Dynamo Dresden

Ground: DDV-Stadion (Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion)

Visits: 1

Date: 6th August 2018

Match: Dynamo Dresden - Duisburg 1-0 (2. Bundesliga)

Attendance: 28 733

The game I built this trip around was Dynamo Dresden v Duisburg. At the moment I am only missing four grounds in 2. Bundesliga and a season opener on a Monday evening in Dresden was an opportunity I couldn't miss out on. My day started in Prague though and at 10.33 my EC-train was supposed to leave the Czech capital. The train arrived at 10.20 but with two coaches missing it was very chaotic but thankfully I found my coach and seat. 12 minutes delayed we could finally leave Prague. The journey to Dresden was supposed to take 2h 20min but it took nearly three hours until we arrived in Dresden. My hotel was across the street from the train station and I was not in a hurry but still annoying to be 30 minutes late. I had a late lunch, Wienerschnitzel, at my hotel before making my way to DDV-Stadion, the home of Dynamo Dresden. The ground is less than 15 minutes by foot from the train station and after a few pictures I left for the city centre. The city of Dresden has a population of 550 000 and is the second largest city (after Leipzig) in Sachsen. Dresden. In February 1945 American and British bombers completely destroyed the city centre and around 25 000 civilians were killed. This was a very controversial moment and according to many a war crime. The most prominent building in the city of Dresden is the Frauenkirche. Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, before being rebuilt between 1994 and 2005.

Kick-off at DDV-Stadion was at 20.30 and around 18.45 I was outside the ground. The areas around the ground were buzzing with excited fans. In its present form DDV-Stadion was opened in 2009 and nowadays the ground has a capacity of around 31 000. The ground used to have running tracks and 1951 to 1971 and 1990 to 2010 the ground was named Rudolf Harbig Stadion. Rudolf Harbig was a German athlete killed in World War II. My seat was in row 27 of the West Stand meaning I was sitting in the shade tonight. That was obviously slightly more comfortable than sitting directly in the sun which was the case yesterday. The fans of Dynamo Dresden are known for being very passionate and creating a great atmosphere wherever they go. Tonight was of course no exception and even though the game itself was not the best, at times I was actually a bit bored, the Dynamo fans in the terrace to my left gave their team a fantastic support throughout the 90 minutes. Sweden U-21 defender Linus Wahlqvist who signed from IFK Norrköping earlier in the summer made his debut tonight and he started his Dynamo career with three points. The only goal in the game was scored in the 39th minute. Duisburg hit the bar in the second half but apart from that they had few chances in the game. Towards the end Dynamo should have scored a second goal but winning 1-0 in the opening game of the season was still more than enough to make the 28 000 home fans leave DDV-Stadion in a good mood.