Hope dies last, even away at the Thuringia Cup game of FC Carl Zeiss Jena at FSV Schleiz (9.8.2019)
A lot is happening in paradise. The traditional venue of FC Carl Zeiss Jena, which has so far been equipped with a large number of standing places and an out-of-fashion career around the field, is to be made fit for modern football. After all, as an ambitious regional league team, the blue-white-yellow are always on the move to professional football.
The area of the Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld is located in the south of the university town, harmoniously embedded in a large park, which they call “Paradise” in Jena. The stadium was opened in 1924 and VfL Halle 96 dueled 1. SV Jena. From then on, the story took its course. The biggest games were undoubtedly played in the decades from 1961 to 1988, when FC Carl Zeiss was a regular guest on the European stage. Well-known and less well-known opponents from all parts of Europe made guest appearances in Jena. In 1970 Ajax Amsterdam dueled in the quarter-finals of the trade fair cup with the people of Paradise, the following year the national champion Red Star Belgrade was a guest in the cup. The 1980/81 season is likely to be a major highlight. After victories over AS Roma, FC Valencia and Benfica Lisbon under home floodlights, Jena moved into the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The final against the – nowadays rather small – football power of Dinamo Tbilissi from Georgia was played in the Düsseldorf Rheinstadion. For many supporters, the biggest game in the club’s history was a rather sad affair. Only a few applications to leave the country were approved by the authorities; the fear of fleeing the republic was too great. In the end, there was a dismal audience of 4,750 and the unsatisfactory result of 1: 2 from Jena’s point of view.
In the south curve
The paradise footballers were also a big hit at the national level. In the all-time table, the Jenaers are unreachable for all times – five points ahead of their hated rival BFC Dynamo. The supporters of FC Carl Zeiss do not care that the Berlin championships brought more seven championships. For them only the eternal place in the sun counts. The fact that things have not been going particularly well since the fall of the Wall is due to the general trend among East German clubs (with the very special Leipzig exception). For the Jenaers it never went beyond the 2nd Bundesliga, in 2001 the once proud club even found itself in the fifth division. Nevertheless, an ultra culture has established itself in the Ernst Abbe sports field during this time.
The Horda Azzuro, founded around 2001, was first located on the main stand. The Ultras have been in the south curve since the 2007/08 season. During the game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 a banner read: »Südkurve! Escape from everyday life together «. Since then, the standing block has been the living room of the active fan scene. Prominently located, within spitting distance from the guest block. Preliminary high point: In 2017, fans of Hansa Rostock brought several kilos of smoked fish with them and threw them into the home area of the Jena Ultras. “We brought you something, fish, fish, fish!” Skirmishes like this make the place unique.
Due to recurring safety concerns, several plans had already been made to make the south curve available exclusively to guest fans. A »no-go« that the fan scene had tried to prevent with »CrowdFANding«. For the citizens’ initiative »Südkurve remains«, which has existed since 2006, money was raised to enable a conversion that is suitable for fishing.
Subcultural space
The next hot phase began for the initiative in 2018 and is still going on today. During the renovation of the traditional venue, the south curve is to give way. The fan scene, which sees its places not just as a place to watch football, but as a subcultural space, feels offended by the city administration. “Our curve deserves to be perceived as more than just a safety risk,” says the campaign “South curve remains”. With demonstrations, poster campaigns and tireless efforts, the fans try to preserve their homeland and their identity. It seems the city is unaware of the implications of its decision. The fans of FC Carl Zeiss Jena have already said goodbye to their old stadium with a pyro show. They do not want to say goodbye to the south curve, which they have established as a non-discriminatory area as possible. You stay combative.
