Who are yer? Fortuna Dusseldorf

Fortuna Dusseldorf 95 are looking to revive their glory days of the 70s and 80s when they were one of the strongest teams in German football.

From 1971 they had a 16 season spell in the Bundesliga  including three successive cup finals - two of them victorious. There were also a couple of third place league finishes to brag about.

It was also at this time that they made it through to the European Cup Winners Cup final where they lost 4-3 to the mighty Barcelona in extra time.

 

 

Sprightly sight: The Esprit Arena.

 

It's been tougher in recent seasons with a brief period in the fourth level of German football. But the side are bouncing back and after promotion are battling in the Bundesliga 2 - no doubt keen to make it one level higher and take on rivals Koln and Leverkusen again.

Pub bore fact of the day - Fortuna Dusseldorf were sponsored by a punk band in the early noughties - by Dusseldorf's very own Die Toten Hosen which, if you were wondering, literally means The Dead Pants although basically means Deadbeats.

 

Where do you come from? Esprit Arena

The Esprit Arena (or the former LTU Arena as it's called on every sign and map - don't you just love it when stadium sponsors change ) is a brand spanking new stadium in the heart of Dusseldorf's trade fair district.

And I have to say it's mighty impressive. From the outside it's one gigantic squarish modernist block, with the stadium name emblazoned on the corners.

Inside the contrast couldn't be greater. It's a two tiered stadium, all seater throughout although the Fortuna hardcore have no intention of abiding by that and sets of seats seemed to be mysteriously removed from their sector in a corner during the course of the game.

The second upper tier is as steep as you get - it's a fair hike up to the top but the views are first class. There are scoreboards hanging from the roof at both ends although if you're near the back at the ends you'll have trouble seeing them.

It holds an impressive 51,000 souls. For regular Fortuna games the hosts fill most of one end, the Sudtribune, and the lower tier of both sides whilst the visitors are behind the far goal in the Warsteiner Tribune.

 

 

 

 

Maybe conscious of the fact that Fortuna would struggle to fill all the seats - although they attract a healthy 20,000 odd for most Bundesliga 2 games - the seats are randomly coloured throughout,, red, yellow, blue and grey to give the appearance of being full. Sounds bizarre but it does kind of work.

The arena is probably the closest to an airport as you will get anywhere - so you have the added benefit of planes flying over during the 90 minutes. The roof is retractable and closes, a clue to its use as a mutli-purpose stadium.

And it's that fact - this is the city's arena, not simply Fortuna's - that is the only let down for me. There is a feeling that Fortuna are tenants rather than the owners and so there is precious little club branding to be seen,  club shops seem a little makeshift, making it a little clinical.

It also means that unlike most grounds the world over there's as many toilets for the women as the men. Great news for the ladies - but expect a lengthy queue for the gents at half time.

We're on our way: Getting to the ground

 

The arena is a good romp out of town. Not even Paula Radcliffe would want to run this one.

So the best way by far is to grab underground U78 which runs from Dusseldorf main station via the Aldstadt (Heinrich-Heine-Allee) right to the stadium (Messe/Rehinstadion), taking around 20 minutes. From there it's up the steps and the arena is slap bang in front of you. A steady stream of U-Bahn trains will whisk you back into town post match.

 

 

Yep, bit like a convention centre from the outside: But yes, it's the Esprit Arena.

 

 

 

 

Who ate all the pies? Eating and drinking

It's very feasible to grab a beer and a bratwurst in Dusseldorf old town and set off about an hour before kick off. Once you arrive at the stadium there's precious few places to go to around as far as i can see - it's other role is as the city's trade fair hub.

You'll find the usual standard fare inside the stadium, with a choice of the local tipple, the dark Schlosser Alt and the lighter other beer, plus enough pretzels and sausages to keep you sated.

 

 

 

Grab a seat: Buying a ticket

The main ticket office is easily found just up from the U-Bahn stop to the left. Unless the game is of epic proportions you'll have no problem buying one on the day - the average attendance is in the low 20,000s meaning it's around half full. So unless it's local rivals  Koln in the cup quarter finals you should be fine.

However, expect queues half an hour before kick off so a better option is to buy your tickets at the Tourist information Centre in the old town. You can pick your seats - usually at the south end of the ground with the Fortuna faithful. There's no queue and the Billy Bonus is that your match ticket will cover you for the public transport to and from the ground.

 

 

 

 

Form an orderly queue please (no chance) the ticket booths outside the home end.

 

Grab a souvenir: Club stores

There's a fairly modest sized fan shop just inside the Sudtribune although it's a bit of a free for all before the match.

Shame really as the Fortuna range is impressive. There's a big skull and crossbones thing going on with a good range of merchandise. Other than that you can also buy some of the gear in the sports section at Karstadt, Germany's main department store. You'll find one in Oststrasse around ten minutes from the main station.