Over 1,000 fans of Germany's Erzgebirge Aue club made the trip to Northern Ireland for a special pre-season friendly at Glenavon's Mourneview Park in tribute to a planned 1960 European Cup tie cancelled due to visa issues following the fall of the Iron Curtain.
00:00So, Nico, you've just arrived earlier on today. You were staying in Dublin from Thursday, I believe?
00:07Yes, from Thursday.
00:08How have you enjoyed the trip so far?
00:10Well, so far it's been great. It's uncomplicated. Everything is easy to travel to.
00:17And, well, the trip over here was pretty simple and chill as well.
00:23So, yeah, it's been pretty great so far.
00:25And you got the train from Dublin?
00:27Yeah, we got the train from Dublin.
00:29And you enjoyed that?
00:30Yeah, it was a good train ride. Compared to some trains in Germany, it was pretty good.
00:35And what are your impressions of the ground and the area?
00:39Well, I mean, I think it's actually beautiful. We saw some living area.
00:46We were like, yeah, it's looking pretty good. I could live here.
00:50And what do you think of the ground behind you? Have you seen inside yet? The stands?
00:55The stadium.
00:56Well, I mean, I think Glenois is not that big of a club. But like for such a small club, it's a pretty nice stadium actually.
01:05I mean, we have some clubs in Germany in the same size. And not many of them have such a beautiful stadium.
01:15And your own ground, what's the capacity? How many does it hold?
01:2016,000.
01:21Wow.
01:22So it's a lot bigger than here. But also the football in Germany is a lot bigger than Northern Ireland, I believe.
01:30So, yeah.
01:31And your club's in the third level in Germany?
01:34Yeah, in Germany.
01:35Good.
01:36And how successful are you? How are you?
01:39Well, not really successful. We went down from the second division, I believe, four years ago.
01:45And since then I've been trying to go up here. Well, it's not that easy.
01:52And you've traveled over with how many in your group?
01:56Three of them. And she will meet him as a friend.
02:00Okay. And have you been speaking to local fans much since you've arrived?
02:05Not really. On the way here, there were like some fans filming. And we gave them like some little stickers from our club. But that's about it.
02:15Good. And what made you decide to make the trip over?
02:18Well, to watch football.
02:21It's basically the only reason. And no, actually, we've never been to Dublin, Ireland and Northern Ireland before.
02:29So why not just visit the country and watch football?
02:34Good.
02:35And do you know much about Glenavon? Have you been looking into them before you've come over?
02:39Not really. We've just been flying over and, well, whatever came our way, we just took a picture.
02:48And how do you think the game's going to go?
02:50We are going to win, of course.
02:52Okay, good. And were you at the game last year in Germany?
02:55Yeah, we are.
02:56Okay, good. And what did you think of Glenavon then?
02:59I mean, for Zeiss, it's actually a pretty good team, I believe. But, well, I'm not sure.
03:08Your team's better.
03:09Yeah, a little bit. And about the financial, the financial, let's call it, the financial stuff.
03:17Yeah.
03:18Let's call it like this. I mean, in Germany, there's just, I believe a lot more money available.
03:22So it's naturally that while the German division is a little bit better. But for the small club, they are pretty good, I believe.
03:30Good. And for example, who would be your record signing? How much money would your biggest player be signing for?
03:37I don't, I don't know, actually. It's not been much. We, as every club in Germany, they all have money problems. So it's mostly free transfers.
03:48Good. And you travel home and away to watch your club, do you?
03:52Yeah, yeah.
03:53You've been a long time fan?
03:55Well, my dad took me to my first football game when I was three. And since then I'm visiting the games quickly.
04:03And how old are you now?
04:05I'm now 20. Okay. So 17 years.
04:08And then are you staying here tonight? Are you traveling back to Dublin? What are your plans from here?
04:13No, after the game is done, we are going to enjoy the city a little bit more. And then we travel back by train. And tomorrow at 6.30am, our flight goes back to Dublin.
