There is more to German football than the Bundesliga
Every weekend of the football season thousands of British fans catch budget flights to Germany to watch a game involving one of the big Bundesliga clubs. They are attracted by the atmosphere, the sense of occasion and the prospect of watching high-quality football. They like the fact that you can stand in German stadiums, that you can drink a beer while you watch the game. And above all, they like the reasonably priced tickets. They say that you can have a weekend in Dortmund – flight, hotel, tickets – for less than the cost of a trip to watch a top Premier League Club.
I love the drama, passion and scale of the Bundesliga and try to get over as often as I can. The atmosphere of packed stadiums like Signal Iduna, Veltins Arena, Borussia Park is something any football fan would savour. But there is so much more to German football than the Bundesliga, and there are also fantastic days out to be had lower down the football ladder. Many 2 Bundesliga clubs offer the same scale and sense of occasion as their higher-flying neighbours. You can expect big crowds, decent facilities and quality football at places like VfL Bochum, Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC Nürnberg, FC St Pauli, and Dynamo Dresden – all clubs with tradition, history and a large, passionate and noisy fan base, and based in fascinating cities.
Why not take a look at the 3. Liga?
In this article, I want to convince you to go even further from the mainstream and take a look at the third division of German football. Whenever I am in Germany, I try to take in at least one 3. Liga game before or after a Bundesliga encounter. It’s a very different experience, but I have never been disappointed.
The crowds are smaller. This makes it easier to get a ticket. For most games at most clubs, you can pay on the day. The smaller scale means stewards and officials are more relaxed, helpful and welcoming. And of course, you don’t have to wait for as long for food and drink or waste half-time queuing for the toilets. Not having to use public transport with 50,000 others makes arriving and leaving much simpler.
Many 3. Liga grounds are either new or recently refurbished, so facilities are usually excellent. Food and drink is cheaper and often of better quality than in bigger outfits. Most stadiums have more standing places and you feel much more involved.
3. Liga clubs are often in smaller towns and cities and travelling to and from a game often takes you through lovely countryside and introduces you to new places.
Where to start
The 20 clubs in the 3. Liga are spread across the whole country. And where you decide to visit will depend on where you are based and what else you plan to do in Germany. I have organised them below around their nearest German cities with the most flights to and from the UK. Click on the name to get more information about each club and how to get there.
Düsseldorf or Cologne
(It will take about three hours to get to either Meppen and Lotte).
Berlin
Leipzig
Hannover
Frankfurt
Stuttgart
Munich
Hamburg
Getting around
Travel in Germany is a joy. Trains are quick, reliable and comfortable. Public transport in towns and cities is integrated so that you can use the same ticket on train, tram, bus or underground. And if you get the right ticket you can travel long distances relatively cheaply. The transport organisations in big towns and cities usually have an English section on their website to help you plan journeys and get the best possible deals. So if I am in the Ruhr area, for example, I would go to the VRR website. If I am travelling further afield I use these three websites:
Loco2 is an online company that specialises in train travel. You can use them to buy tickets to and from anywhere in Europe. You simply provide departure, destination, date and time and they do the rest in seconds.
You can also plan your trips and buy Print@Home or e-tickets at the Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) website. They also give information and advice on the best deals.
My favourite travel website is The Man in Seat 61. Its author, Mark Smith, knows everything there is to know about train travel in Europe and beyond. If you go to the Germany section you will find advice on buying tickets, interactive maps to help you plan routes, general information about travel in Germany and links to other helpful sites.
What have I missed?
I have done my very best to check all my information, to include every club and to organise them conveniently. But I have not been able to visit every single club in person and am certain to have made mistakes. There may also be better ways of getting to and from particular places and other lower league clubs that could be included. If you spot anything, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know.
Would you like to find out more about German football?
