Going to watch MSV Duisburg

Tradition, loyalty and hope

Real football fans are loyal and true. They stick with their team through the bad as well as the good times. They don’t defect to other clubs in search of glory. They keep coming back year after year. Each new season begins with the expectation of better things to come and each game begins with the hope of a good performance.

The followers of MSV Duisburg are most definitely real football fans. They have had precious little to celebrate for years and they have had more than their fair share of bad times.

Their club – nicknamed the Zebras after its blue and white striped kit – was once a force to be reckoned with. But since the 1980s fans have endured the torture of following one of German football’s ‘elevator’ sides going up and down the divisions. And yet they still come in their thousands each week to get behind their team.

Tickets

Standing tickets cost 11 euros and seats from 15 euros. Your ticket entitles you to free travel on public transport (except intercity trains) to and from the game.

Matches rarely sell out, and so you will almost certainly be able to buy a ticket on the day. If you are like me and prefer to have everything organised in advance, there are two ways to get a ticket.

The online shop is unfortunately only in German, but it’s easy enough to work out what to do. You can have your tickets sent you or use Print@Home.
You can also get a ticket at the Ruhr Visitor Centre in the town centre (in CityPalais on Königstraße).

Getting to Duisburg

Duisburg is on the edge of a large collection of towns and cities called the Ruhrgebiet and it is very straightforward to get here from outside Germany.

Flights

If you are coming over for a short visit, flying is the best option, and you can usually get a return flight for about £100.

Düsseldorf Airport

There are flights here from Birmingham, London Stanstead, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle. The airport has a station where you can catch a train to Duisburg. The journey will take ten minutes.

Cologne Bonn Airport

There are flights here from London Heathrow, London Stanstead, Manchester and Edinburgh and a station right in the middle of the airport. There are direct trains to Duisburg and the journey will take about 80 minutes.

If you are not in a hurry

A more leisurely way to get here would be by train – take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels, change there for Cologne and then continue to Duisburg. This costs about £150.

If you are not in a hurry, National Express will take you from London to the region by bus for about £40 return. But be prepared for a very long journey!

Travelling in the region

Duisburg belongs to an integrated public transport system managed by an organisation called VRR. You can use VRR tickets on any regional and local train, tram, underground and bus across the entire network. The VRR website explains in English how it all works.

And remember – on match days your ticket entitles you to free travel to and from the ground across the entire region.

Where to stay

There are three hotels within five minutes of the station:
Ibis
Intercity
Mercure

For anyone looking for a wider choice of things to do and places to go before and after the football, Düsseldorf is only 15 minutes away by train. There are hotels there to match every budget. The Düsseldorf Tourist Information Office provides advice and a booking facility here.

Before the game

Come out of the station, head right across Portsmouthsplatz, and turn left into Königstraße. This runs through the city centre and is full of cafes, and food outlets.

Continue up Königstraße and cross the main road at the end. You will eventually come to a large church. Just behind it is the Innenhafen. This used to be the largest inland harbour in the world. It has recently been renovated and now contains bars, restaurants and a marina.

If you feel like a bit of exercise, take a walk around the harbour. Find out about its history from the information boards placed along the route.

Getting to the ground

Travelling to see MSV could not be simpler. The 934 bus will take you from Stop 5 outside the station and drop you off right in front of the stadium.

Inside the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena

The stadium opened in 2005. It has a capacity of 30,000, including 7,000 standing places, cost 43 million euros to build and is one of the most modern venues in Germany.

Before every home game they play the club anthem. In case you want to sing along, here are the words, with a translation into English.

Wir sind zebras weiss blau (we are zebras white blue)
Unser club der MSV (our club the MSV)
Und wir stehen fur euch immer hier (and we will always stand for you here)
Denn hier zwischen Rhein und Ruhr (because here between Rhine and Ruhr)
Ja, da gibt es einen nur (there is only one)
MSV, unser Club im Revier (MSV, our local club)
Duisburg unsere Stadt (Duisburg is our town)
Hier is pralles Leben pur (here life is pure
Menschen die hier wohnen(people you live here)
Bleiben dran, sind manchmal stur. (Stick with it and are sometimes stubborn)
Dietz, Krämer, Rahn, das war damals, als alles begann (Dietz, Kramer, Rahn – that’s when it all began)
Und noch immer fängt das Spiel von vorne an.(and every games begins anew)
Wir gehen mit euch durch’s Feuer (we will go through fire with you)
Und wir feiern jeden Sieg (we celebrate every win)
In unserer Arena (in our ground)
Wir sind zebras weis blau (we are zebras white blue)
Unser club der MSV (our club the MSV)
Und wir stehen fur euch immer hier (and we will always stand for you here)
Denn hier zwischen Rhein und Ruhr (because here between Rhine and Ruhr)
Ja, da gibt es einen nur (there is only one)
MSV, unser Club im Revier (MSV, our local club
Früher gabs hier noch Kohle (once there was coal here)
Früher war hier nur Stahl (once there was steel)
Für die Zukunft kämpfen (fighting for the future)
Das ist für uns normal (that’s normal for us)
Unser Blick geht nach vorne (we look forward)
Aber auch mit Stolz zurück (but also back with pride)
Von uns wartet keiner auf sein Glück (we don’t just sit around)
Wir sind zebras weis blau (we are zebras white blue)
Unser club der MSV (our club the MSV)
Und wir stehen fur euch immer hier (and we will always stand for you here)
Denn hier zwischen Rhein und Ruhr (because here between Rhine and Ruhr)
Ja, da gibt es einen nur (there is only one)
MSV, unser Club im Revier (MSV, our local club)

If the home team scores, they play the Zebratwist, a song that has been sung at the club since 1964. Don’t worry if there aren’t any goals. You will also hear the Zebratwist before the players come on, just before the referee blows for the kickoff and yet again at the start of the second half. You can hear it on YouTube. If you feel like joining in, this is the chorus :

Zebrastreifen weiß und blau (zebra stripes white and blue)
Zebrastreifen weiß und blau (zebra stripes white and blue)
ein jeder weiss genau, (everybody knows)
das ist der MSV (that’s the MSV)
das ist der MSV