Urania 08 Gerresheim had been formed in 1908, merging with Turnverein Glashütte in 1915. From there the footballers split away to become Rasensport 08 Gerresheim, also referred to as VfR Gerresheim.
The club reached one of the two 1. Bezirksklassen Berg-Mark groups, one of several top levels of German football of the day after winning promotion in 1926-27 and remaining at that level for two seasons where a draw in a league game against Fortuna Düsseldorf was the highlight.
The side dropped down when the Berg-Mark section was reduced to one division, prior to regaining their place in the extended competition at the first attempt, remaining at that level for two more seasons.
Another club of the future partnership were Freie Turnerschaft Gerresheim whose history went back to 1901. The club competed in ATSB-Kreises, a competition of the workers' gymnastics and sports association.
FT Gerresheim defeated Bahrenfelder SV 3-2 to lift the Westdeutschland, West German, title of the competition in 1924 before being denied the national title after SV Stern Breslau won the replay 3-1 after a 1-1 draw with both games being played in Magdeburg.
In 1927 Lorbeer 06 Hamburg proved too strong with a 3-1 victory in the Nordwestdeutsche final after the ATSB-Kreises championship had been secured. The ATSB came to an end when the national socialists came to power.
In 1945 VfR Gerresheim, SV Glashütte and Freien Turnerschaft Gerresheim joined to form TuS Gerresheim.
The merger was a success as ‘die Gerresheimer’ won the Bezirksklasse Düsseldorf title in 1946-47 to be promoted to Landesliga Niederrhein, one of several second tier divisions of German football and the highest level of amateur football.
However, the team was relegated from Gruppe 2 in 1948-49 before finishing as Bezirksklasse runners-up in 1953-54 but then dropped down to Kreisklasse at the completion of the 1956-57 campaign. Gerresheim rallied to win promotion in 1958-59.
The team ended as Bezirksklasse runners-up to SV Ratingen 04 in 1961-62 under coach Willi Esser, remaining in the division as the clubs Am Amtsgericht home was refurbished and inaugurated with a match against Fortuna Düsseldorf which attracted a crowd of 3,000 in 1968.
TuS were relegated in 1969-70 while Klaus and Thomas Allofs who both went on to outstanding careers started out as juniors at TuS Gerresheim. Promotion from Kreisklasse was achieved in 1972-73 before being relegated in 1978-79.
Gerresheim returned to the Bezirksliga in 1988-89 under the leadership of Gerd Wünsche before dropping back down in 1990-91. A further promotion led to the 1997-98 season being spent in the Bezirksliga but the rise in status proved too much.
The team returned to the Kreisliga but won another promotion in 1996-97 while led by coach Peter Krafczewicz before dropping back down from the Bezirksliga. The first half of the decade of the new millennium was spent in the lower reaches of eighth tier Kreisliga A football before finishing third in the Gruppe 2 season of 2008-09.
The performance was replicated in 2009-10 before the team dropped back down the rankings for a few years before a fifth place was accrued in 2013-14 before an improvement of one place twelve months later.
Kreisliga A was down to one division in 2016-17 as TUS Gerresheim finished in third, which was backed up with another third place in 2017-18. Hakan Simsek and Felix Liesenhoff put away the goals as the team won the title in 2018-19 for the team led by Christian Schmitz.
Back in the seventh tier Bezirksliga Gruppe 1, Gerresheim finished sixteenth in 2019-20 when the season was curtailed owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus as Ömer Simsek ended as top scorer with Harald Becker as head coach.
TUS Gerresheim will play in Niederrhein Bezirksliga Gruppe 1 in the 2020-21 season.
My visit
TuS Gerresheim 2 Sportfreunde Gerresheim 0 (Saturday 8th August 2020) Friendly (att: 75)
It’s strange how you sometimes find yourself somewhere you have never thought of going or indeed even heard of as life progresses, but that was the position I found myself in on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.
The decision of the government department back in the UK responsible for spectators not being allowed to watch football right down to the eleventh tier of the national game had raised my ire somewhat.
Sometimes strange situations force you into action. I was prompted when reading the Non-League Matters forum to have a look at the German fixtures for the weekend on Thursday lunch. I already knew that crowds of 300 were permitted in the Nordrhein-Westfalen region.
All was sorted in next to no time. I’d messaged Marius Eve, a Bayer Leverkusen fan I’d met briefly in the Aldstadt before his sides match at Fortuna Düsseldorf a couple of years previously through the European Football Weekend group on Facebook.
