FCUM A.D.

RRF!

I love my crew :-)

FC St Pauli 5 (FIVE) v 0 SC Paderborn:

Dresden to Hamburg.  As the Dresden Ultras pointed out in one of their „transpis“, the River Elbe is as good a route as any for transporting…erm…objects between the two cities.  Unfortunately though I paid little attention and opted to go via a few days in Holland (bumping into Boudwijn Zenden no less!).  The privatised German train providers aren’t quite as reliable as the flow of the Elbe, and so on Saturday morning I found myself briefly stranded in Venlo.  After a long slog up through Germany, I eventually made it for tea at Backbord, but there would be no time for Ultra BBQs or indeed free concerts.  The rest of the evening was instead spent with the rest of the SPM, plus other friends in the Jolly.  My mood had been darkened, with the news that Naki would not be staying at the Millerntor, but beer, good company and skins singing along to Die Kassierer, and things improved!

After a lengthy breakfast in Cafe Miller on the Sunday we made our way to the ground.  It should’ve been the last game of the season, but there was still a small chance of an extension via the play-offs.  Even before the kick-off, Naki’s name was already being chanted, and he was already in tears.  The other St Pauli feature saying goodbye was the old Gegengerade stand which was due to be demolished after the match. 

The game in the end was won at a canter.  The Paderborner stood a chance of promotion too, and their fans seemed motivated enough (loud singing pre-match and a few flares).  After a goal or two though, their side gave up, and we were left free to play the kind of highscoring, free flowing football rarely witnessed this season.  Parallel to our own match, Düsseldorf were playing Duisburg.  A win would see them through the play-offs at our expense.  A draw would’ve required us to score around 10 to get a better goal difference.  Realistically only them losing would’ve been enough.  With Duisburg down to 10 men early, it always seemed like a long shot.  This didn’t stop the crowd chanting for „only 6 more goals“, as we began to find the net.  Nor did it stop a ridiculous rumour (that I obviously fell for) briefly going round that Duisburg were somehow leading 4-2!  In the end though, it was clear that the play-offs would be out of reach.  Instead we congratulated our resident Fortuna fan, and stuck to the usual last game of the season antics of holding our shoes in the air (how fashions change!  A few years ago it was a sea of Sambas and Spezials.  Now it’s all running shoes!).  Naki came on towards the end, and with the last kick of the game got a goal.  A nice final moment!

After the match it was time for emotional goodbyes and speeches.  So many players gone.  Some too early, some too late (ich sag nur der „Edeltechniker“!).  Naki arguably leaves at exactly the right time.  A player you could relate to and enjoy watching.  He was however never one for discipline, and so I get the impression this was as good a high to be leaving on, as he would’ve got under Schubert.  Perhaps it was the right time for the Gegengerade to bow out too, it’s well-earned rebellious status safely preserved.  The sunken steps of the Gegengerade are where I started my days at the Millerntor and I will miss it. Whether the new stand brings with it a new „roar“, or is just a police HQ with a terrace, it will have to work hard to be a suitable replacement!

Yes we do…. <3

Spotted in town (opening a can of worms in Hamburg):

Ha!  Wandering around St Pauli on Saturday and there are Angry Worms everywhere!  Reminds me of the computer game…

SG Dynamo Dresden 1 – 0 FC St Pauli:

So after a day’s sun and relaxation, it was finally time for the match.  Most St Pauli fans were arriving by football special at the main train station, and it was likely that they would then be escorted by the police to the ground.  This represented a problem for the rest of us, as we needed to somehow get through the police lines, without being spotted by any Dresden fans looking for a fight. 

I got to the train station early and dropped off my bag, before going to a nearby cafe for breakfast.  As I finished my coffee more fans and police had started to mill about.  This included several water cannons and a little tank.  Unsure of which platform the football special would arrive on, I picked up a couple of magazines and went and waited in the station.  It appeared that there was a small “welcoming committee”, including some of our friends from the previous night.  Occasionally looking up from my magazine, I saw a few other familiar faces in non-football colours, obviously with a similar plan to myself.  Shortly before the train arrived, we saw a section where the police were lining up.  We quickly moved up the steps to the platform there and, low and behold, arrived just as the St Pauli train came into the station.

Now re-unified with the rest of the away supporters, we were then escorted down another flight of stairs and into a tunnel where buses waited for us.  With the ground being so nearby, and the weather looking so nice, most of us walked on by, hoping to force the police into allowing us to travel on foot.  Unfortunately though the numbers weren’t large enough, and the riot cops eventually pushed us back and onto the buses.

