football rambles

 This was the last big football trip I went on before getting ill and before the pandemic started, so just as well it was an absolutely massive one! The San Siro is soon to be demolished (allegedly), so this was one final chance to see what I consider to be the best stadium in the world. Sure, it's starting to look a bit tatty, but the sheer imposing size of it and the atmosphere generated, especially for a big game like this is second to none. Unfortunately, Dortmund had a really poor evening and were hamstrung by injuries. Lautaro Martinez was in fine form for Inter though and bossed the show. He scored on 22 minutes and Candreva added to the score sheet in the dying minutes.  It was a great experience. We couldn't get tickets for the Dortmund end but got some in the Inter end, i must admit that when I got them I hadn't know that they were going to be right in the middle of their ultras.

  Day 2 of the Scarf a Day challenge brings out this Borussia Dortmund that I got when we went there in 2014 for the game which they unfortunately lost to Hannover. It was given to us as part of the match day package that also included a magazine, some energy drinks and sausages in the bar. You can read about that trip elsewhere on the blog though.

On Wednesday the moment we had been waiting for finally came when we took up our seats in the Westfallen Stadion to see Borrusia Dortmund take on Paderborn in the DFB Pokal. Everything went well and despite it being an early kick off in a mid week cup game the stadium was still rocking. One disappointment was that Aubameyang and Reus weren't playing after they had single handedly taken Augsburg apart at the weekend. In came Adrian Ramos and Gonzalo Castro for the two. Things got off to a bright enough start with only Ramos's first touch and offsides saving Paderborn. However, things took a turn for the worse when Burki lost his head on 21 minutes and a grateful Lakic put the visitors ahead. Our worries didn't last for long though, as just 4 minutes later Adrian Ramos finally did what he was supposed to do and equalised from an angled shot. On 30 minutes the turnaround was complete when Castro scored after a clever back heel from Kagawa. It was 3-1 by the break when Kagawa s...

Luckily the Sud Tribune were also early and in good voice!

As usual we got in the ground before Dortmund took on Paderborn too early.

Dortmund U Building. The one we didn't see last time and suitable visuals used for a trip to BVB.

Last year we came and saw Borrusia Dortmund lose 1-0 to Hannover. This time we were luckier as the boys in black and gold beat Paderborn 7-1. Here are a few photos from before the game this time.

We didn't have much time for tourism in Dortmund and it seems that the football dominates the city. We went past the U Building a few times, which rates as a place of interest, but due to its proximity to the stadium it didn't really register with us. Above is another monument of interest, St. Reinold's Church. Another landmark is the Florianturm, a telecommunications tower not dissimilar to several others in Germany. It's located between the hotel where we stayed and the stadium. It is named after the patron saint of gardeners and was built for a horticultural show in 1959. Sean was most impressed by the U-Bahn though and made this video of a train at Margrafenstrasse station, which was the station round the corner from our hotel. But as the mural in departures at Dortmund airport shows, it's all about the football.

And finally the reason why we were in Dortmund... for the match between BVB and Hannover. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan. Dortmund dominated the game for the first hour, but the Hannover team stood resolute and looked like they would be happy to get a 0-0 draw. Aubameyang and Ramos both had several chances for the home team, but appeared wasteful in front of goal, on another day they would have been 3-0 up at half time. Reus looked dangerous going forward and hit the top of the net with a goal that looked like it was going in. Mkhitaryan and Gundogan made some good progress in midfield, but still didn't look completely match fit. But as half time approached it looked more like when Dortmund were going to score rather than when. Hannover seemed to still be determined to sit back and let Reus attack them after the break, on the odd occasion when they did break Subotic cleared the danger and Hannover didn't even get a shot in. Then the visi...

The Sud Tribune a few minutes before the game kicked off.

More of the Sud Tribune before kick off against Hannover on Saturday.

Another video of Borussia Dortmund v Hannover of the Sud Tribune leading up to kick off.

This was a long time before kick off, but the Sud Tribune were already in good voice

The Sud Tribune at Westfalen is famed for the noise and support that it gives the BVB team. They started up early and carried on until well after the match had finished despite the poor result. At the end the team looked suitably disappointed when they thanked the fans. Nobody apart from the Hannover fans probably expected 96 to win. Hopefully better times for the Sud Tribune are just around the corner.

We were among the first few people in the stadium and after we claimed our drink and hot dog we took up our seats. The Sudtribune fills up and starts creating an atmosphere a long time before kick off, which more or less tells you how early we were there!

As I said, we got to the stadium really early, we had a bit of a walk round and went to the beer garden even though it was quite cold and damp. Sean also bought a giant flag in the shop, which I am surprised got through customs on the way back. I was a bit surprised by the Polizia Merda sign so predominately displayed outside the stadium though. There was a good atmosphere outside with the fans of both clubs drinking together in the beer garden and a surprising number of away fans buying stuff in the club shop.

We just went to the pub, back to the bratwurst place and bought some German Matchattax!