YOUNG BOYS BERNE FC - STADE DE SUISSE - CAPACITY: 32,000 ALL SEATER
About the Stade de Suisse The Stade de Suisse, or to give it its proper name, the Wankdorf Stadium is one of the elite number of stadiums in Europe that can lay claim to have hosted World Cup Final, when in 1954 it staged the game between West Germany and Hungary, forever known as the “Miracle of Berne”. In 2008 the bit time will return to the stadium as the Stade de Suisse will group matches and a Semi-Final of Euro 2008.
The stadium is certainly very smart and befitting for such a complete redevelopment. It is a complete two tier “box” ground, with each stand almost identical. This means that views are pretty standard from wherever you are sitting. Leg room is also very reasonable. One of the unusual things about the stadium is the next generation artificial surface that is used. Certainly the look and feel of the pitch is very different to the old style Astroturf pitches. In terms of other facilities for fans, the concourses are very wide, and there are plenty of concession stands. There are also two large screens that sit on the roofs of the stands behind the goals, allowing everyone in the stadium a view of the screens.
The original stadium, the Wankdorf, which opened in 1925 was initially built as a new home to the Young Boys Berne team. It was initially built with a capacity of 20,000, but was soon expanded during the next decade or so as the team started to make progress. When Switzerland were chosen to hold the 1954 World Cup Finals, the stadium was further expanded to hold 64,000. Facilities were pretty basic – one covered main stand and three open terraces, and this remained in place until the stadium hosted its last game in July 2003, before construction started on the new stadium in its place.
As with a number of other stadiums in Switzerland, there is a shopping centre incorporated into the stadium, with the south side of the stadium having a real multi-purpose feel with shops, cafes and restaurants that are located on the wide outer concourse area.
Who plays there? BSC Young Boys Berne - http://www.bscyb.ch Tracing their roots back to 1898, YB are one of the oldest professional clubs in Switzerland. When the first national league was proposed in the early part of the century, it was only a matter of years before the club rose to the forefront in Swiss football - capturing a trio of Championships in 1909, 1910 and 1911. Originally the club had been formed as a football club, but in 1925 the club incorporated a number of other spots to become a true Sporting club - reflect in the change of name to Young Boys Berner Sports Club. This change of name also co-incided with the move to the new Wankdorf sporting complex in the north of the city that has been their home every since.
The club were regular winners of the national championship over the next few decades to cement their position as Switzerland's top club. After the Championship in 1929, and a subsequent first Swiss Cup victory in 1930, the club then went through a real barren spell, where they had to wait nearly 25 years for another major honour. Under the influence of Albert Sing, who was to lead the club for nearly 14 years, the team finally broke their domestic drought with a Championship in 1957, going onto win the title for four successive seasons.
Again the club could not build on this success, and within a few seasons they had returned to mid table mediocrity, falling behind the likes of Servette, Grasshoppers and rivals FC Basel. The club won their final title in 1986, and a cup victory the following season has proved to be the final honour the club has won. Their European pedigree has been limited to the occasional UEFA Cup outing, although in 1988 they did reach the European Cup Winners Cup quarter final.
This season, with Swiss legend Hakan Yakin deciding to stay with the club, much was expected. However, they have not found the consistency again, and the best they can hope for is a 3rd place finish behind FC Zurich and FC Basel - something that does not befit a team playing in such palatial surroundings.
How to get there The stadium is located in the north area of the city, close to the main railway line and the Autobahn A6. On a matchday special buses run from the train station (Bahnhof) direct to the stadium, which compliment the route number 20 which runs every 5 minutes. A special shuttle train also runs from the Bahnhof to the Wankdorf station – taking less than 5 minutes to make the journey. Other bus routes that run close to the stadium are 28, 40 and 41.
For an overview of where to watch football in Berne, and in Switzerland in general then go to Footiemap.com.
Getting a ticket Domestic football in Switzerland is not necessarily the most passionate affair. Attendances tend to be quite low, and the big four of Young Boys, FC Basel and the two Zurich clubs fail to attract on average more than 50% stadium utilisation, meaning that tickets are always available on the day.
This season Young Boys have averaged around 17,000 meaning there are around 15,000 spare seats on matchday. The hardcore fans, as much as they get hardcore in Switzerland are based in the east lower tier. Tickets can be purchased online from the website https://ticket.stadesuisse.ch.
You can also reserve tickets via email at ticket@stadedesuisse.ch or by phone +41 31 344 88 77. Ticket prices start from CHF 20 in the lower tier behind the goal to CHF50 in the Upper tiers along the side of the pitch. A good bet for the neutral is the lower side tiers which are CHF34. Tickets go on sale on the day of the game from the windows on the corner of all stands. Internet bookings are collected from the South west corner kiosks.
Getting around Berne is a small city and most of the old town where the attractions, restaurants and bars are located is easily walk able. However, buses and trams do run to most corners of the city, and a single ticket is CHF3.80 or a daily ticket is CHF12. To purchase a daily ticket simply press the T button on any of the red ticket machines you will see next to bus and tram stops. Payment can only be in coins though.
Berne’s small airport is located in the small village of Belp, around 6 kilometres east of the city. It is not served by many flights – with only four scheduled airlines currently using the airport. The daily service from the UK is provided by Darwin Airline from London City, although FlyBE offer flights on some days from Birmingham International and Southampton.
From the airport you can catch the airport bus to Bern railway station that runs every hour and costs CHF15. Alternatively, catch the local bus to Belp station for CHF3 and then get the train into the city. The other nearest main airport is Basle Mulhouse (connected to Berne by a twice an hour train which takes 50 minutes).
About the Stade de Suisse
Who plays there? BSC Young Boys Berne - 