Bundesliga Fan Scene: The Matchday 30 Primer
The German Bundesliga prepares for its third weekend of full-capacity football since the final COVID-related crowd restrictions fell late last month.
We're pleased to keep everyone up to date on what's set to take place within the venues with our pre-matchday primer feature.
As promised earlier in the day, we're pleased to deliver the full Bundesliga matchday primer here on Bulinews. Entering Easter weekend, three fixtures (Gladbach-Köln, Bielefeld-Bayern, and Union Berlin-Frankfurt) are already sold out. Fans interested in attending these matches live can still obtain passes via secondary exchanges.
We're pleased to keep everyone up to date on what's set to take place within the venues with our pre-matchday primer feature.
We all look forward to another fabulous weekend of Bundesliga football, ideally one that features less dicey talking points than the last one. Those intrigued by the power of the German football fan-scene outside of the Bundesrepublik this week are always cordially invited to check out what it looks like within the country on league matchdays.
VfL Wolfsburg (at) Borussia Dortmund
Planned capacity = 81,365 (full house)
Still space left at Signal Iduna ahead of tomorrow's home fixture. The club's website has a few thousand seats left up for grabs. A pity that this fixture isn't nearly as meaningful as it was at this time last year. Oh well. Don't forget that the public sale for late April's charity match against Dynamo Kiev continues. That's sure to be a great experience to be a part of.
VfL Bochum (at) SC Freiburg
Planned capacity = 34,700 (full house)
The Breisgauer aim for their second full capacity sell out in their new venue. The Schwarzwald club is already testing out some capacity extensions this weekend with temporary seating in the lounge area in the south stand. SCF supporters will be out in full force in an effort to cheer their team closer to Europe.
— SC Freiburg (@scfreiburg) April 10, 2022
VfB Stuttgart (at) FSV Mainz 05
Planned capacity = 34,034 (full house)
As trainer Bo Svensson has already pointed out, the hometown team better keep themselves on the level in front of their loyal supporters. Stuttgart should also have a sizable support contingent making the quick trip up from the BaWü capital. Still a lot to play for on both sides, despite what the table might say.
The Pfälzer will be commemorating the two year anniversary of their "Hero Ticket" Program this weekend. Season ticket holders have always had the ability to donate unused tickets from pandemic era matches as well as tickets for future ones to front-line health care workers and employees basic-needs institutions such as supermarkets, supply plants, and freight/lorry moving companies.
The country still found itself still in the grip of the pandemic well past the halfway mark of the current season, meaning that less than a third of the "Hero Tickets" collected have been able to be dispensed. Now that change has finally come, many more deserving front-line workers are finally getting their free day out at the MEWE Arena.
Donations are still ongoing. One can even buy beer and bratwurst vouchers for those who have kept the most stressful jobs throughout the pandemic. One might as well. No sense in treating someone to a Bundesliga experience without going all the way.
Wow! 🙌 Über 13.900 Heldentickets wurden gespendet - Danke an alle Fans, Partner und Sponsoren, die geholfen haben! 🔴⚪️ Ihr macht möglich, dass auch am Samstag viele Alltagshelden kostenlos in die MEWA ARENA kommen! 👍 Alles zur Aktion: https://t.co/b46anFO63n#Mainz05 #M05 pic.twitter.com/kFNcPl4d3h
— 1. FSV Mainz 05 (@1FSVMainz05) April 14, 2022
Hertha BSC (at) FC Augsburg
Planned capacity = 30,660 (full house)
A huge match for both sides. An odd feeling that Augsburg can potentially manage to secure safety so early in the season, without the chaos of firing a trainer in the final weeks no less. This doesn't feel like an "FCA end-of-season" spurt at all. Of course, Hertha could throw a wrench into what we perceive to be the relegation race with a win.
Somewhat surprising to see that some tickets are still available via the club's website.
Das war's mit der #Pressekonferenz vor #FCABSC - wir freuen uns auf eine volle Bude und maximalen Support von den Rängen! ❤️💚 #FCABSC pic.twitter.com/2GoCWehUUt
— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) April 14, 2022
FC Köln (at) Borussia Mönchengladbach
Planned capacity = 54,057 (full house) (sold out)
Well. It's still the greatest derby we've got going in the present German top flight. Not to suggest that last weekend's Berliner derby wasn't a joy to behold. It's simply not a historic one. Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union fans have maintained mostly cordial relations since the Wall fell. Fans of these two clubs, on the other hand, remain fierce rivals.
