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The European Cup tie 65 years in the making

Ralph Hewitt
BBC News NI
Glenavon FC Glenavon FC and Erzgebirge Aue line out before kick off. They are standing in the middle of the football pitch in front of a large stand inside the stadium. There are empty white and purple seats behind them. The Erzgebirge Aue players are wearing purple and white tops and Glenavon are wearing white and blue tops. Half of the players are standing upright and the others and leaning forward.Glenavon FC
Erzgebirge Aue beat Glenavon 5-0 last year in Germany

When Glenavon FC were crowned 1959/60 Irish League champions and qualified for the European Cup no-one could have guessed that it would be another 65 years before the fixture would take place.

The team were drawn against Erzgebirge Aue, but were forced to withdraw when the club was refused visas for East Germany due to the Iron Curtain that divided Europe during the Cold War.

Now, a new generation of German football fans will descend on County Armagh on Saturday to watch their team finally fulfil the ill-fated fixture in a special pre-season friendly.

Glenavon chairman Glenn Emerson said the stadium will be "rocking" with the atmosphere the away fans are expected to bring, with around 1,100 German fans expected to parade through Lurgan on their way to Mourneview Park.

Glenavon FC A black and white image of the 1960 Glenavon FC Irish League championship winning squad. They are looking at the camera and are wearing black suits, white shirts and dark ties.Glenavon FC
Glenavon were crowned Irish League champions in the 1959/60 season

Erzgebirge Aue - known as Wismut in those years - were East German champions and were also denied entry to the UK by the British embassy in Berlin.

Despite Uefa allowing the home and away legs to take place in neutral countries, Glenavon was forced to withdraw from the competition as it was not financially viable.

In a huge effort by both clubs and their fans to see the fixtures played out, Glenavon travelled to Erzgebirge Aue's 16,500-seater Erzgebirgsstadion in Aue – 184 miles south of Berlin – last summer to fulfil the 'away' leg.

Now, the 3. Liga professional outfit are coming to Northern Ireland.

About 1,200 Erzgebirge Aue fans are set for Lurgan as Glenavon take on the German club

It all started with a tweet

Glenavon's supporters' liaison officer Adam Carson said the idea of playing the games came about after he posted a tweet to gauge if there was any interest.

"It was more of a joke than anything and eventually about three years ago, some of Erzgebirge's fans actually got in contact with me and really liked the idea," he explained.

"We started to build relationships to see how we could move things forward. From there, I got friendly with a couple of their supporters, Max and Thomas.

"They eventually came over to a Glenavon game a few years back against Larne and they enjoyed the experience.

"About a year after that Max came back with their sporting director and official contact was made from there."

Glenavon FC Glenavon players are arm in arm and smiling. They are wearing navy and blue polo shirts and are holding a purple and white Erzgebirge Aue flag.Glenavon FC
Glenavon travelled to Germany last summer - some 64 years after the original European Cup draw was made

Adam said the Erzgebirge Aue fans have been planning their trip to Northern Ireland for months, while the local community has rallied behind the idea of welcoming the German fans in what will be a unique game for both clubs.

"When we first started talking about having this game it was basically to celebrate two championship winning teams that didn't get the chance to play against each other," he said.

"The local community and our supporters seem to be getting behind it so they're really looking forward to it."

'An honour to play the game'

Matthias Heidrich A bald man smiles into the camera. He is wearing a white t-shirt. On his left, there is a purple wall with the badge of German football club Erzgebirge Aue.Matthias Heidrich
Erzgebirge Aue sports director Matthias Heidrich said the club will have a travelling party of 28 players and five backroom staff

Erzgebirge Aue's sports director Matthias Heidrich said the focus of the day will be the relationship between the two clubs and not the final result.

He described it as an "honour" to take part in the game and said the Glenavon fans can expect a great atmosphere from the Erzgebirge Aue support.

"I think the away support, in my point of view, there is more power, there is more passion behind it," he said.

"We are proud of our fans and what they do for us. We think they are a big and emotional part of our club and they try to push us in every game but, from my point of view, the final result isn't important.

"The friendship, the history and the closure of the chapter [to see the matches played] are the big headlines around this game."

Away tickets sold in 'matter of days'

A man looks into the camera. He is wearing a blue tracksuit top with the Glenavon badge and white stripes on the sleeves, and a red t shirt. He has balding brown hair. A small football stand with blue seats and a football pitch is in the background.
Glenavon chairman Glenn Emerson said the ticket allocation for the German fans sold within days

The Glenavon chairman said while the club has hosted European games in the past, this friendly will be "massive" as away fans tend not to travel in large numbers in the early stages of European competition.

"We sent them 750 tickets and they were all gone in a matter of days," explained Glenn.

"We sent them another 500 so you're looking at probably in the region of 1,200 German fans descending on this place so it's going to be pretty busy.

"If their home match is anything to go by when we played over there in Germany last summer it'll be rocking because they like to do the old bouncy, bouncy as you can imagine."

'Everyone is doing their bit'

A woman with short, spikey and pink hair smiles into the camera. She is wearing a green t-shirt with a white love heart. She is standing in front of a football pitch and a seated stand with blue seats.
Leigh McClune said the majority of the preparation for the game has been carried out by volunteers

Glenavon's Leigh McClune, who organised last year's trip to Germany, has been working hard behind the scenes to welcome Erzgebirge Aue to Mourneview Park and said preparations for Saturday's game began before Christmas.

"There's been an awful lot to do in regards to their travel arrangements, organising where they're staying, organising how long they're staying, organising training pitches and then we have to sort out meals for them every day," she said.

Leigh added that between the committee put together to stage the game and club volunteers, everyone is doing their bit to make the day a success.

"Everybody is playing their part and they have their own jobs to do at the same time but they're all taking time out to organise this and make it a really successful day," she said.