Alemannia Aachen
New Tivoli
Krefelder Strasse 205
52070
Aachen
Ground Number: 1270
Friday 8th March 2023
Alemannia Aachen 2-1 Fortuna Dusseldorf II
Regionalliga West
Friday 8th March 2023
Alemannia Aachen 2-1 Fortuna Dusseldorf II
Regionalliga West
ALEMANNIA AACHEN - A BRIEF HISTORY
Alemannia Aachen are from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Alemannia have the nickname "the potato beetles" (Kartoffelkäfer) because of their striped yellow-black jerseys, which make them look like those insects. In the second half of the 19th century, resident English workers and businessmen brought football, in addition to traditional equestrian sports, into the western Rhineland. The club was founded on 16 December 1900 by a group of eighteen high school students. Knowing that another team had already taken the name 1. FC Aachen, the new club was christened FC Alemannia, using the Latin word for Germany. The First World War devastated the club: the pre-war membership of 200 was reduced to a mere 37 by the conflict. The city of Aachen is very near the Belgian and Dutch borders and as a result, Alemannia has had frequent games with clubs from those countries. Their first game was against the Belgian side R. Dolhain F.C., one of that country's earliest clubs. There are intensive and friendly contacts with the Dutch professional club Roda JC Kerkrade. Both clubs have the same club colours. Alemannia is known as one of the few sports clubs of this era to offer any challenge to the Nazi regime's purge of Jews from the country's sports organizations by demanding the release of a jailed Jewish member.
MY VISIT
Back on July 10th, I had booked a Eurostar train to 'Any Belgian Station' for £112 return. This seemed pretty good value and would allow me the flexibility to visit a far better range of places. Initially, I was hoping for a Belgium, France and Luxembourg weekend. But the fixtures didn't work out, in fact, I had to work to get more than one game a day. Back to the Friday, several options were considered. First up was a couple of Belgian games with KMSK Deinze as they were close to the French border. Next up was the chance to go and see Red Star Paris. However, Eurostar told me I was not able to get off at Lille for 'security reasons'. I probably could have risked and blagged it but didn't want to risk booking a hotel and ticket in case the train didn't stop, doors didn't open or I had an issue with security. I then had another look, although there weren't a huge number of options.
One that stood out was a short hop across the border to Germany and Alemannia Aachen. I had heard all about these guys, mainly through passionate fan Robert Conway who had adopted him as his German club as well as supporting Winchester City. He had even helped form a UK supporters club for the 4th-tier German side, though they had seen far better days. With over 2,000 members in the Facebook group, they certainly had captured the imagination over here. I booked a refundable hotel 25 minutes walk from the ground, just in case I had a late opportunity to go to France or Luxembourg, or indeed there were ticket issues. Robert was helpful and assured me that it was unlikely to sell out but the terrace would. This turned out to be the case and on February 19th, I was able to secure a place on the terrace for under £9.
The last couple of days at work were uneventful but the last bit dragged. There was a late change to my schedule on Thursday afternoon as I found out Genk was possible for my afternoon game. It was the usual routine as I normally get up at 5 for work. Even so, I fell asleep later than expected and was a bit jaded the next morning. I got myself together, leaving at 5.30. It was only a couple of minutes wait once I got to the bus stop and the Carousel bus was good value at £2. After getting some breakfast at Tesco, I got the train to King's Cross which cost a reasonable £7.80. I was at King's Cross far earlier than expected at 7. With half an hour before check-in opened, I headed to Wetherspoons, The Barrel Vaults. It was not busy but I was glad others were drinking already as it made me feel less of a pisshead. There was no Black Dragon so I made do with a pint of Stowford Press for £4.48. I was tempted by the Miners Benedict but decided not to be greedy, as tempting as it was. I did get a bag of crisps from M&S though before checking in. It was a quick and easy process through ticket, security and a couple of passport checks.
