Post by rjdgull on Mar 26, 2011 8:08:19 GMT
There has been some good match reports this week from Capital Gull and TUFC01 in particular but for the second week running, the best poster wrote a match report on another team and this one was most certainly not local! ;D
Well done to Bayern Gull, for a good match report on something that is a little bit different and the pictures of a tidy foreign stadium was much appreciated.
Just a pity that we didn't have that yellow shirted ref last night. 
I'm starting to quite enjoy Friday night football. I was not too sure about 18:00 kick offs to start with but actually they work rather well. As most Germans don't work on Friday afternoon's the attendances are quite good. For a lot of games away fans would be able to them without taking time off and get home the same evening. In the case of the game I saw last night (FC Ingolstadt 04 Vs Hertha BSC Berlin) I would imagine the Hertha fans took the morning off since it' something like a five hour trip down to Ingolstadt. Of the 10,820 crowd around 2,000 were from Berlin.
Hertha BSC Berlin are currently top of Bundesliga 2 while Ingolstadt have recently fought their way out of the relegation places following a good run of results.
Ingolstadt missed a first half penalty (it does happen in Germany!) before Hertha took the lead in the second half. Ingolstadt then fought back very well to get an equalizer and almost managed to snatch the game in the closing minutes but in the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result.
Ingolstadt is rather an interesting place. Not only did Victor Frankenstein attend the university (according to Mary Shelley's book) but Adam Weishaupt founded the Illuminati there on 1st May 1776. It is however the businesses of the town that have had more influence on the fortunes of the football club. The HQ of Audi is there and countless car transporters were to be seen on the Autobahn the closer we got our destination. In addition to Audi, Media Markt and Saturn both have their HQ in Ingolstadt. Anyone who has spent anytime in mainland Europe will recognize the names of these electronics stores. From a population point of view, Ingolstadt is almost the same size as Torbay having 121,801 residents. The availability of well paid jobs though makes the sustainability of a second flight football club a lot easier. In addition to that, the transportation links are excellent as the ground is very close to the Autobahn and you can drive out of one of the almost 3,000 car parking spaces in either direction and quickly get on the Autobahn.
Obviously the observations above make comparisons with the Gulls unfair but the stadium itself would be absolutely perfect for Torquay (maybe on the new by-pass). It holds 15,445 with standing for 6,000 split between the 2 ends of the ground. All spectators are under cover and the roof has been designed so that it could be removed should the stadium ever need extending.
Once in the ground, the steep banks of seating and terracing ensure an excellent view from all positions but what makes the ground especially good is the very high standard of the catering. Underneath the stands the fans start to congregate an hour or more before the game to drink beer and eat the excellent selection of sausages and schnitzels on offer. There were probably 6 or 8 outlets in the stadium and the one I used had 8 staff who were serving constantly - the turnover must be huge and probably brings in as much money as the tickets. Incidentally, the tickets were 16 € for adults and 7,20 € for children.
I never thought I'd mention toilets in a review but I was almost tempted to take a picture of them at this ground (probably a good idea I didn't). They were similar to what you might find in a good Hilton. Having said that, I should mention the stadium is very new.
The last thing to mention is the nickname of Ingolstadt - they are known as 'Schanzer' as is anyone else who comes from Ingolstadt. The reason for this is the famous fortifications in and around the city that were completed in 1537 - 'die Schanze' in German is best translated as redoubt in English. You can just about make out the word emblazoned across the clubs emblem in the shot of the stadium facade.
Well done to Bayern Gull, for a good match report on something that is a little bit different and the pictures of a tidy foreign stadium was much appreciated.
Just a pity that we didn't have that yellow shirted ref last night. 
Hertha BSC Berlin are currently top of Bundesliga 2 while Ingolstadt have recently fought their way out of the relegation places following a good run of results.
Ingolstadt missed a first half penalty (it does happen in Germany!) before Hertha took the lead in the second half. Ingolstadt then fought back very well to get an equalizer and almost managed to snatch the game in the closing minutes but in the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result.
Ingolstadt is rather an interesting place. Not only did Victor Frankenstein attend the university (according to Mary Shelley's book) but Adam Weishaupt founded the Illuminati there on 1st May 1776. It is however the businesses of the town that have had more influence on the fortunes of the football club. The HQ of Audi is there and countless car transporters were to be seen on the Autobahn the closer we got our destination. In addition to Audi, Media Markt and Saturn both have their HQ in Ingolstadt. Anyone who has spent anytime in mainland Europe will recognize the names of these electronics stores. From a population point of view, Ingolstadt is almost the same size as Torbay having 121,801 residents. The availability of well paid jobs though makes the sustainability of a second flight football club a lot easier. In addition to that, the transportation links are excellent as the ground is very close to the Autobahn and you can drive out of one of the almost 3,000 car parking spaces in either direction and quickly get on the Autobahn.
Obviously the observations above make comparisons with the Gulls unfair but the stadium itself would be absolutely perfect for Torquay (maybe on the new by-pass). It holds 15,445 with standing for 6,000 split between the 2 ends of the ground. All spectators are under cover and the roof has been designed so that it could be removed should the stadium ever need extending.
Once in the ground, the steep banks of seating and terracing ensure an excellent view from all positions but what makes the ground especially good is the very high standard of the catering. Underneath the stands the fans start to congregate an hour or more before the game to drink beer and eat the excellent selection of sausages and schnitzels on offer. There were probably 6 or 8 outlets in the stadium and the one I used had 8 staff who were serving constantly - the turnover must be huge and probably brings in as much money as the tickets. Incidentally, the tickets were 16 € for adults and 7,20 € for children.
I never thought I'd mention toilets in a review but I was almost tempted to take a picture of them at this ground (probably a good idea I didn't). They were similar to what you might find in a good Hilton. Having said that, I should mention the stadium is very new.
The last thing to mention is the nickname of Ingolstadt - they are known as 'Schanzer' as is anyone else who comes from Ingolstadt. The reason for this is the famous fortifications in and around the city that were completed in 1537 - 'die Schanze' in German is best translated as redoubt in English. You can just about make out the word emblazoned across the clubs emblem in the shot of the stadium facade.