Jonas Hector fell to the ground in the center circle, this 1-0 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg had hit him twice. But the captain of 1. FC Köln did not have much time to mourn. Because fans of the self-proclaimed carnival club approached from left and right, they wanted to hug Hector and congratulate him on qualifying for an international competition in the coming season. Hector was so much affection uncanny, he laboriously made his way into the changing room, while thousands of fans stormed the square and for three quarters of an hour could only be held back by a hundred security guards and a thin rope.
There were double-edged moments that could be experienced in the Müngersdorfer Stadion. As understandable as the joy of the supporters was after all the renunciations of the Corona period, many gestures seemed so narcissistic, right on the edge of self-portrayal and thus very different from the mood in the city center, which was already boisterous at noon but peaceful despite all the enthusiasm .
The attack on the pitch had already become apparent in the last quarter of an hour of the game, when word spread that Cologne’s pursuers Hoffenheim were about to lose at home (against Leverkusen, of all places, Cologne’s nemesis from Schäl Sick, the often mocked right bank of the Rhine). While the FC players tried to prevent the home defeat, pyros were set on fire in the south curve and positions were taken on and against the fences.
Good joke: An FC spokesman threatens the strikers with stadium bans before kick-off
Prayer wheel-like reminders from the stadium announcer to the foggy fans to please refrain from flaring the fireworks were ignored, and after the final whistle there was no holding back: the goal nets were cut, the penalty spots were sabered, the goals dismantled, goalgetter Anthony Modeste was killed by the fans Worn briefly, like in 2017 – when FC had ended up in fifth place and in the Europa League, similarly unexpectedly. But then the French fled to the catacombs.
Small space errors: Cologne fans on the hunt for souvenirs.
(Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa)
Long before that, club officials had repeatedly threatened the strikers with being banned from the stadium, but who would prevent a good 10,000 supporters from going to their sanctuary? Originally, the team was supposed to celebrate again after the final whistle, but after the preliminary game had already turned out to be so exuberant, this item on the program was skipped. “You can go home,” it said officially. “The team is definitely not coming out, they are already preparing for the next game in Stuttgart.” At some point, the fans didn’t seem to care, they just celebrated themselves.
After a while, they came up with the idea of trying to get Steffen Baumgart back onto the pitch with chants – but the Cologne coach “didn’t feel like celebrating, not after a defeat”. On top of that, a defeat that was completely unnecessary because the odds were 6:1 at the end. “When I saw that Cologne had 34 crosses, I had to smile,” said Wolfsburg coach Florian Kohfeldt, “because we had to win a few header duels in the end.”
In the end, it looks almost like a rugby fray
Baumgart saw the reason for the 0:1 in the first few minutes, when FC failed in two great chances by substitute goalkeeper Pavao Pervan. “Last match day”, in the 4-1 draw in Augsburg, “we took advantage of our first chances – but not this time,” Baumgart summed it up. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, took advantage of the first and ultimately only real opportunity (in the 43rd minute, of all people, former Cologne player Yannick Gerhardt scored). In the end, Cologne besieged the opposing penalty area, it looked less like football and more like a rugby fray.
Baumgart, the man who is largely credited with the club’s upswing, was torn: “On the one hand, I’m angry about the defeat, but only about the result, because when I look at the table, I see myself grinning inside .” This contradiction fits with his mixed feelings about the first conclusion of the season: “It’s a bit difficult for me to feel euphoric about seventh place. On the other hand, I’m obviously happy that we’re playing in an international qualifier.” At least seventh at the end of the season, even the bold coach hadn’t expected that, “I’m not a clairvoyant”. Otherwise he would have at least warned Jonas Hector about his fans.