Up for the cups: Finaltag der Amateure

Words: Han Balk

Images: Han Balk

Finaltag der Amateure is, give or take, the German equivalent of non-League Day, with 21 regional finals across the country held on the same day.

Kicking off at 12:15, 14:15, 16:15 and 16:40, all matches are broadcasted on ARD 1's (Germany's main public channel) with cameras switching between games to capture all the goals.

The finalists come from teams between the Oberliga (5th level) and the 3.Liga (3rd level) with the 21 cup winners playing in next season's DFB Cup first round, which begins in mid-August.

Some finals are played on low level non-League grounds for less than 1500, but not in Essen where 3.Liga Rot-Weiss Essen met Regionalliga (4th) neigbours Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in front of 19,000 (including 5000 guests) at a sold out Stadion An Der Hafenstrasse.

©Han Balk/ Terrace Edition. Rot-Weiss Essen.

Oberhausen play at a lower level and finished seventh in the Regionalliga West, while Essen just survived relegation after their first year back at the third level.

Before all 21 finals, there was a moment of silence for Paul, a 15 year Berlin player who passed away after a fight during an international youth tournament in Frankfurt.

Just after the smoke from the away section cleared, Rot-Weiss Oberhausen had two significant chances.

Yet, in the second half, it was Rot-Weiss Essen's 34 year-old striker Simon Engelmann who scored in his last match for Die Essener. A penalty in injury time for Essen’s team put the finishing touches on a 2-0 win.

Victory in the Niederrheinpokal at least gave some silverware to RWE in their first season back in German pro-football.

Local brewery Stauder and ice cream sellers on the terraces had a good time with the sun shining.

Apart from a walkover victory at Zwickau, where a pint of beer to the face of the referee from an opposition fan, meant the match was handed to them, their last “real” victory was on April 1.

This German cup-final-fest is one for the bucket list.