Waldhof Mannheim

Ground: Carl-Benz-Stadion

Visits: 1

Date: 10th May 2013

Match: Waldhof Mannheim - Wormatia Worms 2-0 (Regionalliga Südwest)

Attendance: 3 312

Waldhof Mannheim have played seven seasons (1983-1990) in Bundesliga and is regarded as a "Traditionsverein". Nowdays the club play in Regionalliga Südwest but as late as 2011 they played in an even lower league (Oberliga). This Friday evening they were welcoming Wormatia Worms. Worms is situated close to Mannheim and as I travelled from my first match of the day (in Mainz) my train actually stopped in Worms. The train arrived in Mannheim shortly after 5 pm and 15 minutes later I was on board the tram taking me to Carl-Benz-Stadion. The ground is situated in a park and the surrounding area looked quite nice. I bought a ticket for the Südtribüne (15 Euros) and an hour before kick-off I passed the turnstile. With a capacity of 27 000 Carl-Benz-Stadion is a big ground for a Regionalliga club. It was possible to walk around the home stands and since I was sitting in the Südtribüne I thought it could be a good idea to enter the Osttribüne behind the goal. From there I could take pictures of the Südtribüne. As I was taking my pictures someone started to shout at me. There were only 3-4 persons in the stand and one of them came running towards me. This was apparently the ultras section of the ground and I realized I was not wanted in this part of the ground. When the angry young man heard I was from Sweden he relaxed a bit but still said "For you this stand is closed". I apologised and walked back to safety in the Südtribüne.

Wormatia Worms had around 150 fans at this match. They were in the terrace to my left and had an impressive display of flags as the teams entered the pitch. The Mannheim Ultras in the Osttribüne had an even more impressive display. They were singing and chanting during the entire match and for a crowd of only 3 300 the atmosphere was quite good. Waldhof Mannheim were 4th in the table before this match and still has a microscopic chance of promotion. They needed to win the derby against Worms though and in the 73rd minute they could finally find the net. The last five minutes were classic "end to end" stuff and with the last kick of the match Mannheim made it 2-0. The match might not have been that good but Carl-Benz-Stadion is worth a visit and with the good atmosphere I left the ground in a positive mood. Outside a "Sonderfahrt" tram waited for me and I was back at Mannheim Hbf much earlier than expected. Tomorrow I leave for northern Germany and the derby between Bielefeld and Osnabrück. That should be a cracking atmosphere and hopefully a few goals as well.

carl-benz-stadion, outside