Lazy Sunday Afternoon

                                               
                                                                                            
OSV Hannover 1 SV Arminia Hannover 1

Decsions, decisions. Do I drive 150kms to Wolfsburg, to watch U.L.M. Wolfsburg v VfL Bückeburg, get ignored by the so-called "fans", or worse still insulted? Or do I get the train to Hannover, have a couple of beers, and meet some mates to talk about football, politics and music, people who are friendly and on my wavelength? Easy choice!

I picked a busy day to visit Hannover. The shops were open (yeah I know, in Germany they are still closed except on certain Sundays), 96 were at home to Stuttgart in the evening, the Hannover Fair started the  next day and President Putin was in town.

Today was the top of the table clash in the Landesliga Hannover, between OSV Hannover in 2nd and Arminia Hannover in 1st. 

Both teams have a proud tradition and super grounds, well worth a visit for anyone with a football ground fetish such as myself.

Wooden terracing!

 The game attracted a crowd of over 600 and I reckon a good 200 odd away fans. As a game it was nothing special, both teams looked nervous and I guess a 1-1 draw was a fair result.

A boisterous bunch, the Arminia fans

 The game was a pleasure as I met so many interesting people, Jan from Altona, Jens an Arminia fan who lives in Flensburg, and Thorsten whose own blog about the ups and downs of SVA can be found linked on here in the right hand side.

And even better, the sun finally decided to make an appearance.

 The ground itself is a gem....massive wooden terracing with wooden crush barriers, but with a modern glass fronted bar at the rear. Opposite, a few steps of terracing with a metal cage at the front, a remnant to their days in the 2nd Bundesliga in the late 70's.

Nice place to put your beer.

 

Remnants of days gone by

 
 The silly thing was trying to get a bratwurst at half time. You queue up for ages, only to be asked, when you are at the front of the queue if you have a token to purchase said sausage. Then to be pointed to another long queue to buy a token. Tip: Put up a sign, so that people can read that they need this token before anything can be purchased, otherwise, fuck right off with your bratwursts.

Great idea, bar area at rear of main stand

 And now to the ratings:

Capacity:          6000
Friendliness:      6
Clubhouse:         0 (Regular readers of this blog will know why)
Seats:             Yes
Behind goals:      One area of hard standing
Cover:             Yes
Floodlights:       No
Barrier:           Cage on one side, metal fencing
Bratwurst:         -1
Beer:              Gilde €2
Entrance fee:      I did not pay
Programme:         Yes
Weather:           8
Ground:            8
Home fans:         7