Grün-Weiß Wuppertal (Germany)

 

Tus Grün-Weiß Wuppertal 89/02 is a sports club based in the Oberbarmen district of the North Rhine Westphalian German city of Wuppertal. The club was formed on May 1st 1902 and has a complicated history of name changes and mergers.

Initially formed as Barmer Männerturnverein, as a men’s gymnastics club before another local club, Sportfreunde Wichlinghausen joined forces which saw a name change to TSK 02 Barmen.

Meanwhile, another club, SV 09 Barmen, formed in 1909, joined forces with Oberbarmer TV in 1911 before merging with SSV Rittershausen in 1923 to form TuRa Barmen. This clubs’ handball department played at the highest national level of the sport.

A merger between TuRa Barmen and TSK 02 Barmen in 1945 saw the club become TSV Grün-Weiß Wuppertal. In 1947-48 the team won promotion to Bezirksklasse Niederrhein, which at the time was the equivalent of one of many third national level divisions.

1948-49 saw a further promotion, to Landesliga Niederrhein with the green and whites finishing runners-up in Gruppe 1 behind local rivals Cronenberger SC. The games between the sides were played at Stadion am Zoo and attracted crowds of 8,000 and 14,000.

Twelve months later the side finished third and then fourth in 1951-52 before a gradual decline eventually saw the club fail to retain their position in the newly created Verbandsliga Niederrhein for the 1955-56 season, remaining in Landesliga which dropped down a tier.

Grün-Weiß were demoted further to the Bezirksklasse a couple of years later. Worse was to come in the 1958-59 campaign as the team was relegated to Kreisklasse, the equivalent of the fifth level.

Dieter Fern offered some cheer to club regulars while in the junior set up in the early 60’s before heading to a future Bundesliga career with Kickers Offenbach and then Vfl Bochum. Other than that, it was a staple of local regional competition for many years to come.

In 1994, another local club TuS Grün-Weiß Blombacherbach joined forces with TSV Grün-Weiß Wuppertal to form the current TuS Grün-Weiß Wuppertal. Blombacherbach brought their own rich history to the table.

Formed in July 1889, they merged with TV Germania Laaken, formed in 1909, to create TB Laaken-Blombacherbach. Elsewhere in Wuppertal, FC Kemna was founded in November 1930 before they merged with TB Laaken-Blombacherbach to form TuS Grün-Weiß Blombacherbach in 1937.

An independent group of recreational footballers played at Blombacherbach, remaining with them when they went off to form SC Breite Burschen Barmen 1996 and creating a cult club with their own extended membership.

TuS Grün-Weiß Wuppertal stopped using Sportanlage Rauental in 2011 for their other sport departments, which included table tennis, badminton, pilates and gymnastics while football remained at Sportpark Höfen.

The junior football set up at the club flourished from the end of the previous century, as the junior set up at Borussia Dortmund spotted the promise of Grün-Weiß youngster David Vržogić in 1998 as he set out on his way to Germany under 19 caps and a flourishing club career.

Björn Kluft was picked up from the club junior section to join that of Bayer Leverkusen in 1999. Richard Sukuta-Pasu was another notable junior who made the move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2000.

Kolja Pusch followed a similar path to Kluft in 2005 at the start of an impressive career. The 2011-12 season saw the team rise from the Kreisliga to Bezirksliga Niederrhein, where they finished as runners-up in Gruppe 3 in 2012-13.

Former SV Wuppertaler star and Senegal international Jean-Louis Tavarez joined the club to strengthen the squad. The move worked as Grün-Weiß lifted the 2013-14 Gruppe 2 title. However, their place in the Landesliga lasted just one season as the side were relegated.

Luciano Velardi became team boss from 2015 as his team returned to Gruppe 2 of the seventh tier Bezirksliga Niederrhein. ended 2016-17 in seventh position in Gruppe 1 before being relegated in bottom place of Gruppe 2 after the departure of Velardi.

