Karl Liebnicht Stadion, Berlin
Fixture: Babelsberg 03 vs Preussen Munster
League: Regionalliga Nord Est
Date: 24 November 2012
A Saturday afternoon kick off time, pay at the gate and terraces on three sides of the pitch. Add to that the short walk from the centre of town, passing lots of partisan bars and restaurants with fans enjoying a pre-match meal, beer of coffee and we had most of the ingredients for the perfect matchday. And so it proved, as low lying Null Drei managed to defeat the odds by overcoming their high-flying counterparts from Munster by a single goal to nil (or 'null', as they say seemed to enjoy saying in the Karl Liebnicht Stadion.
This was our second trip to the Karl Liebnicht Stadion and the reasons that drew us back we again apparent. It's easy going, lots of dads at the game with their children, a tidy stadium and pefect views of the pitch (apart from the suspended Bose speakers at the front of the terrace). Having said that, the political stance of the home support - Karl Liebnicht was a member of the Communist Party murdered by the Nazis - would presumably make for a less homely atmosphere against some other teams. Even then, we did see some running between fans after the game - running, not running battles - with a previously anonymous police presence on hand just in case. That said, we glimpsed this from the inside of a bar where Munster and Babelsberg fans stood side-by-side and just ignored what was (or wasn't) happening outside. All the same, I expect the atmosphere would have been different the following week for the visit on Chemnitz. Actually, this mirrored what went on inside the ground: impressive choreography from both sets of fans, without giving the impression that they were trying to antagonise their counterparts. Extra points to the Munster supporters who combined flares with flashing lights to create their own terrace disco.
Also of note: The stadium has its own (well used) matchday creche. Also, there's table football outside the clubshop at half-time. If they had anything this imaginative in the UK they probably charge you a match fee to play and a ticket to watch. Which of course, was one of the reasons we were in Babelsberg whilst Celtic were (losing) at home to Inverness.
League: Regionalliga Nord Est
Date: 24 November 2012
A Saturday afternoon kick off time, pay at the gate and terraces on three sides of the pitch. Add to that the short walk from the centre of town, passing lots of partisan bars and restaurants with fans enjoying a pre-match meal, beer of coffee and we had most of the ingredients for the perfect matchday. And so it proved, as low lying Null Drei managed to defeat the odds by overcoming their high-flying counterparts from Munster by a single goal to nil (or 'null', as they say seemed to enjoy saying in the Karl Liebnicht Stadion.
This was our second trip to the Karl Liebnicht Stadion and the reasons that drew us back we again apparent. It's easy going, lots of dads at the game with their children, a tidy stadium and pefect views of the pitch (apart from the suspended Bose speakers at the front of the terrace). Having said that, the political stance of the home support - Karl Liebnicht was a member of the Communist Party murdered by the Nazis - would presumably make for a less homely atmosphere against some other teams. Even then, we did see some running between fans after the game - running, not running battles - with a previously anonymous police presence on hand just in case. That said, we glimpsed this from the inside of a bar where Munster and Babelsberg fans stood side-by-side and just ignored what was (or wasn't) happening outside. All the same, I expect the atmosphere would have been different the following week for the visit on Chemnitz. Actually, this mirrored what went on inside the ground: impressive choreography from both sets of fans, without giving the impression that they were trying to antagonise their counterparts. Extra points to the Munster supporters who combined flares with flashing lights to create their own terrace disco.
Also of note: The stadium has its own (well used) matchday creche. Also, there's table football outside the clubshop at half-time. If they had anything this imaginative in the UK they probably charge you a match fee to play and a ticket to watch. Which of course, was one of the reasons we were in Babelsberg whilst Celtic were (losing) at home to Inverness.