The story didn't sound THAT strange until I put the "first Bundesliga call-off due to rain for 32 years" with the "The last Bundesliga match to be abandoned was 1. FC Kaiserslautern versus Fortuna Düsseldorf, way back in November 1976. On that occasion, the referee called off the game in the 76th minute on account of bottles being thrown on the pitch."What a washout!
A downpour in Nürnberg led to the first Bundesliga call-off due to rain for 32 years on Friday evening.
The match between 1. FC Nürnberg and VfL Wolfsburg was abandoned before the second-half got under way. Referee Jochen Drees called the game off at 22:15, with the home side leading 1-0 at the interval.
The game will be rescheduled and played in full on a date yet to be determined. This is only the sixth time in the history of the Bundesliga that a match could not be finished - whether on account of the weather or for any other reason.
"Safety couldn't be guaranteed"
Explaining his decision Jochen Drees said, "We do not believe the situation allows for the game to be played out to its conclusion. We analysed the information received from the met office, inspected the pitch in several places, and came to the conclusion that the match had to be abandoned. It's always the last resort, but the regular run of play and the safety of the players has to be guaranteed. That was no longer the case here."
Massive puddles
The heavens opened five minutes before kick-off. Twenty minutes in, the players were completely soaked and the pitch covered in countless massive puddles.
Under the conditions, passes and shots were rolling to a halt in the water and every tackle was an increasingly hard to calculate risk. The hosts went in front through Ivan Saenko in the 35th minute.
Desperate measures
At the break, stadium ground staff even resorted to boring holes in the pitch to try and drain off enough water to allow the game to continue - in vain.
The last Bundesliga match to be abandoned was 1. FC Kaiserslautern versus Fortuna Düsseldorf, way back in November 1976. On that occasion, the referee called off the game in the 76th minute on account of bottles being thrown on the pitch, with the visitors leading 1-0.
I guess a rain of bottles was the last rain to stop a game? lol