Today’s clash features 4th vs 15th in the Regionalliga West.
In German football, reserve teams are permitted to compete in every division of the pyramid, apart from the top two (1.Bundesliga & 2.Bundesliga).
They are no longer allowed to compete in the DFB-Pokal – before this rule change there several instances of reserve teams being drawn against their own senior teams (eg Bayern Munchen vs Bayern Munchen II, 1977).
Reserve teams cannot be promoted into the same division as the senior team, and there are rules governing the total number of reserve teams allowed to participate in any one division.
I am expecting attendance to be somewhat thin, given that the FC (“eff-zeh!”) senior team are also at home today – but we shall see.
For fuller explanation of the participation of reserve teams in lower divisions of the football pyramid, see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reserve_football_teams
The away team, SV Lippstadt, are long term occupants of the Oberliga and Regionalliga divisions – but in terms of former playing staff, they do boast some respectable alumni, namely: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (2 European Cups, 2 Ballon d’Ors, 2 German league titles, 2 German cups, 45 caps) Daniel Farke (manager of: Norwich City, Krasnodar, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Leeds Utd)
Recommended bars on the way to/from the ground (if coming from/to Köln Hbf) – on the U18 get off at Sulzburgerstrasse and check out Klettenberger Hof, Südkurve and Haus Unkelbach, then jump back on. Cheers!
