SC Freiburg (Germany)

SC (Sportclub in full) Freiburg is a professional football club from the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany, whose history can be traced back to 1904. It was in that year that Freiburger Fußballverein 04 were formed.

Two months later FC Schwalbe Freiburg was born. They changed their name to FC Mars in 1905 and then Union Freiburg in 1906, while FV 04 Freiburg became Sportverein Freiburg 04 in 1909. The two separate clubs would eventually merge together in 2012 to form Sportclub Freiburg.

After World War One the club met an arrangement with Freiburger FC to play under the name KSG Freiburg to be able to field a full team. In 1919 SCF made an association with another local club FT 1844 Freiburg until 1928 when they left to enter a ground share arrangement with PSV (Polizeisportvereins) Freiburg 1924.

Two years later SCF were back with their old allies FT 1844 as PSV disbanded. In 1928 SC Freiburg reached the Bezirksliga Baden at their first home of the Winterer-Stadion and then the Gauliga Baden, which was one of sixteen top level leagues introduced by the ruling Third 

Reich. 

However, SCF were relegated in 1933-34. Two years later the club had to abandon their stadium as it was required for an airstrip for Luftwaffe. Following the end of World War Two the club were forced to change their name to remove any connection to the Nazi era

SC Freiburg became VfL Freiburg until 1950, when they were permitted to reclaim their identity. Two years later the club cut its ties once again with FT 1844 Freiburg as they played their football in the Amateurliga Südbaden.

In 1954 the club was given some land to the east of the city where they settled with the ground being named Dreisamstadion. Stands were erected on the south side in 1970.

Although the lesser club to neighbours Freiburger FC, SCF continued to build momentum and by 1978-79 they had reached 2. Bundesliga. A new Main Stand and expansions were added to celebrate to take the capacity of Dreisamstadion up to 15,000.

The 1992-93 season saw SC Freiburg promoted to the top flight for the first time as champions of 2. Bundesliga under head coach Volker Finke. After a close shave with relegation in their first season, they finished third in their second attempt. The club gained the nickname of Breisgau-Brasilianer; the Brazilians of Breisgau at that time. 

In 1994-95 SC Freiburg played in Europe for the first time as they qualified for the UEFA Cup. However, they went out in the first round to Slavia Praha. Within two years the team were relegated, but fought back at the first attempt. A new South Stand was erected to the stadium at the same time.

In 2000-01 the club had another taste of the UEFA Cup. This time they defeated MŠK Púchov and St Gallen before bowing out to Feyenoord in the third round. Unfortunately once again this led to relegation the following campaign, but once again they retained their status at the first attempt.

SCF continued in the top flight until 2005-06. On 20 May 2007, Volker Finke resigned as the club's coach after sixteen years in the job. Robin Dutt was the new incumbent into the job. Promotion was secured once again in May 2009. Christian Streich took over first team duties in 2012 as relegation looked on the cards.

SC Freiburg finished the 2013-14 season in fifth place to qualify for the Europa League. Had they beaten FC Schalke 04 on the final day of the season they’d have made the Champions League places. As it was their continental soiree ended with a third place in the group stage against Estoril, Slovan Liberec and Sevilla.

In February 2015 the citizens of Freiburg were asked to take place in a referendum to decide on whether the club should move to a new stadium. The vote was in favour of a new stadium at Wolfswinkel near to Freiburg's municipal airport.

A final day defeat at Hannover 96 in May 2015 relegated SC Freiburg once more with Streich’s side finishing in seventeenth place. With Mensur Mujdža as skipper Freiburg won the 2. Bundesliga title in 2015-16 as Maximilian Philipp set up the goals for Nils Petersen and Vincenzo Grifo.

On their return to the top flight, Breisgau-Brasilianer finished in seventh spot with Florian Niederlechner topping the scoring prior to Julian Schuster taking the captain’s armband in 2017-18 when the team narrowly avoided the drop.

SC Freiburg-Stadion takes shape

Mike Frantz led the team on the pitch for the 2018-19 campaign, in which Freiburg improved slightly to thirteenth position as Alexander Schwolow did his bit while in goal. The new SC-Freiburg-Stadion had begun construction across the city.

