Energie Cottbus

Ground: Stadion der Freundschaft

Visits: 1

Date: 1st November 2013

Match: Energie Cottbus - Bochum 0-1 (2. Bundesliga)

Attendance: 9 219

After three nights in Wroclaw it was time to move on. There were no matches in Poland on Friday but luckily for me/us Energie Cottbus vs Bochum was scheduled for Friday evening. Cottbus is 30 km or so from the Polish border (and 220 km from Wroclaw) making this a perfect match for Jonas and myself. At 10.45 we left Hotel Slask and around 13.15 we were in Cottbus. Border crossings in Europe are not what they used to be by the way. As we crossed the border there was a sign saying "Deutschland" and that was it. How times have changed! Since I was leaving Cottbus by train on Saturday morning I had made a reservation at the Radisson Blu hotel in Cottbus. This hotel is opposite the train station and a 15-17 minute walk from the football ground in Cottbus. It has been a difficult autumn in 2. Bundesliga for both Energie Cottbus and Bochum. Before the match this evening Bochum were third from bottom (relegation play-off) with Cottbus a place above.

Kick-off this Friday evening was at 18.30 and by 16.15 I was outside Stadion der Freundschaft to take some exterior pictures. Stadion der Freundschaft has been completely rebuilt in recent years and today has a capacity of around 22 000. The biggest stand is the two-tiered Osttribüne with the old main stand on the opposite side looking quite small in comparison. Away supporters are in the South Stand behind the goal, both seating and terracing are available. Talking about away supporters I had arranged to meet Bochum fan Daniel (and his friend Mike) outside the ground. Daniel has a website (http://bochumfan.de) of his own and we first met at the Bochum vs Ingolstadt match last year. After the four of us had bought tickets next to the each other Jonas and I entered the ground while Daniel and Mike stayed outside for some exterior pictures. Our seats were in row 9 in the lower tier of the North Stand. Mostly elderly season-ticket holders around us. As kick-off approached Daniel pointed out to me there was a protest by Cottbus fans in the terrace to our right. No flags and ultras banners hanging upside down. This had to do with the aftermath to the derby against Dresden last weekend. I don´t know all the details but apparently Cottbus fans will have personalised away tickets from now on. Troubles in Dresden the reason for this.

The actual match in Cottbus was ok. The quality was certainly better than in Wroclaw yesterday. Cottbus had some great chances early on and should have scored two or three goals. Instead it was Bochum who, against the run of play, scored the first goal of the match. A simple tap-in from Sukuta-Pasu who scored only his second goal of the season. Cottbus then tried everything but couldn´t find the equalizer. Towards the end Cottbus fans chanted "Wir haben die Schnauze voll" (We have had enough) but that didn´t help. The match finished 1-0 to Bochum and some very important points for them. After the match I said good-bye to Jonas and thanked him for the week. I walked to the city centre with Daniel and Mike and was back at my hotel around 9pm. One match left on this tour now, Rot-Weiss Erfurt vs Chemnitzer FC in 3. Liga and hopefully a great match to finish off my week in Poland/Germany.

Some of the signs in the pictures are in a language I thought was Polish. I have now learnt they are in Sorbian. Sorbs are a minority i eastern Germany/Poland and have their own language.

stadion der freundschaft