For the last couple of years the British sporting media has reported at length about the numbers of fans coming to watch football in Germany. They are attracted by the prospect of experiencing the electric atmosphere of a Bundesliga game and modern grounds.
There are many great German football clubs, but nine times out of ten the reporter refers to Borussia Dortmund. They tell you how easy it is to get there, how cheap the tickets are – and of course, all about the Yellow Wall.
And they are absolutely right. Dortmund do indeed have great supporters. And the Yellow Wall cheering on their team is something any football fan would appreciate.
So fair play to the marketing people at Dortmund who have put the club right in the middle of world football consciousness and made it the go to place for ‘the Bundesliga experience’.
But it doesn’t have to be Dortmund.
There are plenty other great German football clubs that are just as easy to get to, where the tickets are just as cheap and where you can have an absolutely brilliant day out.
Why not go to Borussia Mönchengladbach?
A flight to Düsseldorf and a 45 minute train journey will take you to Mönchengladbach. A shuttle bus will then drop you off at a brand new stadium to join a crowd of 50,000 to cheer on the team that is currently fourth in the league, competing in the Europa League and playing some great football.
Or how about Fortuna Düsseldorf?
This must be one of the most straightforward footballing days out you will ever have?
You can buy tickets ahead of the game at the tourist information office. The underground takes you literally to the entrance to the stadium, which was built for the world cup and has truly superb facilities. And you will get the full German footballing experience
It doesn’t have to be the Bundesliga.
The crowds might be smaller, but you can have a great experience at 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga games.
You might like to take a look at VfL Bochum.
A 45 minute train journey from Düsseldorf and a 20 minute walk (or a 5 minute underground ride) gets you to a stadium with one of the warmest, fan-friendly atmospheres I have ever experienced.
Lower league football is well worth a trip
After the 3 professional leagues, German football is divided into five regional leagues.
If you are feeling even more adventurous, why not take a look at one of the Regionalliga teams?
Rot Weiss Essen, for example were German cup winners in 1952 and the first German team to play in Europe. Despite years of decline and turmoil on and off the pitch the club still has a huge and passionate fan base and games with local rivals are particularly intense, passionate affairs.
It doesn’t have to be Düsseldorf
I chose these four teams because they are all in or near Düsseldorf, which is the part of Germany I know best and because the transport infrastructure around Düsseldorf airport makes them easy to get to.
You could make the same case for teams in or near other major cities like Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich.
And if you want, you can do it by yourself
There are plenty of great websites which will get tickets and organise travel and a hotel for you – but you don’t have to do it that way.
German public transport is efficient, reliable, cheap and really simple to use and match tickets usually entitle you to free transport to and from the ground.
Getting tickets direct from the clubs online is straightforward and more and more clubs offer Print@home, which allows you to print your ticket before you set off.
And most clubs either have an English section in their website, or someone at the end of a phone who can speak excellent English.
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