I had time to relax and read Viz before the train boarded. It was a bit busy for my liking though. We boarded the train and got off on time at 9.01 with the journey being supplemented by a couple of cans of Strongbow and the big bag of crisps I'd bought. I passed the time by reading a book about Maidstone United on my tablet as no signal was available for some of the journey. It was very poor for most of France and Belgium too, at least on board the Eurostar. We arrived at 12.05 and I had a bit of time to kill. Once more, I was stymied by the lack of mobile signal in Carrefour Express for using Google Translate. I took a gamble on a wrap which turned out to be tuna. Not my first choice, but pleasant enough. I also got a chocolate and coconut muffin, a couple of cherry beers and a soft drink for a little over £12. The 12:55 to Eupen was basic - no USB sockets, no power plugs and a table that was slanted so stuff fell off. There were also a couple of beggars coming around asking for money but once we got out of Brussels, they were off. It was a journey through some pleasant Belgian countryside to my stop of Verviers Central. I had a half-hour stop there before my train to Aachen. Thanks to my Eurostar ticket, I only had to purchase the cross-border bit from Hergenrath to Aachen, a touch over £4. Despite being sat in the quiet carriage, there were still plenty of noisy people. It turns out the English aren't the only ones who are tone-deaf.
I was in Aachen by 3.20. I walked to the Hopfen & Malz beer shop but there was nothing I fancied. A happier and surprisingly happy hunting ground was REWE. There, I got a couple of bottles of German Cider, a couple of hotdogs from the bakery, some grapes, some chocolate and a couple of bottles of water for around £11. From there, I made my way to my hotel which passed the ground on the way. The bus was packed, and the app the bus recommended using was crap and wouldn't take payment so I just jibbed it. Much as I could have done on the train but that was a far more pleasant and easy buying experience. I was at my hotel, the Ibis Budget Nord by 5.10. I'd already secured my room for £44 and although check-in took longer than I'd have liked, I was soon in my room. It was good to have a rest, charge things up and have a drink. Cooper's cider was a new one for me and very pleasant, much like the Apfelewein I had in Frankfurt. I would like to return to the High Wycombe twin town of Kelkheim, which is not far away. I took the opportunity to have a shower and catch up on YouTube, thanks to the free WiFi. I left around 6.40 and it was 20 minutes walk to the ground. Last I'd heard they had sold 22,000 tickets, staggering for the fourth tier. The place was packed but getting in was quick. Sadly the main shop was closed and only a small counter. The terrace was rammed but the entire other end was empty, bar a few away fans and some advertising banners. Currywurst and chips were enjoyed before the match, not as good as the one at Eintracht Frankfurt but still great. The internet was crap once more but it was an excellent atmosphere.
Both teams were in excellent form and it was 1st v 2nd in the form table although Fortuna Dusseldorf were down in 9th in the league. Aachen had drawn at Rodinghausen in their last game but had won their eight previous games. Since a loss to Wiedenbruck, Fortuna Dusseldorf had won four in a row. The two sides shared a goalless draw in Dusseldorf on 24th September last year. The visitors were edging things and were jeered each time they attacked, much like at Lazio. Fortuna took the lead on 13 minutes through Kilian Skolik who bundled home from within the six-yard box. Lukas Skepanic equalised a couple of minutes later but I didn't have the best view of the goal. The game evened up after this and turned in favour of Alemannia. On the hour they crashed a shot against the bar, having already had a goal ruled out for offside. The hosts were given further hope when Fortuna had a man sent off following a scuffle. They eventually took the lead on 75 minutes, Kilian Pagliuca driving home through a forest of bodies from the edge of the area. 24,500 was announced as the eventual attendance. Duesseldorf managed to get another man sent off in injury time, much to the delight of the home fans.
THE GROUND
NEUER TIVOLI is an excellent stadium. It looks out of place in the fourth tier of football with its 30K capacity but this is fully justified when it gets filled as it did when I visited. Three sides are seated with the far end allocated to away fans and not open to home supporters on the occasion I visited. Home fans get a huge terrace in the style of Mainz and this can get rather chaotic. The atmosphere is superb and if you are shortarse like me, it may be worth getting a seat. That said, you can stand behind the seats in the other stands without any hassle.
Food in the ground is decent and good value, plus beer is available in your seat. The best thing is that they don't piss around with some stupid pre-paid card and you can use contactless to pay for stuff. There was a big shop at the ground, though bafflingly this was closed on my visit. There is also a further shop in town which is around 50 minutes walk or a bus ride away. Outside the ground is mainly industrial stuff, plus Burger King & Subway. The Ibis Budget Aachen Nord provides good value accommodation around a 20-minute walk from the ground.
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