Kickers OffenbachGround: Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion (Stadion am Bieberer Berg) Visits: 1 Date: 29th July 2019 Match: Kickers Offenbach - Ulm 2-0 (Regionalliga Südwest) Attendance: 7 041 I arrived at my hotel next to Hyllie station in Malmö around 21.30 on Sunday evening. My flight from Copenhagen to Frankfurt departed 12.05 meaning I could sleep until 8am. If you wonder how come I didn´t stay at an airport hotel in Denmark the difference in price was huge and parking was cheaper in Sweden as well. It only takes 15 minutes by train anyway. My flight was on time and 14.30 I was at Frankfurt Hbf. I notices several tracks were cordoned off and once at my hotel I found out an 8-year old had been killed earlier in the day as he was pushed onto an incoming ICE-train. His mother was pushed as well but she had survived. Terrible news but at least the perpetrator was caught. Being tired after all the travelling I had something to eat and drink before resting in my room for a few hours. From Frankfurt Hbf it only takes 20 minutes by S-bahn to Offenbach-Bieber and the ground is then around 10 minutes by foot. Kickers Offenbach v Ulm was the first league game of the season and the match was shown live on tv. Having seen pictures of the ground I knew it would be a great ground to visit. Stadion am Bieberer Berg was rebuilt in 2011 and 2012 and the ground has four separate stands and a total capacity of 20,500. The side stand opposite the main stand is terraced and house 8,000 fans. It is a club with potential but the last five seasons Kickers Offenbach have played in Regionalliga Südwest. Fans still dream of a return to the glory days when Kickers Offenbach played in the Bundesliga. Anyway, I was outside the ground 90 minutes before kick-off, picked up my ticket, took a few exterior pictures before entering. My seat was in row 11 of the Haupttribüne, VIP-seating started in row 12 btw, meaning I had a great view of the action. The most vocal home fans are in the terraced side stand and for most of the game they created a good atmosphere. My seat neighbor, a season ticket holder, predicted 6 - 8,000 to show up for this match and the official attendance was later given as 7,041. Ulm brought around 30 fans and those fans had a disappointing evening. 0-0 at half-time and by then the atmosphere was far better than the quality of the football. The second half was much better and Kickers Offenbach managed to score twice to win 2-0. Most of the fans around me were season ticket holders and I think they have an interesting season ahead of them. The club, with this ground and loyal fan base should play in (at least) 3. Liga and they will most likely challenge for the top spot this season. I was back at my hotel shortly before 23.00 and I quickly fell asleep. Directions Graffiti Stadion am Bieberer Berg Rear of the Haupttribüne Westtribüne Waldemar-Klein-Trbüne Osttribüne Kick-off Ulm fans Waldemar-Klein-Tribüne Kickers Offenbach fans Kickers Offenbach fans View of play Osttribüne Pano Pano |