When visiting friends in Germany I try to catch a game if I can. The consensus was, however, that 50 euros to watch a poor Werder Bremen team was way too expensive. This left me looking around for other games to watch and so I settled on catching an Oberliga game. For a brief discussion on the German football pyramid - see below.
After seeing friends in Bremen, myself and my Hannover based friend made way to the Stadion am Panzenberg, to see a 'Bremen Premier League' game. Unfortunately, due to the the wet playing surface, a sign at the turnstile told us that the match had been relocated to the plastic pitch of their training ground, some 10 minutes away. Thankfully we had given ourselves plenty of time and we made it to Hohweg with sufficient minutes left prior to kick-off to grab a gluwein from the club bar.
Having paid our €6 to enter 'the ground' we stood with our backs to the wire fencing, 3 metres from the unbarriered playing surface. From this vantage point it was clear to see that this facility would not be of sufficient standard to host an English Step 7 game.
The home team, sitting proudly at the head of the table, were hosting a mid-table team, but we were initially confused as to which team was which as Bremer were wearing their red away strip.
The match itself was quite entertaining with lots of chances for both sides. Bremer looked like the better footballing side throughout but had to come from behind to get a well deserved point.
The first corner of the game on 20 minutes brought the visitors their goal. Near post, and unmarked, a player confidently glanced a header past the 'keeper.
It took Bremer a further 50 minutes to get their equaliser. A lovely ball was dinked into the box ahead of the onrushing striker who slotted the ball past the 'keeper from 9 yards out, slightly to the left of centre.
It is always difficult to make comparisons, but the standard looked like an English Tier 9 equivalent.
After standing in near freezing conditions for 90 minutes we were happy to get back to a warm car. Unfortunately on the way back home our warm car was pranged by a driver of a Volkswagon.
The German football pyramid is different from the English system. It is complicated by the German federal state system.
The Bundesliga and Zweite Bundesliga equate to our Premier League and League Championship respectively but then significant differences are seen.
The Dritte Liga (our Football League 1st Division (tier 3)) can contain the second teams of bigger clubs. And second teams, and even third teams, of bigger clubs can appear in the two steps below this level.
The Regionalliga sits at tier 4. As the name suggests it is regionalised (unlike the English tier 4). It is made up of 5 leagues (4 regional leagues and the de-facto Bavarian federal state 'premier league'). If this were the case in England an English Regionalliga would consist of teams from League 2, Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South and the second teams of bigger clubs.
Sitting below the Regionalliga are the 14 Oberliga leagues (some of which are the de-facto federal state premier leagues).
End of season play-offs decide promotions from the Regionalliga. Winning a league is not enough to guarantee promotion.
Some Oberliga league winners get automatic promotion to the Regionaliga, while others have to enter a play-off competition. This is due to the fact that some Oberliga are weaker than others.
Below tier 5 the system is even less clearly defined than the English system, as each federal state run leagues under their jurisdiction. Typically there are the Verbansliga, Landesligas (federal divisions), Bezirksligas (county leagues) and Kreisliga (district leagues).
