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Frankfurt, Germany
- Jake Ritter
- Jun 9
- 6 min read
With two blogs published in a two-and-a-half month span, you can’t say I don’t spoil you dear reader; granted the first blog (insert shameless plug here) was put out after a year and half delay, but tomato-tomoto. My latest trip abroad was part of a planned four-city european tour (eat your heart out Taylor Swift) consisting of visits to London, Wrexham, Paris, and Frankfurt.
As you may of noticed with the second city name, I am among the many Americans who’ve became a fan of the Welsh-based soccer team, AFC Wrexham, due to the docuseries which I highly recommend, Welcome to Wrexham. Unfortunately for me and the wonderful content I surely would have provided you with, the reason why you haven’t read a blog on that football-based adventure is courtesy of an fire that cancelled countless flights into Heathrow, mine included. That led to our trip starting two days later, which to me was why I sadly watched the game on my couch instead of at the third oldest soccer stadium in the world and Wrexham’s home, the Stoke Cae Ras.
After a brief bout of disappointment, I followed the wise words of Canadian philosopher and wordsmith Celin Dion, which were “my heart will go on” as I focused to the other soccer related activities I had to look forward to: a tour of England’s Wembley Stadium (click here to see all of my photos/videos from the tour) and watching a top-ten German league showdown between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. While missing the Wrexham match was disheartening, being able to watch the third best team in the third best league in the world (the authentically-sounding Bundesliga) play in a competitive match more than makes up for it.
An added benefit of traveling across the pond was meeting up with my cousin who is living in Germany and one item that was of course on the docket was aside from eating some quality schnitzel, was to watch some football.
Due to massive sleep deprivation, we took an Uber to the game instead walking to the stadium and seeing the view of the field from our seats was the boost of adrenaline I needed. Only a mere nine (a dose of irony I only now just appreciated while writing this entry) rows from the field, I was speechless.
From the pre-game tifo (a large piece of painted canvas created and presented by the home team’s supporter section) accompanied by a synchronized orchestra of flares, I knew I was in football nirvana.
While I didn’t recognize most of the Frankfurt players as they were announced (product of being a short-term fan) there was one name I not only recognized but was surprised to see adhoring the home side’s colors was midfielder Mario Götze, Nicknamed “Super Mario”, Götze earned that moniker, adoration of his entire county, and ire of Aregintinians everywhere by scoring the game-winning goal of the 2014 World Cup final against Messi in the 113th minute.
Shortly after the match started, it was clear that this was going to be an intense and hard-fought contest. Stuttgart’s game plan was to use physicality and a high-pressing system to overpower Frankfurt and steal three points away from the home-side. The referee showed early on that he lost control of the game due to multiple examples of obvious foul calls he ignored.
Despite not having an evenly called game much less home-field advantage, Frankfurt had multiple scoring chances including AN EMPTY NET after an aggressive clearance from the Stuttgart keeper was intercepted by a Frankfurt attacker.
The environment in the stadium, to use a highly sophisticated and clinical term, was bonkers. Adding to the bonkerness (patent pending on the word) was an added level of security in the form of a border-style fence erected in between the section I was sitting in and the away supporter section that the majority of the Stuttgart faithful were located; the placement of said fence will become important later towards the end stages of the game.
After the in-game fireworks (metaphorical and literal), the first half ended without any goals to show for it. Taking advantage of the 15-minute intermission, I decided to indulge in another German delicacy, a Bavarian pretzel. With pretezel in tow, my cousin and I went back to our seats seats for the second half, feeling like a goal in either direction was imminent.
With the second half officially underway, Frankfurt picked up where they left off in terms of gameplay and intensity. They continued controlling the flow of the game, dominating possession, and having the lion’s share of opportunities where as Stuttgart played the role of disruptor; constantly fouling the homeside while appearing to be content with stealing a point on the road and ending the game in a tie.
That strategy proved ineffective when in the 57th minute, a Stuttgart player received a red card! The equivalent of a “clear-path foul” that leads to a technical foul in basketball, the Stuttgart defender pulled down the Frankfurt attacker who with the ball, had a clear path to a one-on-on with the keeper. In those cases, that type of transgression almost always leads to a red card.
With over 30 minutes left in regulation with a 1-man advantage, the Frankfurt faithful (say that 10 times fast) were feeling that is was a matter of when their team will score, not if. After nearly 13 minutes of near-misses and unfinished chances, good old “Super Mario” Götze turned back the hands of time delivered with a well-timed run and helped put the home team in the lead .
With 10 minutes left in the match, Frankfurt started to batten down the hatches and ensure that the scoreline remains the same when the referee blows the whistle for the final time while Stuttgart started to be more aggressive and take chances. For the homeside to come out at as victors with a 1-0 scoreline, the defenders and goalkeeper needed to have some Götze-like moments such as the key save and defensive stop below.
As the game-clock ticked closer to 90 minutes (end of regulation), the intensity off the field started to match (or even exceed) what was on full display on it. The Frankfurt fans (one of our seatmates being among the most guilty) started to provoke the Stuttgart away section with words I didn’t understand but gestures that were universal. The visiting fans saw the homeside’s verbal provocations and raised them a beer shower by throwing their non-empty cups towards us.
This was the sign I needed to put away my Go-Pro. To properly earn my place among the Frankfurt faithful despite only being a one-night-only supporter, I started handing out pocket tissues that I was using the wipe off the beer to other affected fans. Meanwhile on the field, Stuttgart had one final push for an equalizer that could’ve easily knotted up the score if it wasn’t for a brilliant save from the Frankfurt goalkeeper.
My cousin and I heard the final whistle as we headed toward the exit, celebrating the win among the die-hard fans as positive vibes are just contagious. As we were leaving, my cousin admitted that not only did he enjoy watching a soccer game that he only went to as a kindness towards his older cousin, but he enjoyed the atmosphere and even wants to keep going to games. I converted an American to the religion that is the world’s game; you’re welcome Germany.
The Bonus Section
If you made it this far, good on you and most importantly, thank you! I appreciate you getting to the finish line of my soccer-related ramblings. While there was no seamless way to tie this in, I thought to include some facts I found interesting about Frankfurt below. Enjoy!
Eintracht Frankfurt matches are among the highest attended in the world
They are the largest sports club in the world with 14,000 athletes across 50 sports
They are one of the original Bundesliga team when the league was first created back in 1963
Interesting read even for a person who is not familiar with football much! I hope you will make the one you missed in Wrexham one day and many more in different countries 🤗