ITV Sport's Ned Boulting blogs from Wolfsburg ahead of their Europa League quarter-final with Fulham
Watching Bayern Munich get the better of Manchester United in a bar in Wolfsburg last night was a curious experience. At first there was only passing interest from the locals. After all, we are a long way from Bavaria here, and Bayern are just as disliked for their success by fans of other clubs in Germany as Manchester United are themselves.
Yet, the more that Bayern clawed their way into the game, the more the spectacle sucked in local support. In the end, it all got a bit partisan, and the final whistle was greeted with cheers and smiles, before the punters got back to the more pressing matter of talking about tonight’s encounter with Fulham.
Bayern’s victory though, to many in Germany feels like a long-overdue national reward for the fact that the Bundesliga appears to have got things thoroughly right in all sorts of ways, (except for the small matter of sticking the ball in the opponents net often enough.). The clubs now all benefit from the colossal overhaul of their grounds which has remodelled the landscape of their football into the finest there is. Full stop. From Schalke to Hertha, Hamburg to Frankfurt, not forgetting the cauldron of Dortmund, they have the biggest noisiest crowds in the most awe-inspiring surroundings. Gone are the days of the concrete bowl with the athletics track. These grounds are built with ‘Purer Fussball’ in mind.
And, what is even more remarkable, they have managed this transition, by and large without the need to sell up to US speculators or to go begging in the Emirates. The clubs are often debt-free, and yet somehow keep their prices down, so that everyone can go. Yes, everyone. Most tickets here cost just 15-22 Euros. And these, let’s not forget are the reigning champions – a small club, rebuilt and rehoused and now top of the pile (albeit for one season only). When I lived over here in the early nineties, this club was a byword for the less-glamorous reaches of the lower leagues. Germany’s equivalent of the patronising expression ‘a wet Tuesday night in Grimsby’.
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when they won the championship last season. It’s the kind of metamorphosis that will never happen again in England.
Fulham are similar in some ways, at least in stature, although Craven Cottage’s antique charm contrasts sharply with the steel and glass modernity of the VW Arena. Oh, and London is a place, not a factory town in the middle of nowhere. But, under Hodgson’s astute stewardship, they spend within their means, and a growing a team who have taken the club further than they’ve ever gone before.
But, the Premier League glass ceiling is never far away. While Fulham know the realistic extent of their remarkable ambitions, Wolfsburg have dreamt the dream, and lived it too. It seems that’s still possible here.
Just a shame that one of these two fine clubs has to go out tonight. For different reasons they represent the acceptable face of 21st Century football.
Watch Wolfsburg v Fulham live on ITV4 & ITV.com tonight at 7.30pm
