SSV Jahn Regensburg:

Aberdeen‘s German Relative International football commentator, Aberdeen born Dons fan Derek Rae tells us there is a football away day we‘ve been missing out on.

It all has to do with our German “twin.”

Even though I returned to the USA to live in 2017, my commentary travels still take me regularly to Germany. The games I cover for the Bundesliga world feed are all in the top flight of German football, but I like nothing better than finding time to go to other matches, in other divisions.

I have spent many happy days and nights in all manner of German stadia.

Recently, I ticked a second division club off my list that I had wanted to visit for a long time:SSV Jahn Regensburg, from Aberdeen’s twin city in Germany. The Jahn part stems from Friedrich Jahn, a deep German thinker on sporting matters in the 19th Century.

Situated in eastern Bavaria, on the Danube, Regensburg is a charming city with a glorious old town. In fact, given how beautiful it is, I’m surprised more tourists don’t discover it. It has incidentally been twinned with Aberdeen since 1955.

I recall as a rather obsessed student of German at Hazlehead Academy being beguiled by the annual Regensburg week in Aberdeen. A group from Regensburg would travel to the Granite City offering Bavarian beer and food and displaying traditional clothing. It was always an enjoyable evening at the Duthie Park, getting a chance to talk German with actual Germans!

It seems to me though that down the years, not enough has been made of this connection between the cities. So how about a new football connection?

When the Dons were conquering Europe in the early 80s, Jahn were struggling in the lower divisions in Germany. But now they are a team going places. After securing their place in the 2. Bundesliga (the second tier) in 2017, thanks to a dramatic playoff win over 1860 München, they have consolidated their position in what is a very demanding league that’s extremely hard to stay in.

I went to see them host Greuther Fürth in a recent Monday night contest. Monday games are not widely loved in Germany, but still 11,330 arrived at the plush, relatively new Continental Arena on the southern outskirts of Regensburg. It was first opened in the summer of 2015 after being built at a cost of around 45 million pounds. It belongs to the city municipality.

As is the case across Germany, your match ticket gives you free local public transportation to the stadium. Buses from the main station, full of fans of both Jahn and Greuther Fürth left every couple of minutes, taking us right to the front door.

The Arena is compact and comfortable and could perhaps be instructive to Aberdeen given what’s about to happen on the stadium front. Red and white are Jahn‘s colours too (they are nicknamed “die Rothosen” or “the red shorts”) and particularly impressive is the standing area at the Jahn end. It was an absolutely full to the brim sea of red and white, and I’m told it is sold out at every match. It is loud and where the action is, a true communal experience.

But where I was, in block W4, was great fun too, alongside very knowledgable and friendly locals. Everyone around me offered an amiable “Servus” upon taking their seats. The gentleman next to me knew of the Aberdeen/Regensburg link and we had a right good time cheering and laughing together during the game.

Sadly, I didn’t bring the red shorts much luck. They squandered numerous opportunities on the night including an Andreas Geipl penalty and lost 2-0. Mind you the harsh second yellow card shown to Lithuanian international defender Marius Palionis arguably changed the game.

Afterwards, there was just stony silence from the home fans around me. No hissing or booing, just disappointment. Still, Jahn at the time of writing, are in a comfortable mid table position and that is not to be sniffed at.

I also had a wonderful chat before the game and at half time with Dennis, a young Jahn fan who had communicated with me on Twitter, and his father. Dennis loves his home city club and is typical of the sort of Jahn fan who would welcome Aberdeen fans in the twin city should they make the trip.

I hope this little Regensburg taster, gives Dons fans and officials food for Bavarian thought. Who doesn’t enjoy a good football trip with beer and bratwurst in an absolute gem of a city? Regensburg is easily reachable by local train from Munich airport and the path less well travelled is always more fun. Trust me, you’ll have something that is truly your own and won’t regret it.

I mentioned the Regensburg concept to a few Dons fans earlier this year. Most were intrigued. Many have sampled German football and liked what they’ve seen and felt. While I love going to Dortmund, Frankfurt, Bayern and above all, my adopted team, 1. FC Köln, isn’t it be nice to have something virtually no one else has?

Aberdeen as a club would undoubtedly learn a lot about what their counterparts at Jahn and the city went through as regards their own new red and white stadium. Wouldn’t it be special to have a true football twin, to have fans from both countries make regular trips to the other, a new friendship between two twin cities?

I hope this piece encourages dialogue between the two clubs and fan groups. If anyone would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me via Twitter.

Follow Derek Rae on Twitter @RaeComm
Jahn Regensburg’s Twitter @SSVJAHN