The 2018-19 season saw the team escape relegation in the eighth tier Wuppertal-Niederberg Kriesliga A play-offs before a promising fifth place finish in 2019-20 when the season ended early owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

The pandemic also ended the 2020-21 campaign early with Grün-Weiß sat in fifth position under trainer Andre Brieger.

TuS Grün-Weiß Wuppertal 89/02 will play in Niederberg Kreisliga A in the 2021-22 season.

My visit

TuS Grün-Weiß Wuppertal 2 Gehörlosen-Sportverein Düsseldorf 1916 3 (Friday 6^th August 2021) Friendly (att: c50)

Early in July 2021 it was leaked that an announcement would see Germany and the UK allowing visitors from either nation without the need to vaccinate afterwards, providing you had both C-19 vaccinations.

Not needing a second invitation, I jumped on the opportunity to grab return flights from Stansted to Köln Bonn Airport for just £20. I also booked an additional day off work and amended some personal appointments to make a long weekend of it.

As ever I had made some plans for matches and hotels, but it was a precarious hobby leading to several changes. Nonetheless, I was in good form when I headed to the airport after a good brekkie to soak up an excellent social the previous evening.

I was positive that I had filled in the correct forms online. It was nevertheless quite a good feeling when the Ryanair member of staff confirmed it as I checked in. The flight was on time. I’d spent a few quid extra on guaranteeing a window seat, which always helps me take a nap.

While I was one of the last off the flight, experience worked in my favour. I was also last on the first bus to take us to customs across the airport, meaning I’d be first off. It was an unusual feeling having my passport stamped for the first time in Europe, since the UK and left the EU.

The custom official asked me where I would be located and what was the purpose of my visit. I was through and free to enjoy. I got a move on through the large airport and headed for the station, even making an earlier train than intended.

Now it was time to head to Wuppertal, after changing trains at Köln/Deutz. I was being messaged by my Leverkusen based pal Marius who would be joining me. I had contacted other pals from the previous year, but all were busy or heading to other games.

My intended match when I drew up my list was SC Sonnborn v SuS Niederbonsfeld with a 7.30 kick off. I had called in at the host club on my previous visit to Wuppertal and fancied seeing a game there. Alas, they postponed earlier in the week.

Marius had come up trumps with an alternative 8pm start at Grün-Weiß Wuppertal. I hadn’t previously heard of them, like many sides in the region, but I was willing to learn. And their Sportpark Höfen ground looked like somewhere I’d enjoy.

Marius was waiting at the main station in the city. I headed off to the nearby four-star Flemings Express Hotel to check in. What a bargain it proved to be for just £38 for the night. The room was modern, spacious and the hotel in a perfect location.

Meanwhile, my mate said he had received a recommendation for a bar called Kippchen. Unbelievably, it was the same place I had used last time. It was busy the post work drinkers, as we caught up and enjoyed some fine Diebels pilsner.

All too soon it was time to board the train to travel a few miles west along the Wupper valley to Oberbarmen, which was also the terminus of the Schwebebahn. Unfortunately, there was no time for a ride on the upside-down monorail on this occasion.

Some locals were sat about drinking. Marius told me that Wuppertal had rather an earthy reputation. It was less than a ten minute walk along Höfen to the ground. As usual, admission was free for lower grade friendly matches.

The venue was indeed a cracker. It seemed to be built into a kind of former pit, with extremely high rock faces bordering the far side and behind the top goal. The main side had a decent open terrace, with facilities at the rear. All very photogenic.

I had even less of a club about this evening’s visitors. The excellent Fussball.de website didn’t offer any previous league details. Google Maps didn’t offer me any help. Gehörlosen was nowhere to be found.

Their veteran goalkeeper, who I’d guess was well into his fifties, was trying to set up the video camera next to us on the flat area outside the clubhouse next to us at the back of the terrace before someone from the club arrived to take command.

It was immediately apparent that we were not about to witness a top level encounter. Play was slow and mistake ridden on the artificial surface. Looking at the green and white’s schedule I think the game saw some trialists and lower ranked players getting a run out.

