Friday 14th October saw us fly to Bavaria to watch Nuremburg’s rivals who play in green. Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth, known as SpvGG Greuther Fürth are located in Fürth.
Recent History
Greuther Fürth only first reached The Bundesliga in 2012-13. This lasted just one season and was repeated with a promotion in 2021 and relegation back to Bundesliga 2 in 2022.
This Greuther Fürth v Hansa Rostock matchday in Bundesliga 2 saw the hosts start the day on 9pts and in the relegation zone. Meanwhile their opponents, recently promoted from 3Liga, sat in 10th position albeit just 4pts separate them.
Greuther Fürth are known as The Cloverleaves
Travel to Fürth
The City of Fürth borders the City of Nuremburg which we used as our base for this weekend. Nuremburg Flughafen is the main airport in the area and on arrival we jumped onto the U-Bahn, the U2 line which runs through the city direct to Central Station, just 7 stops taking 15 minutes.
We recommend staying at a&o Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof as it is just a 4 minute walk from the central station and a twin room costs around £60 per night. Rooms are comfortable, have private bathrooms and a 24 hour reception.
Getting to the ground
It is quicker to travel from Nuremberg to Fürth, than it is to get from Fürth HBF to The Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer Stadium where the Greuther Fürth v Hansa Rostock match was taking place. The stadium is a half hour walk from the main Fürth station, whilst the train or a cab will take approximately 15-20 minutes so do factor this in.
Due to our time limits we grabbed a cab at Nuremburg HBF and this cost only 24 Euros all the way to the ground and is a good alternative option if short on time.
Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer Stadium
The stadium was built in 1910 and has been the home of Greuther Fürth for most of their history, having been formed in 1903. On arrival at Sportpark Ronhof Thoma Sommer Stadium the floodlights were already partially switched on as the ground prepared for the match
Tickets for the matches are available to purchase direct from the club on-line here and these tickets cost just 15 Euro’s. We opted for standing tickets in The Nordtribüne, Block 3 which is directly behind the goal. Whilst tickets are easily available for this stadium, you need to be quick when tickets are released to get into this block.
Nord Tribune
Once inside the stadium, we were able to purchase beer and food extremely easily. Due to the match taking place on a Friday evening, less tickets were sold than normal whilst many were running late due to work commitments. The local 6.30pm kick-off time clearly has a negative impact on attendance.
Fans of Greuther Fürth were extremely welcoming, we chatted to many about where we were from, why we were choosing to watch Greuther Fürth and as normal local fans are shocked to hear the answers – why would we choose to watch this level of football?
Juegen and Andre with friends before the match
Greuther Fürth v Hansa Rostock
Before the match the atmosphere was great and fans held aloft their scarves in support of the team.
The match started at a good pace albeit behind the many flags we saw little of the play.
It was Greuther Fürth who took the lead in the 20th minute, and as normal for football in Germany, the beers flew through the air in celebration. It was the second half which saw most of the action. Hansa Rostock equalised in the 57th minute however Greuther Fürth were back in front just minutes later for what seemed to be a well deserved victory.
Then came a moment of controversy. In the 93rd minute, a Hansa Rostock player was alleged to have been pushed in the box and although players protested that decision, the penalty was awarded and Malone stuck away the spot-kick to silence the home fans. That was it, there was no way of winning the match.
After the final whistle, there was no player parade, there were no songs or applause. Instead there was shock at how the match had ended, how had Greuther Fürth not won this match? The home team Twitter page simply tweeted after the match “This result is not yet comprehensible” and that really summed up the feelings at the full-time whistle.
Final Score 2-2
Post-Match
After the match we headed straight back to Nuremburg and to a bar we always visit WeissbierHex. A very welcoming local pub and a place we can recommend before heading into the main bar area.