The club's website indicates that the 93rd edition of the "Rhein-derby" is all sold out. The BMG faithful, hopefully shaking off that lingering disappointment over Marco Rose's betrayal, should be prepared to give us a good show in their first derby back at full capacity since the onset of the pandemic. It would also be nice if they're team didn't quit as they're liable to these days.
Das Derby zum Greifen nah: Nur noch 2️⃣4️⃣ Stunden bis zum Anpfiff! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qpSrBM1Yqw
— Borussia (@borussia) April 15, 2022
FC Bayern München (at) DSC Arminia Bielefeld
Planned capacity = 27,300 (full house) (sold out)
All sold out at the Alm for the visit of the German giants. No surprise there. The DSC supporters don't care if they stand little chance. Evidently, the club's marketing team doesn't care much for the lessons of history either. "No one conquers the Teutoburg Forrest" has been resurrected as the club's rallying cry.
🌲 Nachhaltigkeits-Spieltach gegen Hertha BSC 🌲
— DSC Arminia Bielefeld (@arminia) April 7, 2022
„Niemand erobert den Teutoburger Wald!“ ist nicht ohne Grund unser Wahlspruch.
Doch der aktuelle Zustand des "Teutos" bereitet uns große Sorgen.
Deshalb wird es zum Heimspiel gegen Hertha 3 Aktionen geben: https://t.co/exhe14w2Tt pic.twitter.com/EXEFFArUBV
Er....this writer seems to recall the Romans managing just that on the second go.
Eintracht Frankfurt (at) FC Union Berlin
Planned capacity = 22,012 (full house) (sold out)
Impossible to even begin discussing this match without touching upon what everyone is now referring to as the "Greatest Fan Betrayal of the 21st Century". Sigh. Okay. Look, we've all had our fun. It's already time to move on. After Eintracht Frankfurt fans breached the Camp Nou footballing fortress, FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta announced earlier this evening that Barcelona will now only sell personalized tickets for future European fixtures.
Apparently, far too many Barça fans scalped (or touted) their tickets to Eintracht fans outside the stadium. Some Catalans also reportedly furthered their tickets onto German friends who live in the city or came for an impromptu visit. Personalized tickets now punish the FCB season-ticket holders by preventing them from doing so in the future.
Wait. Stop. WRONG. At the end of a day, this is still just a game that we're meant to all enjoy together. Football is meant to encourage cooperation and friendship among fans of different nationalities, not exclusively prevent it. Even a person who takes the game as seriously as this writer doesn't call for exclusion after his team or country loses a match.
It's okay to behave like adults in the footballing context. Honestly, it is.
All sold out in the country's Köpenick quarter for Sunday's fixture, but non Union fans can still purchase re-sells on the club's sanctioned secondary exchange.
No need to give out personal data either. It's only a game.
#Infotweet Das Heimspiel #FCUSGE ist ausverkauft.
— 1. FC Union Berlin (@fcunion) April 13, 2022
Geöffnet ist ab sofort der Ticket-Zweitmarkt, auf dem DK-Inhaber die Möglichkeit haben, ihren Platz zum Verkauf anzubieten.#fcunionhttps://t.co/Eb1gJizuiJ
SpVgg Greuther Fürth (at) TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Planned capacity = 30,150 (full house)
Always space available in Sinsheim for football fans of all stripes. Three quarters of the stadium still has group seating available for anyone interested in watching a team actually fighting for a place in Europe. Who knows? The reverse fixture yielded nine goals. Maybe one will get another insane scoreline here.
Was @georgi_hrt sagt ☺️
— TSG Hoffenheim (@tsghoffenheim) April 14, 2022
Hier gibt's Tickets für #TSGSGF ⤵️
🎫 https://t.co/vOAgDyC55X pic.twitter.com/m59In80XDb
RB Leipzig (at) Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Planned capacity = 30,210 (full house)
Definitely a marquee matchup here between the Bundesliga's third and fourth placed teams. Some passes remain available through the Werkself website, though this last of the Easter Sunday matches will likely sell-out soon. This fixture has the distinction of being the first home B04 with a public sale option since the return to full capacity.
Thanks so much for reading!
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All columns debut on Bulinews before appearing on Peter's website later in the week.