19th matchday
Curiosity in Wolfsburg: Spectator becomes fourth official
Wolfsburg’s Kevin Paredes celebrates after his equalizing goal to make it 1-1. photo
© Swen Pförtner/dpa
In terms of football, the 1-1 draw between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Köln didn’t have much to offer. The loss of the linesman led to a notable change in the referee team.
In front of 24,525 spectators, Faride Alidou gave FC the lead in the 38th minute. The American Kevin Paredes equalized just two minutes later (40th). As a result, both clubs remain winless in the new year.
The man of the day actually only came to the stadium as a spectator and then made his Bundesliga debut at the age of 32 – as fourth official. The former Wolfsburg young player Tobias Krull is goalkeeper and sporting director at MTV Gifhorn in the national football league. He spoke up during the first half when the stadium announcer made a loudspeaker announcement looking for someone in the audience with a referee license. A replacement was sought for the fourth member of the referee team, who stands on the sideline between the two coaches.
15 minute break
What happened? During a Wolfsburg attack in the 14th minute, Cologne defender Max Finkgräfe shot the ball into touch and unintentionally hit linesman Thorben Siewer in the face during this attempt to clear the ball from close range. Siewer was first treated and then taken to the referee’s cabin. The actual fourth official took over his job: Nicolas Winter. It took around 15 minutes until his replacement was found in the stands and the game could continue.
Cologne did not play like a relegated team in Wolfsburg, although the club is helpless in the face of its major offensive problems. The main attackers Davie Selke, Mark Uth and Wolfsburg loanee Luca Waldschmidt are all injured. And FC cannot sign a replacement because of his transfer ban.
Nevertheless, the Cologne team played courageously and self-confidently and repeatedly freed themselves from the dominance of the Wolfsburg team, who were so much better individually. Substitute center forward Jan Thielmann had a good chance in the seventh minute. Frankfurt loanee Alidou scored with a header in his first starting eleven appearance since matchday seven.
Wolfsburg shows too little again
The fact that there were only two minutes between the lead and the equalizer is fitting for this Cologne season full of setbacks and mishaps. Wolfsburg’s already great dissatisfaction and uncertainty would certainly have increased if VfL had had to chase the 0-1 deficit for much longer.
Because Wolfsburg’s performance was also a reflection of this disappointing season. With clear chances from Mattias Svanberg (2nd) and Jonas Wind (11th/66th), the class of this squad shone through again and again. But compared to these opportunities, VfL once again showed far too little. Dominance over the entire season, a recognizable game idea, the necessary creativity on the offensive: Coach Niko Kovac’s team once again lacked all of this.
In the second half the performance even got weaker from minute to minute. Given the numerous inaccuracies and simple mistakes in their attacking game, the Cologne team had almost no trouble keeping VfL away from the goal. On the contrary: FC striker Thielmann missed a great chance to make it 1-2 in the 82nd minute. Shortly before the end, Wolfsburg’s Paredes only hit the post (89th).
The Wolfsburg team actually wanted to start a race to catch up to the Europa League places in the games against relegation candidates Mainz and Cologne as well as promoted Heidenheim. After three disappointing draws, the gap to sixth place has now grown to nine points.