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Football matches in August in Germany or Italy...

Football matches in August in Germany or Italy...

Old Mar 11th, 2004, 07:46 PM
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Football matches in August in Germany or Italy...

I'm from the USA and would like to maybe get a chance at going to a football match in Europe. I have heard all the stories about how Europeans go crazy over these matches and would like to check out first hand. Any sites that I can check schedules and possibly get tickets would be great. Not looking for premiere matches due to cost but would like to see a good match if anyone can help. I will be in Berlin and Rome for majority of the trip. Thanks
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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 12:36 AM
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I don't know your exact dates of your visits, but judging from the title of the post, you will have a better shot at seeing a game in Germany. Germany Bundesliga starts the new season on or around the 1st of August. The Italian Serie A starts on or around September 1. The schedule is not out yet as both leagues are still in full swing for this season. I would imagine that both schedules come out in June/July. You should be able to get a ticket to the premier division games. I always do whenever I'm in England. It's no different than going to a footbal game here. Even the more succesful teams are possible, you just have to pay little more. If it's the 2 two top teams then obviously the ticket will be harder to get, but many of the games are not sold out as some people think. On many occasions I was able to order the ticket from the teams website, sometime walk up and purchase the ticket just before the game, and for the BIG games go through a ticket broker/scalper, either in advance and sometimes in front of the stadium.

To study the leagues go here:
www.uefa.com, pick the country and it has the info on that countries premier leagues with links and reports from games as well as schedules. Most of the countries Football associations have their own websites as well and once you find the teams you may be interested in seeing, just search for the teams webite as that gives you very detailed info on the stadium, what's possible/ or not with the tickets, etc...etc...

It's a great atmosphere at the league games, especially if it is between fierce rivals. Lots of singing directed at the opposing fans, back and forth. It's lively, electric atmosphere, not dangerous at all, unless you are sitting in the wrong section, in which case do not cheer for your side. Usually a whole ection is reserved for the opposing section seperated from the home fans, so there is a very little chance of you sitting in the wrong section. If in doubt, approach one of the security guys, explain who you are and ask them what's ok or not ok where you will be sitting. I did that once since I went to see Manchester United play on the road, but the ticket was purchased from the home team box office so I was sitting in the home section. The very friendly stewards upon leaning my situation, told me not to worry about it too much as they wil keep an eye on me. They did tell me to keep my jacket on as I had ManU shirt on. The game was a blast, and it helped that ManU won, although I had to keep goal celebration to myself . If you are not a particular fan, but are just there for the game, you will have nothing to worry about as you could just go along with the side you are on.
Have fun!
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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 12:57 AM
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German Bundesliga takes up play on 7th/8th of August for the new season.
The Berlin Team (Hertha BSC Berlin) is struggling currently to stay in the top leaugue, though, so no guarantee that they will compete in the top league during the next season.

In addition to AAFrequentFlyer's recommendations, you might check the following pages. Be aware, though, that the schedule for next season has not been set up in detail.

http://www.herthabsc.de/
http://www.bundesliga.de

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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 04:56 AM
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FYI - It would really be best to post this on the Europe board.
 
Old Mar 12th, 2004, 05:50 AM
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We've been in Munich, Rome and Paris the middle two weeks of August several times and there are no futbol games at all. You might be able to find a pre-season tournament on TV. We even tried to buy new futbol shoes for my avid fan son and they were basically out - waiting for the 'new season's' models in early September. We were told that the season runs from early/mid september through spring.
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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 06:17 AM
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cmeyer54 usually has some good advice and has already helped me significantly (Thanks again!). Whereas Southern Europe does indeed start into the new season a bit later, I did confirm with the German official site that Bundesliga games will commence by August 7/8.
As people concerned with football can tell from my screen name I am deep into German football and emotionally attached to the Hamburg team, and thus am pretty sure that there should be an opportunity for you to watch some match while staying in Berlin. This is, of course, provided that Hertha manage to remain in the top league (otherwise they will play, too, but second league football will draw lesser crowds and is likely to be not that much of a special experience).

toodle-loo
hsv
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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 06:24 AM
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Did you consider that theday you were in a certain city, that team was playing away game?

This season started on August 1 in Germany wth 1 game and followed up next day with a full slate. Here are the results:
01/08/03 Bayern 3-1 Eintracht
02/08/03 Mönchengladbach - Köln
02/08/03 Hertha 0-3 Bremen
02/08/03 Wolfsburg 3-2 Bochum
02/08/03 Hansa - Stuttgart
02/08/03 Schalke 2-2 Dortmund
02/08/03 Leverkusen 4-1 Freiburg
02/08/03 Kaiserslautern 0-1 1860 München
02/08/03 Hamburg 0-3 Hannover

In Italy the first games were played on August 30, and here are the results:
30/08/03 Reggina 2-2 Sampdoria
31/08/03 Brescia 1-1 Chievo
31/08/03 Internazionale 2-0 Modena
31/08/03 Juventus 5-1 Empoli
31/08/03 Lazio 4-1 Lecce
31/08/03 Perugia 2-2 Siena
31/08/03 Udinese 1-2 Roma
31/08/03 Bologna 2-2 Parma



In Italy
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