Things were more chaotic at the ground itself.  The buses dropped us off, but there was no one working the gates, so we were penned in.  A bit later, stewards turned up and the lengthy procedure for getting into the ground began.  I had wondered why it was all taking so long, but I soon found out why.  In order to get in, you had to show your ticket and be frisked.  Then if you were unlucky, like me, you had to wait for a sniffer dog to inspect you for explosives.  Then your ticket was checked once more and you were frisked again.  My bag was then looked through, after which the bag had to be checked in at a cloakroom anyway.  Suntan lotion is a security risk!

Once inside the ground, I took up a spot near the fence to the home supporters.  As is often the case, this section of the home crowd is populated exclusively by halfbakes.  In this case ’roided up and keen to make eye contact, or indeed Hitler salutes. 

As the game kicked off, our end delayed the usual singing of “Aux Armes”, and instead we all crossed our wrists and chanted “Diffidati con noi”.  This was in protest at the German FA handing out bans to fans who were merely defending themselves, and other fans, against nazis at the Schweinske Cup.  In the home end, the fans did that thing that sadly to most people will be simply known as the “poznan”.  It should look impressive when a whole terrace turns its back to the pitch and jumps up and down.  Unfortunately though, it now just looks a bit plastic and reminds me of Berties, in the ill-fitting replica shirts, bouncing up and down.

The Dresden end, was in fact, slightly odd.  For some periods of the game, it appeared to be completely silent.  I was beginning to wonder whether yet another famous fanscene (like Eintracht Frankfurt) would disappoint.  However when they did sing, it was very loud indeed.  Despite a lot of streamers, there was no choreo.  Then part way through the first half, a collossal “surfer” flag was suddenly passed out, covering the whole of their end.  Handpainted, in great detail, and just used at random, part way through a match.  I don’t think it was only me, who’s jaw dropped.  Very impressive!

Our own end also looked very good, with one lad, climbing on to a ledge in the middle.  Nothing gives a terrace more depth, than someone standing at a different height.  The photos of it look brillant!  We also were in pretty good voice, despite everyone sweating buckets and having to go and get more water from the taps in the bogs at regular intervals.

There were a few “transpis”/papermills aimed at us St Pauli fans.  No doubt they are only aimed to provoke.  Some though were so backwards, I would’ve expected them from some small town like Chemnitz, but not the fans of an important city like Dresden.  Surely some of their own fans must cringe when reading them.

Despite the weather, the match was pretty entertaining.  We hit the bar once, but Dresden probably deserved their second –half goal (even if Zambrano should have cleared it).  We were good for a point, but a stunning save by Dynamo’s goalkeeper foiled us.

With the defeat, there is little chance of us making the play-off.  Nevertheless, we clapped the team off, before heading for the buses.  Once back at the station, I slipped out through the police lines once more, and caught my train back home.

Random Streetart & Graffitis in Dresden:

Mostly SGD related…

Random Streetart in Dresden:

Non-football related but still kind of cool…

Dresden Away (Part 2)

A few more pics of Dresden in general.  The mix of styles of architecture on offer is a real plus point for the place.  The fact that there is so much “freespace” for young people to try stuff out without yuppie neighbours, security guards or the police nagging them was another advantage.  Skating, streetart and alternative projects were very popular in the city.

Dresden Away

Most people caught the football special to this match, which by all accounts was a great day out.  I had never been to Dresden before though, so when the fixture came around, a hostel and two days in “Elbflorenz” seemed like the best approach.

The train takes ages to get through East Germany.  I’d always wondered why a friend of mine, a former resident of the East and Halle fan, seemed to have quite a lot of tales of confrontations with rival fans in train stations.  Travelling through, I soon learnt why.  Each major trainstation is a dead end, which the trains then back out of.  In the olden days of regular train changes, this would’ve made every station into a potential flashpoint for fans.

Once in Dresden I took in the sights, before making my way to the Neustadt (a sort of larger, and less gentrified Ancoats).  One of my new room mates for the night was over from the Czech Republic to play Dresden in cricket(!).  With the weather being so nice, I decided to pop down to watch their 20:20 game.  Sunshine and cold beer, whilst relaxing by the river Elbe.  Very nice!

Later on a few familiar faces from St Pauli started to appear in the Neustadt.  We sat on the rivers edge, fires, fireworks and hippie drums for entertainment, before heading back to a punk bar for a couple more beers.  Despite the odd Dresden Ultra (mostly the kids) wandering past to give us a stern look, there was no trouble. 

I can recommend the city!

FCUM paintjob

With only one side still to be completed, here is a sneak preview of my mate Kev’s scooter with its new FCUM paintjob.  Fellow RRFer Spuddy is a bit too prominent for my liking, but you can’t have it all! ;-)