The 2019-20 looked to mark the final season at Schwarzwald-Stadion with Streich continuing as head coach. The team narrowly missed out on a Europa League place as proceedings had been earlier suspended for a time owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SC Freiburg will play in the Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

SC Freiburg 1 VfL Bochum 3 (Saturday 15^th August 2015) 2. Bundesliga (att: 23,700)

It wasn’t always in my plans to include a game at Freiburg in my footballing jaunt in Baden-Württemberg. Originally I marked down the opening Bundesliga clash between Augsburg and Hertha BSC. However, travelling time and the potential of a later game on Saturday tea time along with a far better ticket price tempted me to Freiburg, as they were only charging €10.50 for a standing place on the Nordtribune.

The train from Karlsruhe arrived a couple of hours before kick off, so I filled in some time by going to have a look at the homes of SF Eintracht Freiburg and Freiburger FC. I caught the U3 tram from Rohrgraben, which had several SC clad fans on board. I followed their lead and jumped off at the next stop; Bissierstraße.

Within minutes an empty football special tram had arrived so I got a seat on the journey of nearing forty minutes. The line ran right through the centre of the old town with many narrow streets and congested traffic. Freiburg was not unlike the centres of York or Chester. Eventually we arrived at the Römerhof stop.

The walk up to Schwarzwald-Stadion as the stadium was now called under a sponsorship deal was through narrow residential streets. I could see why the club may want a move. My gate was at the far end. I managed to get through the narrow gap left by the police vehicle cordon and went down the passage behind the Osttribune.

Within a minute I was frisked and inside with time to buy myself a sausage and a beer. It only came to €5.40 with €1 being a deposit on the hard plastic cup. I wandered round to the front of the Stehplatze Nord to take in the view.

My terrace was one steep block of medium size and was already very busy. The opposite end Sudtribune had seats upstairs with seating below, not unlike a stand at Loftus Road. The visitors of Bochum were in the left corner in their blue and white finery. 

The left hand side Osttribune was a large single seating block slightly raised above pitch level and stood back from the touchline. The final main side Haupttribune was also a single tier of raised seating, but a bit smaller than its opposite. It contained the offices and the facilities.

With another beer in hand I set about finishing a decent vantage point. I was moved from an aisle position near the back so I went near to the lower corner. I was moved by a helpful steward who spoke perfect English and I ended up on the back of the wide second step so I didn’t obstruct anyone else’s view but I could also see. The high fences at the front weren’t a major help but it was compensated by the super atmosphere.

The first half of the game was a tight tactical battle between the top two sides in the division. Both were nullifying the others attacking moves with defenders in control. As the half time board was displayed by the forth official I headed to the back of the stand for another beer and more wonderful sausage.

I just had the impression as the second half got under way that Bochum looked just that little bit more incisive and physically stronger. They had an extra half yard in their step. The turning point of the game undoubtedly came on fifty seven minutes. 

Mensur Mujdža the Breisgauer centre back was adjudged to have used his elbow on Bochum forward Simon Terrode when challenging for a header by referee Peter Sippel. He decided it was a yellow card offence, and with Mujdža already cautioned he had to take an early bath. Terrode rapidly recovered.

Within five minutes the visitors from the Ruhr were celebrating as Onur Bulut cleverly lobbed home as the ball bobbled around the Freiburg area. With twenty minutes left on the clock a textbook goal put Bochum in total control. Marco Terrazzino countered down the left flank and crossed to the far side of the area, where Bulut controlled and set up Terrode who slotted home.

Although the home fans kept up their excellent support throughout but Terrode went a long way to quietening them down with eight minutes remaining when he smashed home from outside the box. I thought it a good shot. 

Many home fans seemed to be of the opinion that their goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow should have kept it out. Some headed for the exits, but those remaining loyal were given hope a minute later.

Full back Marc Torrejón scored with a fine effort from twenty yards into the top corner. Suddenly the home side looked like they may break down the tight Bochum rearguard. Substitute Karim Guédé was causing problems with his movement.

However, the task was made much harder as Torrejón received a straight red card for raising a foot going for an areal challenge. I’m not sure it was worthy of a sending off, but the visiting players and bench and reaction surely helped the referee make up his mind.

Freiburg tried until the end but Bochum ended as deserved winners. I headed off as quickly as I could behind the stadium as I still wanted to look at another couple of nearby venues before my train out of town.

To see a clip from inside the ground prior to kick off, click here:

SC Freiburg II (Germany)

SC Freiburg II are the reserve team of SC Freiburg from Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The team began life as SC Freiburg Amateure until 2005. They originally played in the lower amateur divisions before reaching the fourth tier Verbandsliga Südbaden in 1982-83.

Relegation came three years later, but returned in 1993-94. In 1997-98 the team won promotion to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg after a league championship in the Verbandsliga. Another league title in 1998 took the team to the Regionalliga Süd.

IN 2000 the senior club bought the Möslestadion from local neighbours Freiburger FC for the use of SCF II, junior sides and the ladies team. In 2000-01 the team lifted the Südbadischer Pokal, South Baden Cup.

In 2002 the league was changed to Regionalliga Südwest, where SCF II remained. At the end of the 2012-13 season the side finished as runners up but declined the opportunity to contest in the promotion rounds for a place in 3. Bundesliga.

After a mid table finish Freiburg ended in the relegation places in 2015-16 to drop down to the fifth tier Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. The title was won at the first attempt prior to the team making a mark upon their Regionalliga return with fourth place in 2017-18 as Christoph Daferner top scored for the team coached by Christian Preußer.

A seventh place was achieved in 2018-19 before Freiburg ended the suspended 2019-20 campaign just above the relegation play-offs when the Coronavirus struck.

SC Freiburg II will play in Regionalliga Südwest in the 2015-16 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

As I had attended the 2. Bundesliga match between SC Freiburg and VfL Bochum it would have been remiss not to go and have a look at the Möslestadion, which was across the other side of the railway line and main road out of town. I wandered down Gerbertstraße and then over the footbridge.

I saw some gents going in through the locked gates and I managed to grab their attention. They were most amiable and hung around for me to take photos to let me back out.

The arena looked like it could well have had a running track around the pitch at one time. The grass over the disused terracing behind the ends certainly gave that impression with their curvature. The railway side had several rows of shallow open terracing, whereas the far side had an excellent old grandstand with a raised seating deck and the football school and facilities downstairs.

It was a fine arena. I just found it a little sad that the original owners Freiburger FC were no longer in residence. I departed to try and catch a tram from the Hasemannstraße stop back to the Hauptbanhof. This was not an easy task, but one I managed after persuading a local spotty Herbert that I was getting on board. It was a test of temperament!

PTSV Jahn Freiburg (Germany)

PTSV Jahn Freiburg, or Postsportverein Jahn Freiburg, to give their full title is a sports club from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in southern Germany which has sections for billiards, recreational sports, health, ninepins, lacrosse, athletics, tennis, table tennis, gymnastics, snow sports and hiking, youth development, volleyball as well as football.

The club was formed as Turnverein Jahn Freiburg in April 1923 with members quickly signing up. The football section was started in 1927 with Freiburger FC giving the club land for Jahnstadion in 1928. 

Three years earlier another club, Postsportverein Freiburg had been formed. They joined forces with PTSV in 1937 to make up Postsportverein Jahn Freiburg. The future of the Jahnstadion was secured financially.

The military forces took over the ground during World War II, but it was returned to the club in 1947. Over the years the club took as much pride in their social achievements as trophies won as they have introduced folk dancing, singing and amateur theatre games, along with  recreation, vacations,  youth camps, international youth exchanges and visits to attractions.

By 2003 PTSV had over 150 qualified coaches in thirteen different sports. The football team continued to play at an amateur level and boasted one of the biggest football sections of any sports club in the district.

The team played the 2003-04 campaign in Kreisliga A, Staffel 2; one of numerous ninth tier leagues in the national system, where they ended in eighth place. An improvement to fifth came in 2005-06 which was replicated the following season before fourth place in 2007-08.

PTSV finished as runners-up in 2009-10 before a couple of fourth places. In 2012-13 the club were crowned as Kreisliga A2 champions as they climbed to Bezirksliga Freiburg where they finished in seventh. However, the team was relegated in 2015-16.

After a season of consolidation PTSV finished fourth in Kreisliga A2 in 2017-18 as Fabian Kunitzky scored the goals for the side coached by Ray Wusu. 2018-19 saw an improvement of one place.

When the 2019-20 season was abandoned owing to the Coronavirus outbreak the team were in tenth place as Kunitzky continued his fine work.

PTSV Jahn Freiburg will play in Kreisliga A Staffel 2 Freiburg in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

Once I earmarked going to the 2. Division game between SC Freiburg and VfL Bochum the next step was to check out the various maps and websites such as the excellent Kicker and newly found Europlans sites to see which other clubs played in the city so I could enjoy my trip further and to broaden my knowledge.

One club I found was placed most conveniently a hundred metres or so from the Dreisamstadion home of their big neighbours. I came out from my game round the north end of the stadium along the bank of the Dreisam river and then straight to the entrance and clubhouse of PTSV Jahn.

Having been involved in and seeing how hard smaller clubs have to work to survive, it’s always good to see them use ways to make money. This was certainly the case at the club as it opened up its facilities to fans going to the big match. The clubhouse seemed busy, but so was the forecourt with a plethora of traditional local food and beer stalls.

The main pitch was pretty basic but again it optimised all options with its artificial pitch to ensure maximum play. All around were further facilities for other sports including tennis and beach volleyball courts as well as an eight lane 400m running track and field. It really was a great example of community facilities.

I headed off, despite the temptation of a nice lazy afternoon to look for ventures new.

FC Emmendingen (Germany)

Fußball-Club Emmendingen 1903 e.V. is an amateur football club from the town of the same name located around eight miles north of Freiburg im Breisgau.in the German region of Baden-Württemberg. The football club was formed in 1903 as FV Emmendingen.

In 1956 FV Emmendingen joined forces with another local club SV 1921 Emmendingen to produce FC Emmendingen. Within a year they had progressed to the Amateurliga Südbaden before going on to further success in the 1960’s by becoming league champions in 1962-63 and 1963-64.

The second victory led to promotion to the second tier of German football in the Regionalliga Süd via the play offs. However, the team struggled massively and went straight back down to the Südbaden.

Emmeningen lifted the Südbadischer Pokal, South Baden Cup in 1965-66 as they went to a couple of runners-up league places before the decade was out. Their third championship was added in 1970-71 as they went on to lose in the play off final to reach level two once again.

As the 70’s progressed the clubs performances were less predictable. In 1978-79 they were relegated to Verbandsliga Südbaden. A further demotion came to Landesliga Württemberg before they returned to the fourth tier in 1984-85.

A second Südbadischer Pokal was lifted the following year leading to Emmeningen’s first ever appearance in the DFB-Pokal. 1. FC Köln won the first round clash 4-0 at Elzstadion. A third cup win in 1987-88 gave another go in the DFB-Pokal. 

This time the reward was a trip to Berlin to face BFC Türkiyemspor 1978. Emmeningen won 2-0 but the run ended with a 3-1 home defeat to SV Wehen in the second round.

The Verbandsliga Südbaden title was collected in 1988-89 leading to promotion to Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. After several season at the new level Emmeningen finally succumbed and went back down to the Verbandsliga before climbing back to the Oberliga in 2005-06.

Unfortunately the team suffered consecutive defeats to find themselves in the Landesliga in 2008-09. Promotion was sealed in 2010-11 but Emmeningen were went straight back down after a last place finish.

In the sixth national level Verbandsliga Südbaden, Emmendingen finished last once again to suffer a second successive relegation, this time to find themselves in Landesliga 2, where they ended in third place in 2012-13.

Three disappointing seasons followed before a fifth place brightened the mood in 2016-17. Sebastian Schmidt top scored in the eleventh place ending of 2017-18 before Emmendingen went down once again in 2018-19.

In the eighth tier Bezirksliga Freiburg, the team were in third place when the 2019-20 season was aborted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic after Marko Radovanovic and Tim Baumer had put the goals away for coach Mario Rombach’s outfit.

FC Emmeningen will play in the Landesliga Südbaden in the 2015-16 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

One of the reasons I chose the lunchtime game at nearby SC Freiburg was that I could perhaps take in a tea time Bezirksliga game in Emmeningen on the way back to my base in Stuttgart. Whilst researching on Google Maps I also noticed a fine looking venue apart from where I intended to watch my match.

The game I was going to attend was between SG Wasser/Kollmarsreute and Neuenburg. There seemed to be some confusion over where the match was played. I decided that it was likely to be at a venue I spotted on Am Sportfeld.

Train booked for 6.40pm to Stuttgart I set off on a packed train with my rucksack from Freiburg. I was not upset when we pulled into the station at Emmeningen. Many other got off including many fed up Freiburg fans.

I headed under the railway and to my match destination, only to find nothing more than an open playing field, which was totally deserted. The block I saw on the maps turned out to be a church hall rather than the changing rooms and bar. 

The match was taking place at the other ground I’d spotted back in Kollmarsreute. I could have got there with a stiff walk down the pleasant looking path by the bank of the River Elz, but I was starting to ache. I’d had a good day. It was nearly time to kick back and relax.

I continued up Am Sportfeld past the very classy looking Grun Weiss Tennis Club who were advertising an open bar and Sky TV. Further on was an open air swimming pool and just past the car and camper park on the other side of the road I found Elzstadion.

Immediately it was easy to see that the club had played at a good level even though the metal gates were locked. I still got a good view inside.

The near end was grass banking. The nearside had a few steps of open terracing with a large gazebo towards the far end for fans wishing to take cover while enjoying their traditional matchday fare. 

A few steps of wooden benches were built into the banking behind the far goal while the far side had a fine Main Stand with a raised seating deck flanked by open standing. The clubhouse was just past the entrance at the top end.

It nearly drew me in. I was on the steps about to venture into the bar, but realising my tiring state and the distance to the station I decided to head back to the town centre. It had looked decent on the brief look I got from the train. It turned out to be an inspired choice.

The Fux’ N bar was advertising live Bundesliga and they had a choice of local beer. I ended up with a wheat beer and settled down to the German version of Soccer Saturday where live football is shown but in two minute slots as it switches around the grounds, before heading back if there’s a goal in another game. It’s a bit confusing if you’ve never seen it before.

The market square looked like it was gearing up for some kind of festival as a stage and sound system was being put in place. Several stalls selling food and different drinks were on the cobbles, while the neat streets leading to the square also had stalls including the old fairground favourite games for the kids.

With  time still to kill I wanted to be a bit closer to the station. I found a perfect bar who were showing the build up to the evening game between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach with the familiar face of Dietmar Hamman as one of the pundits.

After three swift refreshing beers it was time for some food. I had one of the best frikadellen I’d ever tasted. The spicy meat burger had been fried to perfection.

I left Emmeningen both full and happy. I was happy that my train was terminating in Offenburg where I had to change as I enjoyed a little nap. It was around 9.15 when I eventually reached the Attimo Hotel in Stuttgart. I arrived thirty hours later than I had planned but it was worth every minute of an unexpected detour.

Karlsruher SC (Germany)

Karlsruher Sport-Club is a German sports club whose football team are the most prominent feature. The club was formed originally as Karlsruher Fussball Club Phönix, formed on 6 June 1894 by dissatisfied members of the gymnastics club Karlsruher Turngemeinde.

They soon became a prominent club playing in Südkreis-Liga, where they won the title in 1908-09, going on to become national champions by defeating Viktoria 89 Berlin 4–2 in the championship final.

In 1912, Phönix merged with KFC Alemannia to form KFC Phönix, Phönix Alemannia. As Phönix Karlsruhe the club became members of Gauliga Baden, which was one of sixteen top flight divisions created by the ruling Third Reich.

The club had a moderate record, with a relegation and then an immediate return over the war years before Phönix joined the newly formed Oberliga Süd once the conflict was over. In the second season, Phönix were demoted.

Throughout this early period a couple of other clubs had appeared on the local scene that would eventually come together. 1. FV Sport Mühlburg and Viktoria Mühlburg had merged to form FC Mühlburg in 1905. Meanwhile FC Germania and FC Weststadt joined together to form VfB Karlsruhe in 1911. FC Mühlburg and VfB Karlsruhe would in turn merge to form VfB Mühlburg in 1933.

The clubs that had merged to form VfB Mühlburg hadn’t really achieved a great deal but as one they were awarded a place in Gauliga Baden. After the war they slipped, but then won the Oberliga Süd in 1946-47. In 1950-51 they came third in the national championships.

On the 16^th October 1952 VfB Mühlburg merged with KFC Phönix to form Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V.

The newly united club was an immediate success. In 1954-55 they lifted the DFB-Pokal German Cup with a 3-2 win over FC Schalke 04 in front of 25,000 fans in Braunschweig with goals from Ernst Kunkel, Kurt Sommerlatt and Oswald Traub.

At the same time the club moved into the newly built Wildparkstadion. Karlsruher retained the trophy with Ludwig Janda in charge of the team. This time they defeated Hamburger SV 3-1 as 25,000 cheered them on at Wildparkstadion thanks to two goals from Bernhard Termath with Spitz Kohn adding a third.

Oberliga Süd championships were won in 1955-56, 1957-58 and 1959-60. The last celebration was nearly converted into a double, but KSC went down 3-2 to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Pokal final. The clubs’ fine record led to a place in the newly formed Bundesliga in 1963.

Following a few seasons of struggle, Karlsruher were relegated to Regionalliga Süd in 1967-68. They lifted the title in 1968-69 before two runners-up places in the following two seasons. Another second place came in 1972-73. On each occasion the side fell short in the promotion rounds.

Karlsruher were placed in the newly formed 2. Bundesliga Süd in 1974-75, which was won at the first attempt to return to the top flight for the 1975–76 season as Bernd Hoffmann put the goals away.

The team went back down in 1976-77 where Emanuel Günther became the new scoring hero. A runners-up place in 1979-80 led to a 6-4 aggregate play-off win against Rot-Weiss Essen to secure a return to the top flight.

How Wildparkstadion will look when completed

Karlsruher lasted three seasons in the Bundesliga before being relegated in 1982-83. The team returned as second tier champions twelve months later with Wolfgang Schüler joining in with goals alongside Günther under coach Werner Olk.

However, the jump proved too much as KSC went down after just one season. In 1986-87 the team returned to the Bundesliga as runners-up with the assistance of the goals of Rainer Schütterle.

This time the team consolidated for a few seasons. New coach Winfried Schäfer KSC progressed. A fine 1992-93 campaign led to a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season. Karlsruher defeated PSV Eindhoven, Valencia CF, Girondins Bordeaux and Boavista before going out at the semi-final stage to Austria Salzburg on away goals.

To see the action from the amazing 7-0 victory over Valencia during the run, click here:

Karlsruher continued to put in strong Bundesliga performances, which led to two more UEFA Cup runs, reaching the third round both in the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. They also reached the DFB-Pokal Final in 1995-96, but lost the showpiece in Berlin 1-0 to 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Schäfer was fired in March 1998 after a fine run at the club. Sadly they were relegated at the end of that season. A terrible 1999–2000 season played under dire financial circumstances dropped them down to the Regionalliga Süd, from where they bounced back at the first attempt.

In 2006-07 KSC won 2.Bundesliga with three games remaining to return to the highest echelon of the German game. They lasted just two seasons before being relegated to the second tier once again. A further demotion down to Regionalliga Süd came at the end of the 2011-12 season, but once more KSC fought straight back.

The 2014-15 season ended in agony for Karlsruher. They ended the season in third place in 2. Bundesliga. This awarded them a play-off match for a place at the top table against Hamburger SV who had finished third from bottom in the top division. In the first leg at Volksparkstadion, KSC scored a vital away goal in a 1-1 draw. 

In the return game a goal from Reinhold Yabo in the second half looked to have sealed promotion for Markus Kauczinski’s side. However HSV equalised in stoppage time before winning the game in extra time.

Tomas Oral lasted a few months as coach from the summer of 2016 before being replaced by Mirko Slomka and then Marc-Patrick Meister as a calamitous 2016-17 campaign saw KSC go down in bottom place.

The team regrouped and finished third in the 3. Liga season of 2017-18 with Fabian Schleusener top scoring after Alois Schwartz had taken over as coach. Karlsruher lost 3-1 on aggregate to FC Erzgebirge Aue in the play-offs.

Marvin Pourié put away the goals in 2018-19 as KSC won promotion in second place while work began on demolishing Wildparkstadion in bits to completely rebuild it as a 34,000 seated stadium minus the running track but allow the team to remain during the works.

Philipp Hofmann scored goals on the clubs return to 2. Bundesliga in the 2019-20 season as the team avoided the relegation play-off on goal difference with Christian Eichner being appointed as coach just before the interruption for the Coronavirus outbreak.

Karsruher SC will play in 2. Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

When I turned up at Gatwick Airport for a night’s sleep before a weekend jaunt to Stuttgart on the Thursday night, I had absolutely no thoughts of visiting the Wildparkstadion. Indeed, the most I expected to see of the city of Karlsruhe was a quick drink between drinks on the journey to Freiburg and back. How little I knew!

Having missed the flight to my intended destination, which was entirely my fault. I now had to resolve the situation. There were no available seats to Stuttgart until the Sunday. I used my geographical knowledge plus Easyjet and DB Bahn (german Railways) Apps on my IPhone to dig myself out of what would be an expensive hole.

Having managed to secure a seat on an afternoon flight just over the border in Strasbourg, I phoned my hotel to defer my booking until the Saturday night. I then booked a room in Karlsruhe for the evening to cut down on the train journey on both days. This would give me an evening and a couple of hours the next morning in a new city to me.

Ironically the train that would require a change in Offenburg, went straight past the Stade de la Meinau home of RC Strasbourg Alsace, who had a home fixture later in the evening. I could have got a game in to replace the fixture I was missing between 1.FC Heidenheim and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Strasbourg was duly added to my must do list.

The taxi driver at Karlsruhe station seemed intent on giving me a city tour, though to be fair much of the centre was hampered by road works as an underground tram system is installed to free up the traffic. Eventually I found the City Hotel, where my room was clean and basic but the welcome very cordial.

The city had a beautiful castle in front of fine old buildings and I found a superb light show accompanied by music on the Schloss walls. Plenty of locals were also taking in the spectacle. To round off a long but fascinating day I came across the Badisch Brauhaus on Stephanienstraße. I tried their dark (dunkel) beer and did my puzzles before retiring for the evening.

I was up and about at 8am the following morning. The welcome at breakfast was just as welcoming. The hotel really did employ helpful and polite staff. I left my bag on reception before heading off on a walk in the sunshine.

The Schloss looked just as pretty in daylight with its golden walls. It was set around lots of lawns and parks. With museums and the city’s university bordering the land. I continued using the map from the hotel and cutting through the campus to where I presumed I’d find the Wildparkstadion.

I was pretty sure I was heading in the right direction and was about to continue, when I saw the magnificent sloping floodlight pylons to my left though the trees of the forestry. Needing no second invitation I was soon on the right path. Regular signposts were a help.

It turned out that the gates to the stadium’s outside perimeter were open with workmen carrying out tasks in various outbuildings. I walked up the steps to the back of the curve behind one of the goals. The wire gate to get down into the spectator areas was closed but I had a perfect view of the arena.

Wildparkstadion was like so many stadiums I grew up watching on TV as British clubs went overseas to try and secure results in the European competitions. The four corner floodlight pylons leant over open covered ends curved behind the 400m running track. Each end had centre sections for seating with terracing at either side. 

The Main Stand was two tiered seating, while opposite the cover was the same height as the terrace with seating behind the terracing. A huge scoreboard was behind the goal at my end. It was a proper old school continental ground.

