Go West

Rot Weiss Essen  1  Rot Weiss Oberhausen  1

Regionalliga West

The German Regionalliga West is a fascinating competition, and one of so many contrasts.

Set at Step 4, so in theory one below Liga 3 (the lowest of the national divisions), from a geographical perspective it ranges from Rodinghausen at its most Northern most outpost which is to the East of Osnabruck, down to Bonn in the South. Whereas on the West to East axis it stretches from Aachen, which is on the Holland/Belgium interface, across to Siegen. If you don’t know your German geography, it’s a good size, trust me!

But the variance in clubs is quite interesting as well. Former Bundesliga sides like Alemannia Aachen playing at the 32,000 seater Tivoli Stadium and Wattenscheid 09 grace the competition, whereas the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach Reserves also compete although not at the main stadiums.

At the other end of the scale you’ve got the minnows like SV Rodinghausen, SC Wiedenbruck and SV Lippstadt who effectively play at what would be typical non-league grounds.

But, half of the clubs have stadiums that can hold over 10,000 spectators. Aachen aside, you’ve got RW Oberhausen that can accommodate 21,000, Wuppertaler SV that can wedge in 23,000 and Kaan-Marienborn that can hold just shy of 19,000 punters.

The one club I’ve not mentioned so far is the one that has fascinated me the most, Rot Weiss Essen, the destination for our Saturday afternoon venture.

Founded in 1907, the club won the German Cup in 1953 and then in 1955 they won the Bundesliga which in turn saw qualification for Europe.  

Their performances slipped after this and relegation to the second tier came in 1961, where they remained until 1966 when they returned to the top flight. They then yo-yo’d between the top two divisions until 1977 when the more dramatic decline came.

Since 1978 the club were moving between the second a third tier but financial issues befell them on several occasions and a real low point came in 2010 when they found themselves in the fifth tier of German football after insolvency saw them have to start from almost scratch. In 2011 they returned to the fourth tier, where they have remained ever since.

Up until 2012, the club played at a 15,000 capacity stadium, called the Georg Melches Stadion, it was remarkable for being the first stadium in West Germany to have floodlights. Post 2012 the club moved into the new 20,000 capacity Stadion Essen, and in that time they have averaged crowds between 6,000 and 8,000, but as recently as 2007 the club were averaging almost 14,000 at home games.

This, is a big club, make no mistake about it! It’s just they’ve had a bit of a tough time, for forty years or so…..!

So when the fixture calendar threw up a local derby against bitter rivals Oberhausen, it was a simply must see game. Any game at Essen would have undoubtedly formed part of our plans as it’s a great stadium to visit, but to get what is effectively the biggest game of the season was a real bonus for us.

We made our enquiries regarding tickets, only to be told not to worry, simply turn up at the game and buy them. No way were they going to fill a 20,000 stadium, and in reality the official attendance ended up being just over 9,000.

Essen is almost exactly an hour from Duiven, and after a confusing conversation with a car park attendant, we managed to find some free parking off of a side road less than a five minute walk from the stadium.

What was quite interesting was the size of the police presence, with a number of them kitted out in full battle armour. Clearly, with noticeable segregation very much in place, the authorities were taking no chances with a game that had potential to turn naughty, quite easily so it seemed.

A large gathering of Essen supporters were outside a bar, and they were attracting much of the police attention. Despite looking like the kind of gents you would definitely let order a drink at the bar before you, whether it were their turn or not, other than the odd crash of glass, it was all seemingly peaceful albeit somewhat tense.

What a superb stadium! Four large modern stands on all four sides of the ground, with one end being purely terracing for home supporters, while the opposite end was split between terracing and seats, and was solely for visiting supporters. The main stand incorporated executive boxes and business seats, while the stand opposite, which we went in, was seated throughout.

Buying tickets was an interesting experience. I wanted to buy three tickets for the central section of the stand which were five euro’s more expensive than in the wings, but the guy kept telling me not to buy them, he was pointing to the wing tickets on the plan. I then tried to explain that we really wanted to be more central, and only then did I get it, he winked at me and said..

“Sir, you need the cheaper tickets”

In other words, sit where you like, no one checks and as the ground is only half full, you’ll have plenty of choice. He was right, and fair play to him for not ripping us off, which he could easily have done.

The atmosphere was quite brilliant, the Essen fans were making one hell of a noise, no doubt fuelled by the endless supplies of beer that were being carried by the crateful to thirsty spectators at regular intervals. And even if you couldn’t be arsed to go and fetch it, a chap was going round with a pressurised backpack filling up your glass if you so wished! It was football and beer heaven!

We chose not to actually take our seats, but like many others we simply went to the back row and stood on the concrete walkway at the very back of the stand. The view was superb, and after the pre-match deliberations, it was time for the game.

Oberhausen sat second in the table behind Viktoria Koln whereas Essen were languishing in mid-table. The first half very much played out as the table would suggest, with the visitors playing the more confident football, moving it around wall and picking the passes. The opening goal came as early as the twelfth minute when Shaibou Oubeyapwa ran through on goal and slotted the ball low past the Essen goalkeeper. However, in a rare attack, the hosts equalised five minutes before the break with a well placed shot from Lukas Scepanik.

The second half was a different story. Essen upped the energy levels and displayed a renewed confidence after the equaliser, and while their football was not as slick as the display the visitors had put on in the first period, it did force the opposition onto the back foot. A second didn’t arrive as Oberhausen managed to keep them at bay, and I guess in the final analysis a point each was probably a fair reflection of the game.

The bulk of the hardcore Essen support behind the goal opted to stay put at the final whistle to salute their heroes with songs about beer, sausage and football (probably), and that gave us the chance to hot foot it back to the car and head for the Autobahn.

It had been a brilliant experience, at a great club, with amazing support and, an awesome stadium.

That probably sums up the Regionalliga West perfectly.