Greetings from 'gladbach
So begins part two of the German football odyssey we entered back in November and it was a hop and a skip onto the RE-bahn chugger down to Monchengladbach, a city that lies beside Dusseldorf around an hour and a half from Dortmund containing one of the most well supported football clubs in the country, Borussia Monchengladbach. Today was to be the day we'd see the Bundesliga strugglers take on high-flying Mainz who were mixing it with the Bayern's and Dortmund's of the division, it was to be a tough test for 'die fohlen'.
A most pleasant winding route through the Ruhr valley with some breathtaking scenary along the way of the river's, lakes and hills was soon to be gatecrashed as we pulled into the latter Dusseldorf stops allowing an army of denim-clad Borussia supporters onto the train down to Rehydt. The dress sense of the supporters in 'gladbach is unique to me, unlike anything i'd seen before, denim cut-off jackets plastered with 'Nordkurve' and 'BMG' patches were as standard, to the extreme of a few supporters wearing what can only be described as patchwork skirts made of these articles. We were due to be joining these fans in the Nordkurve which i'd heard was one of the best terraces in Germany for atmosphere, up there with the Sudtribune of Dortmund and once in there we'd see exactly why the end had earned its name.
So begins part two of the German football odyssey we entered back in November and it was a hop and a skip onto the RE-bahn chugger down to Monchengladbach, a city that lies beside Dusseldorf around an hour and a half from Dortmund containing one of the most well supported football clubs in the country, Borussia Monchengladbach. Today was to be the day we'd see the Bundesliga strugglers take on high-flying Mainz who were mixing it with the Bayern's and Dortmund's of the division, it was to be a tough test for 'die fohlen'.
A most pleasant winding route through the Ruhr valley with some breathtaking scenary along the way of the river's, lakes and hills was soon to be gatecrashed as we pulled into the latter Dusseldorf stops allowing an army of denim-clad Borussia supporters onto the train down to Rehydt. The dress sense of the supporters in 'gladbach is unique to me, unlike anything i'd seen before, denim cut-off jackets plastered with 'Nordkurve' and 'BMG' patches were as standard, to the extreme of a few supporters wearing what can only be described as patchwork skirts made of these articles. We were due to be joining these fans in the Nordkurve which i'd heard was one of the best terraces in Germany for atmosphere, up there with the Sudtribune of Dortmund and once in there we'd see exactly why the end had earned its name.
After stepping off the train at Rehydt past the eyes of the Polizei (not that there was a whiff of trouble) there were a typically german efficient army of buses, free of course, lined up to take the supporters to the ground. Opposite us sat Mainz supporters mixing freely with the Borussia supporters by way of a friendly chat, already I was wondering why we couldn't have this in the UK. Soon the grand figure of Borussia Park came into view amongst a couple of retail outlets such as Aldi (they really are everywhere!). The stadium itself is remeniscent of a rather large version of Plymouth Argyle's home park, must have been the green. Fit to hold around 55,000 supporters and with around that number seemingly occupying the bar area it was time to head right into the stadium.
What I love about German stadia is that once you get past the turnstiles everything seems to be there, the merchandise, all the stalls and some of the best food and beer one could wish for. We took time out prior to kick off to sample the local brewski Jever pilsner and unlike its team its a real winner! (Sorry guys at BMG). Stepping out onto the Nordkurve for the first time is an experience any football traveller should consider before heading to Germany, it really is something else. After hearing of goalscoring crowd surges on the lower terrace and that the Bundesliga produces more goals-to-games than any other league pretty much we decided that the upper seating by the ultra's was an agreeable spot, not a bad alternative I must say.
After a first half of cancelling each other out and the only highlights really being a flare from the Mainz travelling support and the ultra's constant chanting and displays there was that dreaded fear of the first 0-0 we'd see abroad. That however was soon changed as Marco Reus kept up the Bundesliga goal stats with a cool volley from a 30 yard pass across the Mainz 'keeper to send the Nordkurve wild to the tune of 'Maria I like it loud' by techno favourite Scooter. Having only just recovered from that wonderstrike the reason that 'gladbach are slumming it in the depths of the division came to light as a debateable throw in lead to Andre Schurrle finding himself one on one with the Borussia 'keeper and duly slotting a neat shot underneath the helpless Christofer Heimeroth and going on to infuriate the Monchengladbach supporters by playing air guitar with the corner flag prompting a hale of beer cups and bottles raining down on the goalscorer.
Once again though the man of the hour Reus came to the home sides aid with some brilliant link up play with striker Raul Bobadilla to fire in at the near post, another round of celebrations and an unlikely win looked to be on the cards. Mainz gaffer Thomas Tuchel had other ideas however and duly sent on striker Sammy Allagui who helped himself to a goal identical to Reus's opener prompting what can only be described as a '360 degree angry spin' by one supporter sitting tensely on the end of the row, with shouts of 'Nein! Nein! Nein!' I imagine he had seen it all before.
Things didn't get any better for our friend on the aisle as Allagui sank Borussia hearts with a headed winner keeping Mainz tickling the top and Monchengladbach desperately looking over their shoulders at the clutches of Bundesliga 2. Still, not downhearted by the late collapse it had been a most memorable day and rounded off a truly wonderful trip, we shall be back!
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