Does Anyone Else Miss Football? This Was The Best Match I Ever Witnessed

I have to say that I don't want to downplay this serious pandemic by any means, the coronavirus is killing thousands and destroying livelihoods. I never expected this to get so out of hand to the point that it would effect our lives, it has meant that all my uni work has moved online and I am staying inside. One of the ways in which this pandemic has affected me is that it has meant that all European football has been suspended. As much as football can bring out the worst in people, it also brings people together, it is more than life and death as Bill Shankly once stated. I love to go to Hearts matches when I can with my friend and it's not just the match. It's the pints before and after the match and talking about football in the pub and watching the Champions League fixtures during week. No matter what time you support, I hope that you can agree with me on this.

So, anyway, I'd like to tell you about the time back in 2018 in which I went to Der Klassiker. The biggest rivalry in German football between the titans of Westphalia, Borussia Dortmund and the giants of Bavaria, Bayern Munich and they are two teams who absolutely hate each other. When my dad asked me if I wanted to come with him and his friend, I said hell yes, I had came back from Brazil and had nothing better to do.

Within about twenty minutes of being in our AirBnb in Düsseldorf, we headed out to get some currywürst for lunch along with some beer. In Germany their beer is brilliant, they don't have pints, they have litres. Düsseldorf is home to some incredible pubs, one of which seemed like it had been a place serving beer right out the barrel for over a hundred years. Simply put, Düsseldorf is a great place to go and have a beer.

The next day was the day of the match, we took the train from Düsseldorf to Dortmund and I have to say that railway transport in Germany is up there with Japanese railway transport. The train station in Düsseldorf actually seems like a nice place to be and there are plenty of food places at the station so you can have a decent picnic on the train. In Germany, having a beer on the train seems like something that's perfectly normal and accepted. If you have your football tickets on you while taking the train, it means that you can take the train for free. Best of all was the fact that the trains were kept clean, weren't crowded and were exactly on time.

By the time we got to Dortmund, it was time for me to get a Borussia Dortmund shirt and for some reason I got Kagawa 23 instead of Sancho 7. Then it was time to hit the pub, right in the centre of Dortmund is Wenkers, a great pub decorated with football shirts from all over Europe on the walls. After meeting with some super cool Dortmund fans, it was time to head to the ground. A good few hours before the match it is a done thing in Germany to hang out around the ground to have some beer and sausages kind of like a tailgate party in America. It was such a cool experience and I got to meet the Scotland BVB Army.

By the time it was time to get to the ground, one thing I found annoying was that there was a huge queue into the stadium for the stewards to search us and by the time I got to my seat I made it just in time for You'll Never Walk Alone. I had no idea that it would be played before the match and it was incredibly powerful, literally everyone had their scarves up for it.

When the match started, it wasn't so much the football that was amazing in the first half as it started one nil to Bayern. But, the Dortmund fans were just incredible, unlike anything else I had seen at a football match and at half-time my dad got us some beers and sausages. I love the fact that in Germany it is perfectly fine to buy a beer and bring it to your seat, something that I'd argue should be in Scotland. The game really picked up in the second half, with Marco Reus scoring a penalty to make it 1-1, however Lewandowski scored another to make it 2-1 and the away fans went mental. I could see the away fans setting off red pyros and chanting in full voice. But, then Dortmund came back to make it 3-2 with a brace from Paco Alcácer with Sancho making a crucial assist and Bayern had a last minute equaliser disallowed for offside. The game truly had everything and I can safely say it was one of the best games I have ever been to. 

If you love football, then you have to make it a pilgrimage to see the yellow wall and Borussia Dortmund. Not only are they a fantastic team, Germany has to be one of the best countries I have visited. I am serious, because of WWII the British have a stereotype of the Germans being humourless. This can't be any more false and Germany has some of the best beer and not to mention the delicious currywürst. I feel like everything in Germany is better, better beer, better railways and better football. I highly recommend Düsseldorf as a destination for a lads' holiday and it would be even better if you can get tickets to see Borussia Dortmund, because it is an experience of a lifetime.

All we can hope for is that the coronavirus blows over, it has hit Italy hard especially, a country that I loved visiting as a child and I want to go back, so I can go to the San Siro. We are currently going through some tough times, but we have to be optimistic if we want to get through it.