The Fritz Walter Stadion is unique both in German terms, but also within the World Cup 2006 Stadiums in that it is named after a player, in this case F.C Kaiserslautern’s most famous son Fritz Walter. He rose to fame as the Captain of the 1954 West German World Cup winning team, forming a solid partnership with Kaiserslautern’s four other stars including his brother Ottmar.
The stadium is very close to the town centre – in fact it is closer than any other being used in this tournament. It was originally built on this site in 1920, on the Betzenberg hill, and took its name from this steep rock. It was renamed in 1993 by the fanatical supporters of Kaiserslautern in recognition of the role Fritz played in securing the most unlikely World Cup win in the history of the tournament. Fritz dreamt that the stadium would one day again see World Cup stars, and this lead to the millions of Euros needed in redevelopment funds being given to the club by the local government in order to secure the right to hold matches during 2006. Not that this work was without a struggle. Structural problems were encountered in redeveloping the huge East stand which meant that the original plan of being one of the hosts for the 2005 Confederations Cup had to be postponed. The stadium, however, is now complete and ready for action next year. It has a very British feel about it, with the stands close to the pitch and fans generating huge amounts of noise. For a normal league match, the stadium has over 20,000 standing places behind the goals, making for a real party atmosphere in the capacity of over 48,000. For the World Cup though these seats will be converted to seating, thus reducing the capacity to just over 41,000. Hanging down from the huge new East stand is a video screen that allows fans to view the action at second hand.
Who Plays There? 1 F.C Kaiserslautern have become one of the most feared teams in German football, not through their recent performances on the pitch, but through the passion and veracity of their supporters – the “Red Devils”. In recent years their home form has been impressive, and it is fair to say that it is the reason why Kaiserslautern have been able to retain their position in the top division. Surprisingly last season the team lost 7 league games at home, a fact that contributed to their disappointingly final position of 12th. However, the fans never left the team and even during the rebuilding work of the Fritz Walter Stadion, the ground was at almost capacity for every home match. The final average attendance of 35,600 was the eleventh best in the league, although this season with the increased capacity it should top over 40,000.
However, the team were perhaps more famous for their on field activities in the earlier part of the 20th century. Formed in 1900, it wasn’t until after the Second World War that the team actually started to make an impression on German football. The area of South West Germany had been put under French control after the war ended. Kaiserslautern had been able to retain a number of their players during the war years, including the famous Walter brothers. This enabled the team to start to dominate the South West league from day one. In the first year of the league in 1948 Kaiserslautern swept all before them, beating VfL Konstanz for the right to face Nuremberg. In a display of complete dominance they won the two legged tie 16-5! The final was played in front of 75,000 fans in Köln, with Nuremberg running out 2-1 winners in a game of speed, skill and passion. The Walter brothers weren’t to be disappointed for too long though, as they returned to the final in 1951 when two goals by Ottmar Walter overcame Preussen Munster. In 1953 they were winners again, overcoming Stuttgart 4-1. Within 12 months the West German team preparing for the 1954 World Cup Finals in Switzerland had 6 Red Devils in their squad. It therefore came as a massive shock to the football fans in Germany when they lost 5-1 to Hannover 96 in the Championship Finals of May 1954. Further heartache followed for Kaiserslautern when they again lost to the underdogs in 1955 Rot-Weiss Essen 4-3.
With the retiring of Fritz and Ottmar Walter, the team disappeared from view for a few years, briefly popping up again for a 1961 German Cup final against Werder Bremen where they lost 2-1. Two years later when the first professional league was announced there was considerable surprise that the South West league’s representative chosen wasn’t Kaiserslautern but was FC. Saarbrücken. Due to some of the protests of fans, and famous faces including Fritz Walter, the Red Devils got their place (some say at the expense of Bayern Munich), and started the first ever Bundesliga in 1963.
Apart from a humiliating 5-0 defeat in 1972 to Schalke in the German Cup final, the team did little to make an impact on German football. In fact when the team managed to overcome Bayern Munich to clinch their first ever Bundesliga title in 1991 it was seen as one of the greatest surprises in the modern game. The following season Kaiserslautern made their debut in the European Cup, where after a first round win over the minnows of Etar, they faced eventual winners Barcelona. A 2-0 victory in the Nou Camp for Barcelona was almost reversed in the second leg but Barcelona did enough to score that all important away goal to take the tie after a 3-1 victory for the Germans.
The next few seasons saw the team drop down the division until a disastrous season in 1995/96 saw the team score just 31 goals (although they only conceded 37 – averaging just one a game) and relegation beckoned again, although surprisingly enough they did manage to win the German Cup with a 1-0 victory over Karlsruhe. However, under the management of Otto Rehhagel, who latterly coached Greece to their amazing Euro 2004 victory, the team bounced back the following season to win the 2nd Division, scoring over 70 goals in the process. Whilst many predicted a season of consolidation in 1997/98, the team took everyone by surprise with Swiss international Sforza leading the way. A final day 3-2 win over Mönchengladbach saw the Red Devils snatch the title from Bayern Munich – the first time in history that a promoted team had won the Bundesliga title. The following season’s Champions League campaign saw the team easily qualify for the second stage, only to come across Bayern Munich won beat them with ease 6-0 on aggregate.
Consecutive fifth place finishes in the next two seasons saw the team become established in the European competitions, including a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA cup in 2001 where they lost 9-1 on aggregate to the surprise package of the season Alaves of Spain.
In 2002/03 the team manage to reach the German Cup Final again, only to be beaten, by unsurprisingly Bayern Munich in Berlin on their way to another Double. However, this did give the Red Devils another shot at European competition but they fell at the first hurdle in the UEFA Cup to Teplice of the Czech Republic.
More information on the club can be found at http://www.fck.de. There is a fanshop at the ground which is open during the week from 9am to 5pm, as well as a shop in Bremer Strasse 1-5. There is also an official World Cup store in the Karstadt store in Neues Kanzlereck.
How to get to the Fritz Walter Stadion You can hardly fail to spot the stadium if you turn southwards in the town centre at any stage. It is perched atop the Betzenberg hill some 940 foot above sea level, and casts a wonderful shadow over the Hauptbahnhof below. The stadium is very easy to get to from the town centre, and although there are public transport options, walking is your best bet. From the Hauptbahnhof follow the Stadion signs, using the underground passage and start to climb the Betzenberg by following Malzstrasse to the stadium steps. Allow 5 minutes from the station. If you are coming from the old town, then just follow Eisenbahn from Frushsthall Strasse until you reach Malzstrasse allowing about 10 minutes for this walk. If you really want to take public transport then Bus 2 runs from the station to the stadium, and Bus 5 and 7 run from the town centre.
Kaiserslautern doesn’t have its own airport and so you will need to allow plenty of time to reach the stadium from one of the airports listed below. Out of the three, Frankfurt Main offers a direct connection to Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof at least once an hour and a further train with a connection in Mannheim also once an hour. These trains take between 70 and 100 minutes. Once you reach the Hauptbahnhof then just follow the Stadion signs under the tracks and then up to the stadium steps via Malzstrasse. If you are coming to Kaiserslautern by car from one of the airports in the region, then refer to the driving instructions below.
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Nearest Airport – Frankfurt Main Airport (FRA) Telephone: 0180-53-72-46-46 Website:
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