He kept in touch on the Friday and we’d met at the TuRU Düsseldorf against SC Schwarz-Weiß 06 game which had a 1pm kick-off. Marius had messaged me to say he had found another game he was heading to in the city at 4pm.
This suited me fine. I had spotted a 4pm and 7pm matches around Duisburg but going to a game in company and trying to learn from a relative local is always high on my agenda. Markus, a local groundhopper and Borussia Dortmund fan had joined us at the first game.
A younger TuRU fan, Sebi, was also to head across town with us. The temperature was brutal, heading towards 40’, which in turn had made us thirsty. The beers from the fridge at the first game had done a decent enough job.
Sebi seemed keen to enter into the spirit of the day after joining us at full time and went on to buy four bottles of the fine local Schlosser Alt beer for the journey, which would be swigged occasionally under our face coverings.
My pals were on the ball to lead the way. The 706 tram from Volksgarten took us around to Lindemannstraße from where a short walk connected us with the above ground U73 service for the ten stops to Dörpfeldstraße.
It was a pleasant surprise that it was just a couple of minute’s walk along Heyestraße before the entrance to Am Amtsgericht appeared on the left hand side. The gates were open with no admission being charged. We had to write out contact details on a sheet to offer track and trace protection.
It was a neat and tidy set up with a large changing block and club building either side of the entrance. The clubhouse was set back from the pitch atop of some steep steps and a large area where fans were enjoying a good view under parasols.
Either side of the section was some grass banking. There was a small section of hard standing all the way around the artificial pitch, with high wire netting behind either goal to prevent stray shots leaving the ground.
More beers arrived as we sat to chat and enjoy the game while friendships grew. Marius spoke good English. Sebi and Markus made a great effort and were far better than I could possibly manage in German.
Another local came and sat near us joining in the conversation. The topic of food at games came up. Marius has visited the UK many times for football so was in full agreement that pies would be a welcome addition to wursts at German grounds. Once we explained what pies were to the others, they also seemed in favour.
Fortunately, we had shade from the clubhouse behind us, but it must have been stifling for the players who were giving it a good go in the derby, with just 500 metres between both clubs. The hilly forestry on the far side of the pitch offered a beautiful backdrop.
The hosts missed a few chances after Henrik Raschl had put them ahead after seven minutes. Referee Vadym Rudyy was keen to clamp down on any rough stuff, ending up showing a total of three yellow cards.
Both sides made what I think were rolling subs. It was certainly good enough stuff to take in, especially as I hadn’t envisaged seeing any football at all over the weekend. We continued to give the club some trade over the bar and generally enjoy our afternoon.
During the second half I went for a little walk to take some photos from the far side and make one of my occasional videos lamenting the value of people and friendships no matter where they are from or their background. It even made sense without beer when I reviewed it.
TuS sealed the game with a Felix Koß goal which was followed by the mid interval break for much needed fluids. The visiting keeper Marcel Stoppel continued to have a good game while the visitors missed a great chance to half the arrears towards the end.
Daniel Gießler and star man Calvin-Lee Klein had fine games for TuS while Sportfreunde coach Sven Schröder had reason to be satisfied with his side who were up against opponents from a higher level.
Any football club that produces their own beer mats go right up in my estimation and the locals seemed to be a friendly bunch. I also really liked the vibrant violet kit of TuS with the whole experience being of a higher quality than I expected.
At full time we headed to Gerresheim SBahn station where there was time for another smaller bottle of beer from the store that had a bar area at the rear. It was tempting to remain behind with Markus and Sebi, but common sense prevailed.
Marius and I headed back into town on the train. I managed to get home in time to watch England knock off the final 40 runs to win the cricket Test against Pakistan back at my room at Belle Etage on Morsestraße.
Unsurprisingly, I had a quiet Saturday evening after a nap, choosing to visit a nearby Italian restaurant I’d noticed when going out to the supermarket earlier in the morning. It would seem that at least one of the lads who’d carried on drinking was paying for it!
My pasty appearance must have alerted the staff when I chose the minestrone soup as a veritable array of vegetables came in the huge bowl. I’ve never had the soup including sprouts, but I was ready to eat the proverbial horse by that stage.
I stuck to a soft drink and enjoyed a fabulous fungi pizza as main course. I was about stuffed which possibly saved me. They were singing happy birthday to someone in the pub opposite.
Tempting though a party was, I figured I’d have struggled to fit in any cake, so I went for a walk round the block to try and aid some digestion before I decided to retreat to watch the snooker on German Eurosport back in my room.
It had been a fantastic lads afternoon out at the football, with great company. I may not have heard of Gerresheim before Saturday morning, but I would remember them for a long time to come. It was exactly what I needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment