RB Leipzig (Germany)

RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V., or RB Leipzig as they are more commonly known is a professional club from the former East German city of the same name who were formed in controversial circumstances on the 19th May 2009.

Entrepreneur Michael Kölmel, the owner of the Zentralstadion, needed a regular club playing at his venue. Energy drinks manufacturer Red Bull was looking for another club to join Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Brasil in their portfolio.

Red Bull had initially looked into such a development in 2006 by purchasing FC Sachsen Leipzig. After months of fan protests which deteriorated into violence, the company abandoned the plan.

A deal was struck, with the Leipzig outfit purchasing the playing license of the top four men’s teams at nearby SSV Markranstädt. Weed killer was thrown on the pitch at Stadion am Bad and advertising boards were vandalised in protest, but things never got too far out of hand.

Markranstädt rebuilt and began again through regional football, happy with the deal. The new club hit a snag, as the DFB German FA refused sponsorship names in a club title. To get around this RasenBallsport was chosen because it is often shortened to RB. Zentralstadion became the Red Bull Arena through sponsorship.

Once registered, RB purchased four youth teams from the then insolvent FC Sachsen Leipzig, with encouragement from the Saxon Football Association (SFV). The move allowed Sachsen to rebuild. 

Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of Red Bull GmbH, spoke of playing in the Bundesliga within eight years and eventually to become the first club from the city to lift the German title since VfB Leipzig in 1913.

RB were placed in the fifth tier NOFV-Oberliga Süd for the 2009-10 season with former SSV Markranstädt coach Tino Vogel in charge of the team. The team lifted the title, but Vogel was replaced for the following season by Tomas Oral. Chemnitzer FC were defeated in the final of the Sachsenpokal, but the board still made another coaching change, with Peter Pacult arriving.

The Regionalliga Nordost was won in 2012-13 along with the Sachsenpokal as Chemnitzer were seen off once again in the Red Bull Arena, this time under yet another new coach;  Alexander Zorniger.

Starting the 2013-14 season in 3. Liga, several new players arrived at the club. Momentum continued and the crowds grew, drawn in by the prospect of yet another promotion. RB finished as runners-up and won automatic promotion following a 5-1 victory over FC Saarbrucken in front of a sell out home crowd of 42,713.

At this point the German Football League had become the authority who dealt with club licenses. Initially they refused one to RB to participate in 2. Bundesliga. Eventually a compromise was met, but RB had to re-design their club badge as it was too close to the Red Bull logo, make the club more community rather than company based and to to make membership more accessible.

RB Leipzig ended the 2014-15 season in fifth place, despite the sacking of Zorniger in February. The new coach was former head of youth Achim Beierlorzer. He stepped back into his previous role at the end of the season. 

The new man for the 2015-16 was announced as the former FC Schalke coach and Red Bull Salzburg Sporting Director Ralf Rangnick who led the team to promotion as runners-up with Davie Selke finishing as top scorer.

Ralph Hasenhüttl took over as coach with Rangnick overseeing as sporting director as Leipzig put in a tremendous performance to finish as Bundesliga runners-up. Timo Werner supplied the goals while keeper Péter Gulácsi also impressed throughout.

The following season saw a run to the last eight of the Europa League after being transferred from the Champions League before going out to Olympique Marseilles. Domestically, the team weighed in with sixth place.

Rangnick replaced Hasenhüttl for the 2018-19 season, in which RBL finished in third place with Yussuf Poulsen adding to the continued goals of Werner. The club also reached their first ever DFB-Pokal final where they went down 3-0 to Bayern München.

The 2019-20 season saw the team finish in third place. After winning their Champions League group, Leipzig defeated Tottenham Hotspur to reach the quarter finals.

RB Leipzig will play in the Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Germany 2 Georgia 1 (Sunday 11^th October 2015) European Championship Qualifier (att: 43,630)

The highlight of my weekend in Berlin and Leipzig was always going to be the international at the Red Bull Arena. I’d seen cup football at SV Lichtenberg 47 and SSV Markranstädt, as well as visiting five historic clubs and stadiums. It had been a fantastic time.

With the game not kicking off until 8.45pm, it meant it would be a long day. Markranstädt as a town had been a complete let down. I was rather hoping I’d find a nice bar with food to relax after the match, but if truth be told I was glad to be heading back to Leipzig. 

I should have probably got out before the Arena and found a local bar, but I wanted to catch the daylight for some photography.

I jumped off the tram at Angerbrücke, so that I could take a snap of the arena across the Elsterbecken River, before walking over the Festwiese. This square massive area with banking all around had a capacity of 75,000 and was used for a fairground and concerts. The tall bell tower at the far end stood between the area and the stadium.

As I got up to the far end I had a look at the various sponsor’s stalls for fans. Match programmes were in a large pile and seemed to be free, even though they had €1 on the cover. I decided to have a look down the main side, where the old steps, monuments and brickwork were still in place. Plenty of fans stood near to the VIP entrance, hoping to get a glimpse of their heroes.

Facilities were in each corner outside the stadium. With time to kill, I walked a full lap around the perimeter. There wasn’t an awful lot to see. When I got back to my started point I plumped for a beer and bratwurst. A young lady was taking snaps of the growing traffic from the raised concourse and we got chatting.

Susanne worked for the stadium. Her top level camera seemed to be doing her a fine job and she really was a good seller of her home city. I was commended on my limited German, which I think was more out of politeness. In yet another country, the locals could speak perfect English. How I wish I’d learned languages at school.

After another beer I decided to go inside and have a proper look. Red Bull Arena had been built inside the shell of the old Zentralstadion so to keep the history. The old place held 120,000 fans at its peak, so there was plenty of room.

The lay out meant a climb to the top of the original banking, before descending down the old terracing. It really was knee breaking work up and down an awful lot of steps, but I was glad that they’d preserved the history. My ticket was high up in a corner, so I had to climb another set of steps!

My first impression when I saw the layout was “Wow”. It really was impressive. There was no running track, so seating was close to the pitch. The lower tier was a complete circuit, with a large concourse behind. Both sides had upper tiers in a banana shape design, not dissimilar to the Huddersfield Town stadium, only bigger. Small roofs covered each end. Floodlights were built into the roof steelwork.

Eventually I found my seat after sitting in the correct number, but in the wrong block! The backs of the seats were high and comfortable. The acoustics of the stadium kept the noise inside. I had a tremendous view.

The game looked like it would be an easy win for Germany, but the Georgians were made of stern stuff. The hosts were looking to bounce back after a 1-0 defeat in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland the previous Thursday.

Visiting keeper Nukri Revishvili pulled off a great stop from Thomas Müller in the first few minutes. An even better save came from a Marco Reus effort. Chances kept coming, with the score remaining blank thanks to a mixture of fine defending, goalkeeping and woeful finishing.

Manuel Neuer’s reflex save from Tornike Okriashvili’s shot on the half hour prevented a shock opening goal. The sides went down the tunnel for half time with the score still blank.

At this point I decided to take advantage of a regular feature at German stadiums. Nearly all seating areas have some flat standing at the rear, and the stewards don’t stop you from watching from there. Because I had no time to hang around at full time, I decided to stand at the back behind the far goal, which was nearer to the station at full time.

After walking all the way around the concourses I found a spot. People were standing two or three deep, but I could still see. The move was also wise as the temperatures were beginning to plummet. Keeping warm by exercising and stretching was a lot easier than when sitting down.

At last Germany took the lead on fifty minutes as Müller scored from the penalty spot. The goal awoke the visitors. They began to take the game to the world champions. After a few near misses and stops by Neuer, a tremendous twenty yard volley from Jaba Kankava left the keeper motionless.

I was doing my very best not to burst out laughing. The locals were not massively amused. Neuer pulled off a couple more world class saves to keep his side ahead. The German defence were made to look like statues at times as the enterprising Georgia team could smell blood. The whistles and jeers were getting louder all the time.

André Schürrle was replaced by Max Kruse. The sub finished off a quality move with a fine low shot to win the game and break hearts all over the world. It transpired post match that if Georgia had of snatched a win and Ireland had scored in Warsaw, the world champions would have been dumped into the play-offs.

At full time I was off up the steps and down the other side. I decided on Susanne’s confirmation, to walk back to the station. I had just under thirty minutes to complete the 2.5 km. 

I cut through the coach park and down Wettiner Straße to beat the crowds. After turning into Waldstraße I came across the Feuerbachstraße tram stop. The timetable indicated a tram was due.

Just a few yards down the road we passed a pub with Sky. Just what I wanted before the game, but never mind. The tram dropped me outside the Hauptbahnhof with time to kill.

My train was coming from Munich. I managed to find a single unreserved seat and fall asleep for the hours ride. I woke up at what looked like a big station. I nearly jumped out, but that would have been a big mistake. We were only at Südkreuz! 

Ten minutes later we arrived at the main Hauptbahnhof. I got myself a magnificent kebab at one of the stands near my hotel and went to bed.

It was a brilliant day out. The next morning I took a direct train to Schoenefeld Airport for my flight to Luton in time for my Monday afternoon shift.

BK Frem (Denmark)

Boldklubben Frem, to give them their full title, is a semi-professional football club who are located in the south western Valby-Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. Frem were formed on the 17th July 1886 as Fremskridtsklubbens Cricketklub.

The young studious men who formed the club were from the Venstre Reform Party, which was hostile to the government of the time. The club was a mask to hide political activity. Football was introduced, with the club changing their name to Boldklubben Frem, stiftet af Fremskridtsklubben, meaning ‘The Ball Club Forward, founded by the Progress Club’.

The club were Copenhagen Cricket Champions in 1894 and 1898.

The club started out playing games at Blegdamsfælleden on Østerbro. In 1902 Frem became the first unofficial champions of Denmark. In 1905, the club moved to its own field at Enghavevej, Vesterbro, to enhance their working class profile. The club won the official championship of Denmark in 1922-23, 1930-31, 1932-33, 1935-36, 1940-41 and 1943-44.

The last of those titles came after Frem moved to Valby Idrætspark in 1942. For many years Frem continued along in the top flight. In 1956 a 1-0 victory over AB (Akademisk Boldklub) saw the club lift the Danish Cup in front of 23,000 fans at Idrætsparken in Copenhagen as Bent Jørgensen starred.

The 1967-68 season saw Inter-Cities Fairs Cup football arrive with a defeat to Athletic Bilbao. Further forays into the UEFA Cup lasted no further than the second round. In 1978 the Danish Cup was won for a second time. Esbjerg fB were beaten 5-4 on penalties after a replay at Idrætsparken in front of a poor gate of just 2,300.

The 1980’s saw Frem hit financial problems. Eventually the club was declared bankrupt in 1993 and were demoted to the fourth tier Denmark Series as the debts built up and the club was accused of fraud.

Frem pulled themselves around and fought their way back to the second tier First Division. The 2002-03 season saw the side finish in second place and win promotion to the Superliga. However, this would be a solitary campaign in the top flight as they finished second bottom.

After settling back in to First Division football, the club went bankrupt once again in 2010. This time they were demoted to the fifth tier Copenhagen Series. Brewing giants Carlsberg decided to lend their neighbours a helping hand by offering sponsorship. This kind gesture led to Frem battling back to the third tier Second Division.

The team narrowly missed out on promotion after the Championship Round in 2015-16 which was followed a mid table finish the following season after being transferred to Group 1 in the regular season. A ninth overall position came in 2017-18.

Frem ended as top of the Relegation Group in 2018-19 before winning a place in he Promotion Group in 2019-20 when the season was suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BK Frem will play in Division Two Group 1 in the 2019-20 season.

My visit

Sunday 8^th November 2015

Copenhagen had lived up to my expectations. I was only there for a day; primarily to sightsee and go to the high octane local derby between Brøndby IF and F.C. København. However, after a good walk around the city centre I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to go and visit a couple of local clubs on the way to my match.

The regular service took me from Nørreport station to Ny Ellebjerg St. I immediately spotted the tall floodlights of Valby Idrætspark, but I was at a total loss on how to leave the station at the same side.

After going this way and that I set off on a long walk along Carl Jacobsens Veg and then over the railway bridge down the main Gammel Køge Landevej. I was determined not to check the map App on my IPhone, but when I hit the junction by McDonalds I gave in.

It’s as well that I did. I would have continued instead of going under the other railway along Ellebjergveg and Julius Andersens Veg past the clubhouse and to the stadium entrance. It appeared that there was residential accommodation for sportsmen and women adjoining the stadium.

The main gates were shut, so I went down the alley and found a blue gate that was unlocked, so I went inside for a proper look.

Valby Idrætspark was a proper old football ground. The stand out feature was the multi-barrelled roofed all seated Main Stand, which had been built in 1965. The near end behind the goal had two small sections of open standing on frames. The far end appeared to be similar. The far touchline had around ten rows of open terracing down the full length of the pitch.

There were plenty of facilities for fans behind the goal, by way of snack bars and a club shop. Litter was still on the floor from the previous evening’s clash, which had seen Frem maintain their spot at the top of the table following a 3-2 win against Nykøbing.

I departed and headed towards my next port of call; Hvidovre IF. I was delighted to find a nearby bus stop that would take me directly!

Hvidovre IF (Denmark)

Hvidovre IF is a semi professional club based in the western suburbs of the Danish capital of Copenhagen. The club was formed in 1925.

HIF became champions of Denmark when they lifted the Division One title in 1966. They repeated the triumph in 1973.

In 1980 HIF lifted the DBU Pokalen (Danish Cup) after defeating Lyngby 5-3 in front of a gate of 23,500 at Idrætsparken in Copenhagen, with Michael Christensen playing a starring role.

The following season a third Danish title was secured, before Peter Schmeichel took over in goal at the start of his career between 1984 and 1987.

The club was re-organised on the 19^th November 1991 as professional football became more widespread in Denmark. Hvidovre Soccer A/S was formed with the purpose of operating the part of Hvidovre Sports Association's activities relating to elite football.

On 28 December 1999 the shares in Hvidovre Soccer A/S were sold to Peter Schmeichel, as sole shareholder to try to lead Hvidovre back to the peak of the Danish football scene.

Unfortunately results did not materialise, with Peter Schmeichel  transferring his shares in 2002 with the Hvidovre Soccer A/S company  to Hvidovre IF. The company was without debt, but also without assets.

In January 2005 Hvidovre Holding A/S was formed by loyal fans and local citizens. The company acquired the share capital of Hvidovre Soccer A/S, and also founded another company Solar Plexus A/S.

Meanwhile on the pitch, Hvidovre struggled and found themselves in the third tier of Danish football. After a couple of mid table finishes the team were crowned as Division Two champions in 2017-18.

Head coach Per Frandsen and captain Frederik Krabbe along with the goals of Nicolaj Agger ensured that Hvidovre stayed up in 2018-19 before they were relegated in 2019-20.

Hvidovre IF will play in Division Two in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Sunday 8^th November 2015

My first ever visit to Denmark was going well. Although I was only there for one day, I was determined to pack plenty in. The main reason for the visit was the top flight vital local derby between Brøndby IF and F.C. København, but after calling in at the home of BK Frem, I still had time to visit another club.

By now I was starting to ache a little, through lack of regular walking. Fortunately I’d observed a regular bus service running down Gammel Køge Landevej before I went to Valby Idrætspark. This would save on a walk back to Ny Ellebjerg St.

Sure enough the 8A service arrived within ten minutes. It dropped me at its terminus; Friheden St. a few minutes later. The ride was covered by my one day City Pass. A few yards along Hvidovrevej I found the car park behind one end. I could see a decent looking stand and wanted to be inside for some proper photos. Eventually I walked past the tennis courts down the far side, and found an open gate by the clubhouse.

Hvidovre Stadion was dominated by the Main Stand down the far side. It was all seated and covered by a multi-barrel roof. The pitch was surrounded by a running track. The near side had a few rows of standing built on frames. The same arrangement was in place around the near curve. The far end, could well have been the same in places, with a large hedge between it and the car park.

After taking my snaps, with the light fading, I returned to the station to take the train on to Brøndby Strand St. to catch a bus to the match.

SSV Markranstädt (Germany)

SSV Markranstädt is sports club from the town of the same name which has departments for badminton, cycle ball, gymnastics, table tennis, and volleyball, which is located around seven miles south west of Leipzig in Saxony, Germany.

The club was formed in 1990 following German re-unification, although football in Markranstädt goes back a lot further.

Following the end of World War Two, the football section of Sportgemeinde Markranstädt joined the regional top tier where they became champions in 1948. The club were renamed SG Glück-Auf Markranstädt and continued to go through a series of the following name changes as they slipped down the league’s.

BSG Stahl Markranstädt (1951–1952)

BSG Motor Markranstädt (1952–1958)

BSG Turbine Markranstädt (1959–1984)

BSG Motor Markranstädt (1984–1988)

BSG Turbine Markranstädt (1988–1990)

In 1990 Spiel-und Sportverein (SSV) Markranstädt were placed in one of the many fifth tier divisions; Landesliga Sachsen, where they remained for three seasons before being relegated to Bezirksliga Leipzig. The team won that league’s title in 1995 to go back up, but were relegated after just one term.

In 1999 Markranstädt once again lifted the Bezirksliga Leipzig crown. Landesliga Sachsen was won in 2007 and once again in 2009 after the club had suffered a relegation to reach the NOFV-Oberliga Süd.

Around this time the energy drink maker Red Bull entered the fray. They wanted a team in Germany to add to their portfolio of three football clubs; New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Brasil.

Michael Kölmel the owner of the soon to be rebuilt Zentralstadion a few miles away in Leipzig proposed that the new club move into his stadium. To be able to climb the pyramid of German league’s Red Bull bought the playing license of SSV Markranstädt and took their position in the NOFV-Oberliga Süd, while forming an affiliation between the two clubs.

Markranstädt were given a place in the Landesliga Sachsen, which they won in 2012. Back in NOFV-Oberliga Süd, the team performed well. In the 2014-15 season they finished in third place to qualify for the play-offs. They were defeated over two legs by  FSV 63 Luckenwalde to miss out on a place in the fourth tier Regionalliga Nordost.

An eighth place followed in 2015-16 prior to Markranstädt finishing bottom twelve months later and being relegated to the sixth tier Sachsenliga. The goals of Eric Berger ensured a tenth place finish for the team coached by Uwe Ferl.

A further relegation was suffered in 2018-19 as Markranstädt dropped down to Sachsen Landesklasse Nord where the team were clear at the top when the season was ended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The club were left to wait to see if the goals of Christopher Griebsch and Patrick Scheithauer for Olaf Brosius’s side would be enough to win promotion.

SSV Markranstädt will play in Sachsen Landesklasse Nord in the 2019-20 season.

My visit

SSV Markranstädt 0 FSV Zwickau 2 (Sunday 11^th October 2015) Sachsenpokal Last 16 (att: 536)

My weekend trip to Berlin and Leipzig was going well. I’d seen a landslide win in the Berliner Landespokal and visited five excellent stadiums. The weather was beautiful, if a little chilly and I still had the highlight of my trip to come; the Euro Qualifier between Germany and Georgia to come. 

But not before the interesting aperitif that I had lined up.

No league football was being played in the surrounding area owing to the international break. I scanned the internet for the weeks before in the hope of finding a match to attend. Once I found that the Berlin Cup was being played over the weekend, I checked out the Saxony FA site and came up trumps.

I left the superb old school Bruno-Plache-Stadion home of 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig by the 15 tram and took a long journey all the way past the station and Red Bull Arena before jumping off at Schonauer Ring. 

The timings were tighter than I realised as I followed some others across the road to the bus stop. The number 65 was there within a minute to take us to Markranstädt.

I’d no preconceived ideas to what the town may have been like, but I got off at the railway station and the initial signs were not fantastic. I had to take the bus as the train service was so poor on a Sunday. The station was very run down, with the main building virtually derelict.

On the way into town we passed a field advertising a Monster Truck Spectacular, with a decent queue forming. There were more people in that queue than I saw on the streets of the town during my visit.

I had anticipated grabbing a meal at a pub or fast food chain after the match. A walk through it’s main thoroughfares quickly dispelled that notion. There was nothing there. It was nice enough, but so quiet. 

The pubs were shut. The only places open were an ice cream café, a pizza take away and two doner kebab shops, which were ridiculously placed next door to each other.

I knew I was close to the stadium, and a local confirmed I heading in the right direction. As I approached I saw crowds of away fans getting out of vehicles. This looked promising!

Stadion Am Bad had facilities for other sports, but the stadium was the main feature. ‘Bad’ didn’t mean it replicated the railway station. It was German for bath. On the approach was an outdoor pool behind the grandstand.

Between us, we communicated well enough for the lady on the gate to sell me an €8 ticket which would allow for access to a seat upstairs in the stand. I also purchased a programme for €1. 

Despite us sorting things out to both our satisfaction, a rent-a-mob security guard no doubt brought in for the day started asking if I was an away fan? His attitude was awful to someone at the end of the game asking if they could just pop inside.

By now I was hungry. Therefore I was delighted to see a food stand near the entrance. I bought an absolutely delicious steak burger for €2.50 and a large cup of cola from the drinks stand next door for €2. Life was good!

I took up a seat in the covered raised seating deck of the stand, which had a glassed area in the centre at the back as I surveyed the rest of the scene.

Either side of the stand was a mixture of open steps, bucket seats and grass. The pitch was surrounded by a four lane running track, which was extended to six lanes down the main straight. By the turnstiles there was a large toilet block. 

An open terrace of around ten steps curved round behind the goal and down the far side. Trees backed onto the track at the other end, where there was no spectator accommodation and just a manual scoreboard.

The away following over in the far corner from Zwickau had grown to around 250. Their side from a division above Markranstädt, were expected to reach the quarter finals. 

They certainly played their part throughout the afternoon as their top class vocal support encouraged their heroes. They had many banners on the high fence and on sticks. One flag was not particularly complimentary to the police, if Google Translate was correct!

The home fans on the other hand were almost mute. They went for police ripples of applause or as the game progressed, murmurs of disapproval. A trio of old boys across the aisle from me were reminiscing over an old team photo. 

There were several sightings of Germany national team shirts on evidence. It had been a smart move to schedule the game as a warm up for the main event. I’m sure it bolstered the crowd?

Across the far side, a few freeloaders stood on the artificial pitches behind the terrace trying to watch for free. On the pitch the home keeper Lukas Wurster was raising the ire of the locals with his rapid, awful distribution. War film stars hung onto their detonators longer.

On twenty minutes the visitors went 1-0 ahead. A fine low cross from the right was turned into his own net by Toni Majetschak, who then remained on the deck in what looked like a classic example of trying to deflect the embarrassment.

It rapidly got worse for Markranstädt as Morris Schröter got slightly lucky as he swung his leg at the same time that defender Pascal Ibold tried to clear on the half volley. The ball lobbed over Wurster into the net. Before the break SSV came close when a free kick from Tom Geissler struck the top of the bar.

It was time for me to have a top up in the refuelling department. A nice wurst in bread set me back a very fair €1.50. I wasn’t in a beer mood so I bought a fruit tea. They only stocked fruit or mint tea, which was certainly a change!

On the return onto the pristine playing surface SVV huffed and puffed, while Zwickau looked the better side, without stretching themselves too far. Their centre back Sebastian Mai was a commanding figure. They were being thwarted by the linesman’s flag on the far side. The away fans were offering plenty of advice.

The young referee Ronny Walter was doing OK, but he wasn’t helped as players on both sides fell over at any opportunity. He was taking plenty of stick from all quarters. The game gently fizzled out with a deserved win for Zwickau.

With far too long until my intended bus back towards Leipzig, I decided to see if there was an earlier service? My luck was in. I was away on a very busy service half an hour thirty minutes early.

Once back in England I read the match report on the SVV Markranstädt website. It finished with the line that the club could now fully focus on the league. Some things are the same wherever you watch a game!