On May 18 2018 the Geisenheim Weingau Stadium hosted a unique university sporting occasion to celebrate its 50th anniversary. University sports coodinator Laura Nelles invited the Weisweiler Elf – the renowned veteran team from Borussia Mönchengladbach – to Geisenheim. First the student team – FC Campus – played the European Championship side selected from Germany’s national winegrowers’ football squad – Weinelf. This was followed by the game between the Weisweiler Elf and a mixed team selected from Weinelf Deutschland, University and Geisenheim town players.
This was the chance to enjoy some exciting and entertaining football before the start of the World Cup in Russia. The event also brought football legend and honorary Weinelf member Carsten Ramelow to Geisenheim. The University team included Achim Matti, head of infrastructure and for many years a successful striker with Germania Rüdesheim. Patrick “Rudi” Bauer, an active player with FV Geisenheim 08 took to the field for the university town of Geisenheim after qualifying for the team at the Weinelf training camp in Edenkoben.
The Rheingau Stadium, also known as the Kellersgrube, or ‘Cellar’ was officially inaugurated with a regional gymnastics festival on the 6th and 7th July 1968 following a four-year construction period. Back in 1961 initial discussions had started on upgrading the Kellersgrube to create a district sports facility for the Rheingau district. “In 1964 Prof. Brodjanac was commissioned with the planning and in January 1965 the first diggers arrived, culminating in the stadium’s completion in 1968”, explained Frank Wünsch, chairman of the Förderverein (Association of Friends).
Spectators and guests were welcomed by the town’s mayor Christian Assmann, Herbert Heissen of the Sportkreis and Hans Rodius from the Rheingau-Taunus district. The guests of honor assured their audience that together they would make every effort to preserve this special venue for the athletes of the Rheingau and the wider region. The Weinelf president Robert Lönarz, too, was delighted to be able to return this small token of gratitude to the Association of Friends for their kind support of the winegrowers’ Euro 2016 competition, not least because since 2005 the stadium has also become the much-loved home stadium of Germany’s national winegrowers’ football team – Weinelf. Lönarz, who also acted as stadium announcer, added that “the organization of an event of this kind with a professional team has only been made possible through the fantastic support of the Weinelf, the Verein zur Förderung der Weinkultur, the VEG-Alumni Association and other loyal partners such as the Rheingau Volksbank, the accountancy firm MLG in Rüdesheim and of course Hochschule Geisenheim University.”
The local team FV Geisenheim 08 and AStA, our university’s student committee, provided the catering for the event and of course there was the legendary “3rd half” in the evening. After the day’s football matches the teams and guests gathered at the Dillmann winery where they enjoyed the impressive view over the Rheingau. Marius Dillmann, himself a member of the Weinelf team, served some fine wines from his own cellar.
Final scores:
Weisweiler Elf vs. mixed team 10:2
FC Campus vs. WEINELF 1:5