Within a few minutes, Grün-Weiß managed to miss two absolute sitters, the second of which had to be seen to be believed. Shortly after they managed to go ahead just as Palle arrived after a delay.

He was also a Bayer Leverkusen fan, who Marius was staying with in Wuppertal before they both had to get up at 5am the following morning to head to Lokomotive Leipzig to watch their side in the DFB Pokal, the German FA Cup. It would be their first permitted away game in nearly two years. It’s fair to say that they were looking forward to it.

We’d nearly finished our Warsteiner beer. Marius wasn’t impressed. I went for a walk round the ground to take some snaps before returning with more bottles. I mentioned that they also had Astra from Hamburg, which got short shrift. I didn’t mind either to be honest.

The club had tried to encourage fans along to their previous match with the promise of bratwursts and cold beer. It was therefore a slight disappointment that were no sausages tonight. Worse things have happed to me.

The away side drew level before the break and then took the game by the scruff of the neck after the restart with two quick goals. Their gaggle of fans seemed most polite. A few claps rather than any shouting. The cameraman confirmed that the club did not belong to a league and only played friendlies.

That was something we could not accuse the referee Michael Scholl of, as he gave the impression that he enjoyed being in control. He bellowed at any offenders as he ran the game without linesmen.

The longer the game went on, the louder he shouted. He had a proper go at the home coach, which was translated to me by my mates as “do you want me to show you a short cut to the showers?”.

Late in the day, the aging visiting custodian made a proper pig’s ear of trying to play out from the back and found a home forward with a wayward pass in front of an open goal. He made no mistake to make the score 2-3, but there would be no time for an equaliser.

No doubt there’d be better matches at Sportpark Höfen throughout the season. The lack of sausages or online players details or goal scorers on the usual web sources perhaps gave a view to the importance of the game. I was just happy to get my weekend underway at such a charismatic venue.

Palle kindly volunteered to drop me off back at the pub, doing his very best Wuppertal tourism bit along the way, explaining the city and pointing out some of the landmarks as we went.

The city bore a resemblance to many in West Yorkshire and East Lancashire, with a former textile industry but now with high unemployment and a dim view among locals of a high immigration rate. The Bayer chemical plant was originally from Wuppertal until expansion led to move next to the Rhine in Leverkusen.

We drove past the old home of Friedrich Engels, the prominent Marxist, and a site that was once a popular brewery but was now a nondescript building. I thought that the redeveloped city centre was quite impressive. Not unlike Bradford.

I was regaled with the take of Tuffi, the female elephant who fell from the Schwebebahn, which led to further reading a little later. The lads said that they would have joined me for more drinks but had a potentially huge day ahead of themselves. I’d be seeing Marius a few days later.

Baying farewell I headed back to Kippchen, where some of the previous crowd were by now well into a mega session. Inge, the amiable old lass in command who everyone seem to know had acquired a helping hand. 

I decided to put Gehörlosen into Google Translate to see if it had an Anglicised name. It sure did. It wasn’t a place. It means deaf, with the club catering for those with that condition. I wonder of the ref realised when he was shouting. It explained the sign language I had seen been used and the supporters being seemingly polite.

I was close to heading off, also mindful of a busy Saturday ahead. Then I made a new friend. This relative youngster had the unmistakable grin of someone who’d be suffering the following morning. His work tools were hanging out of his cargo trousers. He’d obviously been very thirsty after knocking off.

He was trying to chat to me but didn’t seem to understand that I was English and didn’t speak German. He just smiled and ordered me a beer, then another one and seemed happy enough clinking glasses and burbling away.

Then he bought me a shot, which you swallowed some orange powder, like sherbet first. When in Rome, as the saying goes. He tried to settle up with a €50 note. Inge helped him count out a huge pocket of coins instead. It was entertaining if nothing else.

I bought us both a large beer and paid my own bill which had been accumulating as they marked my beermat each time I ordered. It was a bar which offered characters and excellent value. It would be my local if I lived there.

Home for the night was no more than five minutes away. Fortunately, I’d prepared and had a beef roll waiting for my supper. What a great start to what would turn into a brilliant few days.