RB Leipzig vs Tottenham: Culture shock awaits Spurs fans in Germany where lessons can be learned
Jose Mourinho’s side have a 1-0 deficit to overturn but the travelling supporters will at least enjoy a unique experience at the Red Bull Arena
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Your support makes all the difference.No other set of Premier League fans are likely to experience such a striking culture shock when watching football in Germany than Tottenham supporters. Spurs will attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit against RB Leipzig tonight in the Champions League knockout round second leg but regulars at home games – and away grounds across England – should find the experience refreshing.
Tottenham have been playing at White Hart Lane for 121 years and the new stadium that opened last year is one of the finest in the world. It is also one of the most difficult to get to and leave. Transport links have always been dreadful and problems have been exacerbated by the magnificent 62,000-seater. This is symbolic of the way the game is viewed in the UK. Football is a pain in the arse. Germany is different.
Matchday in north London, in common with many other parts of the country, is seen as an inconvenience. Roads are shut down, trains overcrowded to unacceptable levels and queues abound wherever fans gather. The authorities, and sometimes people living in the area of the stadiums, appear resentful about the game’s presence.
In Germany the sport is more of a community event. Transit to and from grounds is generally free. Extra buses and trains are scheduled in an effort to make life as simple as possible for spectators. Entire cities mobilise their civic facilities to ensure the act of going to the match is as enjoyable as possible. In Britain, and particularly on the Tottenham High Road, it can sometimes feel like a chore.
That is no reflection on Spurs as a club or their fans. The new stadium should have been the catalyst for regeneration of the entire area. An anachronistic logic pervades the viewpoint of the authorities and many people in this country. It is assumed that football and its fans represent potential danger; that trouble lurks around every corner on matchdays and the game attracts the worst type of individuals. Supporters still cannot be trusted to drink alcohol in sight of the pitch – a ridiculous hangover from the 1980s – and a vague presumption of guilt comes with the purchase of a ticket.
Bundesliga matches have become popular on the football tourist trail and it is easy to see why. Tickets are cheap, standing sections are widespread, beer can be enjoyed during games and the atmosphere is raucous, if a little calculated. The biggest difference in culture is not tangible, though. It is philosophical.
The majority of German teams were traditionally run as not-for-profit organisations and when the laws were changed to allow the switch to public or private companies in 1998, the ’50 + 1’ rule was applied to ensure that members – mainly fans – retained majority control of most clubs.
Combined with an active ultra movement where cooperation between rival supporters on subjects such as kickoff times, this has created a very different environment in the stands and on the terraces in the Bundesliga. The vibrancy of the supporter movement has been illustrated by the protests against Monday night matches and in the anger against clubs like Leipzig that have bankrolled their way to success.
Tottenham’s opponents were a fifth-tier side called SSV Markranstädt 11 years ago when Red Bull, the energy drinks company, bought the licence, christened the team Rasenballsport Leipzig to crowbar ‘RB’ into the name and financed their ascent through the divisions. Leipzig are widely despised across Germany but the visit to the Red Bull Arena tonight should still be a refreshing one for Spurs supporters. The city will embrace football and not set up to resent it as it sometimes feels at home.
The dynamics of watching the Bundesliga are different, too. One of the unspoken rationales for all-seater stadiums and high ticket prices in England was to price out the riff-raff. Cheap tickets in Germany have not brought hooliganism onto the terraces. Instead, affordable football attracts families and women. During a recent visit to Mainz, it was striking to see groups of young girls and women wearing the shirts and colours of their team and attending the game against Paderborn in what looked like all-female friendship groups. It was alien to British eyes but refreshing.
The sport has evolved differently in the Bundesliga and the lessons that can be learnt in the UK are limited. Terrace activism without the power provided to members by the ’50 + 1’ regulation will always have a limited impact. The recognition that supporters have common cause would benefit Premier League matchgoes, though, if more fans could cut through the sectarianism. Spurs understand that. The Tottenham Supporters’ Trust have been keen to foster contact with groups across the country and have allied themselves with like-minded movements such as the Spirit of Shankly and Blue Union on Merseyside and even Arsenal’s Supporters’ Trust over ticket allocations and pricing.
Whether they progress to the quarter finals of the Champions League or not, in Leipzig, Spurs fans are likely to experience a city that thinks it’s a privilege to host football. At home, supporters are too often made to feel they have abused a privilege merely by going the game.
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