away side are rock bottom and Passau proceed to a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory.
Plenty of time to cover the 85km. back to the Linz area of Austria for the night game. Pasching is a small place to the West of Linz although their Waldstadion ground is on an industrial estate 4km. from Pasching itself. To make matters worse the team have been re-branded with a silly sponsor’s name: FC Superfund.
With a capacity of less than 8,000 the Waldstadion is the smallest ground in the Austrian top flight. It was completed in 1990 but has since been upgraded to cope with Pasching’s rise to the highest level. It’s a conventional 4-sided ground, mostly covered and mostly seated, though there are areas of terracing at one end and for away fans, near the corner on one side. The main stand has a timber gabled roof but the rest has a very pre-fabricated appearance. Nonetheless, a pleasant ground with plenty of atmosphere, a little reminiscent of Rushden and Diamonds. 10 euros for a seat. No programme as such but an info. card with teams, league tables etc. and a club magazine are eventually sought out.
Parachutists provide pre-match entertainment, particularly the one that misses the landing zone in the centre circle and nearly decapitates an away player warming up at one end. Pasching (sorry, Superfund) were in this season’s UEFA Cup and currently 4th in the league, could well qualify again. They take the lead against Admira Wacker tonight but miss many chances to add to it, allowing the visitors to net an 89th minute goal and snatch a point.
Austria played a pivotal role in the development of the European game. Their 1902 meeting with Hungary was the first international staged outside the British Isles. In the 1930’s they won the International Cup, a Central European pre-cursor to the European Cup and in 1934 they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. They may have taken more of a back seat in recent times but a visit is highly recommended. There’s some stunning scenery and surprisingly to me, was not particularly expensive.
The highlight of our trip was still to come. On Sunday, TSV Munich 1860 playing LR Ahlen in the German Bundesliga II. The Grunwalderstadion was home to both Bayern and TSV up till 1972 when the Olympic Stadium was opened. TSV have twice returned to the smaller and more atmospheric Grunwalder, today being the last match of their latest stay, prior to moving along with Bayern to the new Allianz Arena next season.
The Grunwalder is in the Giesing district to the south side of Central Munich while the main club HQ with offices, bars, training pitches etc. is nearly a mile further up Grunwalderstrasse from the stadium itself. A little land train provides a pleasant ride through the woods between the two venues.
Smallish, old elevated main stand with glass screen ends at the centre of one side. Newer full length stand on the opposite side. Expansive open terraces at each end and alongside the main stand. Total capacity is approaching 28,000.
1860 claim more support than Bayern in Munich itself, but their glory years of the 60’s (1960’s that is) are long gone. In the space of three seasons then they won the league, cup and reached the European Cup Winners Cup final, losing 2-0 to West Ham at Wembley.
Following their latest relegation in 2003 they are now bidding for a return to the top level. Apart from being the last match of the season and the last match on the ground, TSV have to win to have a chance of going up (they need a better result than Eintracht Frankfurt who are one point better off) while Ahlen have to win to avoid relegation.
Had to pay a little more than the 12.5 euro face value ticket price with an excellent programme available for 1 euro.
The match is a cracker with both sides going all out for the victory they require. TSV 1-0 up, Ahlen score 2 in a minute (1-2), TSV level at 2-2, Ahlen miss a penalty but come back to lead again (3-2), Munich level once more (3-3) and finally Ahlen go 4-3 in front, this time hanging on for the win that preserves their top flight status. A fully deserved victory with their African striker Babacar N’Diaye in superb form. The away contingent celebrate wildly. 1860 are understandably more subdued, but a win would not have been enough for them anyway as Eintracht Frankfurt triumphed 3-0 in their final match.
Time for just one more beer, as produced by the Bavarian State Brewery, (founded 1040) who claim to be the oldest brewery in the World, before the drive back to Salzburg and the flight home.