Part of my plan was to also get some photos of the reserve team arena as well as the other pitch that Google Maps picked out. They l;ooked to belong to a local club. As it was I decided to head back along the correct path and thank my blessings that I’d had an unexpected bonus.

After picking up my bag I was soon on the tram down to the station to jump on board for a ride down to my lunchtime game at Freiburg.

Karlsruher SC 3 Arminia Bielefeld 2 (Sunday 29^th January 2017) 2. Bundesliga (att: 13,145)

With my appetite being wetted after my earlier visit to Karlsruhe, I didn’t hesitate to head south from Bonn, where I’d stayed the previous the night, to take in a match. I had two travel options. I could either go by train, which was quicker but expensive, or use FlixBus. 

Having used this company quite happily in France, I had no problems with them. Sure enough my service picked me up on time and gave me a comfortable ride down the Autobahn and through the Black Forest, arriving at my destination around fifteen minutes behind schedule.

I could have just about made it to the Wildparkstadion for the 1.30pm kick off by tram and a very brisk walk; but I decided to take a taxi, which probably proved to be a sensible move as the stadium was further than I thought.

The ring road around the park had cars parked up either side. My driver dropped me a couple of hundred yards short of the turnstiles where the police had set up a pedestrian zone. I grabbed a programme for €1 and soon found my correct entrance.

I’d booked my €20.90 ticket and printed it online with my choice being made with the knowledge of my previous look, knowing I’d be in the stand nearest the road. It really was an old school venue which reminded me of entering the old Long Side at Burnley’s Turf Moor in my younger days.

Facilities were just inside the gates with entrance to the stand being up steep steps on a grass bank. Once inside it wasn’t any more modern. There was a wide concourse at the back before the seats and then a terrace led down to the track. 

There was another smaller tier on top of my location. Although each ticket had a seat number, it was possible to move along into any vacant places.

The teams came out to a fantastic reception from the home fans in front of me, who had choreographed a fantastic show with ticket tape and banners, which were removed before kick off. The few hundred hardy visitors from Bielefeld were in the corner to my left.

To take a look of my view of proceedings, click here.

It was the first game in charge for new KSC coach Mirko Slomka. What he made of the first half goodness knows, but it wasn’t the best. Proceedings weren’t helped by the shortage of beer in the kiosks.

Whether there’d been some sort of delivery issue I’m not sure, but I ended up going back downstairs and halfway round the back of the far goal before I found anywhere. Many fans were not best pleased and gave up. I didn’t miss too much on the pitch.

Both sides were at the wrong end of the table, and this was reflected in the standard of the play. I’d seen Arminia ship four goals at Dusseldorf earlier in the season, and they seemed to have done some work with their defence, but goal mouth action was sparse.

Six minutes after the break it was the visitors who went ahead when Reinhold Yabo set up his skipper Fabian Klos to score. Jordi Figueras made it 1-1 just after the hour mark when he headed home a corner from Moritz Stoppelkamp.

Three minutes later the game was lit up by a brilliant goal from Dennis Kempe as he pulled off an outrageous piece of skill to go past Julian Börner and fire a tremendous shot into the top corner of the net which left the Arminia custodian Wolfgang Hesl without a chance.

The home fans were naturally delighted, but they were put in check as Bielefeld fought back to level when Tom Schütz scored with a direct free kick to make it 2-2 and complete a frenetic period which had spurned three goals in five minutes.

Hiroki Yamada was pulling the strings for Karlsruher in midfield as they searched for a valuable winner. He sent through Boubacar Barry but keeper Hesl forced him wide and the chance was gone.

Arminia had a good shout for a penalty turned down before Stoppelkamp fired in a low cross that defender Tomasz Holota scuffed to the feet of Erwin Hoffer who fired home to make it 3-2 with just eight minutes of normal time remaining.

Both sides had opportunities in the final few minutes, but KSC hung on for a valuable three points. Although the second half was not too high on quality, it had provided plenty of excitement and entertainment.

At full time I put on a steady pace to walk around Adenauerring to Durlacher Tor from where I took a tram back to Karlsruhe Hauptbanhof where I had time to grab some refreshments before my train to Mainz to watch the match between Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund.