A cracker in colourful Cologne
Red Devils beat Romania in Cologne after an unexpected ride in a big red fire truck in Mainz
Happy Sunday,
How’s your weekend been, I can’t believe we’ve already been on the road for nearly a week.
Our fun-filled, action-packed time has absolutely flown by, while orbiting three matches a day. It’s been glorious and I don’t want it to end.
Saturday was another such memorably hectic day.
Cologne Stadium after Belgium beat Romania 2-0. CREDIT:
The morning started in civilised fashion, with a German breakfast at our hotel in Mainz, following our two day hangover from England 1-1 Denmark in nearby Frankfurt.
Such is the efficiency and attention to detail here, a sign on the wall described a traffic light system which informed us to the exact times the breakfast area would be ‘strongly attended’ and ‘not so strongly attended’. Mind you the fact Germans also offer an ‘intermediate dish’ - a plate between a starter and a main meal - absolutely blew my mind for a glutton like me.
Breakfast duly consumed, bags packed, and sated with cold meats (is there any other type of German breakfast?) we walked to the car.
Only to find it had been locked in by metal barriers. Meaning we were trapped.
We mentioned our predicament to the woman on reception, and she gave us the number of the local fire brigade to see if they could help.
‘But I think it will cost you money,’ she said. ‘How much?’ we inquired meekly, fearing the worst. ‘Many hundreds maybe,’ she replied far more jauntily than I would have liked. Trepidaciously we phoned the number. No answer. Well, it was Saturday.
Then a horrible dawning realisation came over us, that not only might we miss Belgium vs Romania three hours north in Cologne, but our car would be stuck until Monday morning - and with the hotel now fully booked.
We’d gone from breakfasting like Kings (of cold meats) to the prospect of sleeping in the car all weekend. And missing live football in Cologne.
Seeing our despondency, the women said - far too hopefully for my liking, as it was clearly such an absurd suggestion - ‘why don’t you walk over to the main fire station here in Mainz and see if they can help?’
Like all the best plans, there was an element of madness to it. ‘Where is the fire station?’ I asked. ‘Just there.’ She pointed to a square building literally opposite our hotel. It could have been anywhere, even the next town along, but there it was standing opposite us.
Mainz Fire Station. Next to our hotel in Mainz. Next to our trapped car. CREDIT:
So, we walked over. Knocked on the windows. No answer. We walked around the large block and pressed the buzzer and waited at the gates. Eventually the gates opened and we walked into the yard to be met by a large German fireman.
‘Um, we are English football fans,’ I said, about to embark on my life story that led us to this precise point, when Paul explained, far more practically, that our car was stuck and that could the Mainz Fire Brigade please free us.
Daniel (for that was his name), looked us up and down, just to double check we weren’t more unhinged than we looked, and agreed. For free. It was the first piece of luck we’d had since the parma ham tray had arrived at breakfast.
And so, despite being 12 seconds walk, Daniel of the Mainz Fire Brigade, also agreed to our request for a ride in his fire truck.
………..
Cologne
It was wonderful to be back in Cologne after a quick jaunt along the Autobahn. (We took it easy in the slow lane with our top speed ‘only’ 110mph.)
I’d been to Cologne twice before, once in 1996 when, after a long weekend in Amsterdam with pals, myself and another mate bunked the train down to Cologne, where Arsenal were playing Borussia Moenchengladbach (Gladbach’s ground deemed not up to standard for a European match) so the game was played at Cologne’s old Mungersdorf ground.
Unfortunately, sans trains tickets back then, we were eventually thrown off the train, at Arnhem of all places. Leading us to say, every time we have recounted the tale in the intervening 28 years, that Arnhem was a ‘bridge too far.’
What also stuck in the memory from my first visit nearly 30 years ago was Cologne’s stunning 12th century cathedral which possesses mesmerising twin spires. For centuries the mighty Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building on the planet, only being surpassed when a certain Mr Gustave Eiffel built his metal tower in Paris.
I got the tram packed with Belgium and Romanian fans mingling freely, drinking beer and singing vaguely recognisable songs, all the way to the Mungersdorf.
Issues with my UEFA pass finally sorted (don’t ask) I headed up to the press box on Saturday evening.
As an aside, I’d been to the now revamped Cologne Stadium back in 2017 when I covered Arsenal’s Europa League group match with FC Cologne.
Following a miserable 1-0 defeat in what was a dead rubber played with a raft of second string players and young guns, afterwards, for a spot of positivity I recall asking Arsene Wenger which of his young players impressed him the most, during the post-match press conference. In a long and eloquent answer, Wenger sang the praise of Reiss Nelson - so it’s perplexing to know that nearly seven years on, we’re still waiting for Reiss to fully bloom. But that’s a story for another day here.
……..
Belgium 2-0 Romania
As is the way at tournament football, the atmosphere was outstanding once again. More than 25,000 Romanians all-clad in yellow signing their hearts out against two packed stands-worth of Belgium fans.
The majority of who appeared to have been drinking all day along the glorious river and plentiful bars along the city centre’s evocative cobbled streets. Yet the curious thing was that very few seemed the worse for wear - you can do that if your average tipple is eight per cent I suppose.
With a few spare moments I ducked down to the concourse below to grab a currywurst, a staple of the week.
Worryingly, the view away from the stadium also gave a slightly disturbing vista of power stations pumping smoke, which continually billowed into the north German air. But that’s a story for another day I suppose.
The match was an exciting one illuminated by the peerless Kevin De Bruyne as Belgium finally ignited their tournament. It was also good to attend De Bruyne’s and Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco’s post-match pressers.
Anyway, my official Morning Star newspaper match report is below if that’s your thing.
DAILY LIST
A day at leisure as they say, strolling around the wonderfully evocative cobbled streets of old Cologne as well as the glorious riverside on a sunny Sunday here in Northern Germany, Life is good. Wundebar in fact.
See you in Dusseldorf on Monday to cover Albania vs Spain in what will be a new ground for me, have a good Sunday, cheers.
Belgium 2–0 Romania: Report by Layth Yousif from Cologne Stadium
Belgium finally ignited their tournament after beating valiant Romania 2-0 on a raucous Saturday evening in Cologne.
Powered by an outstanding performance by the game’s best player, Kevin De Bruyne, The Red Devils leapt from bottom of the tightly packed Group F before kick-off to top spot, after this pulsating match played in front of a cacophonous crowd in northern Germany.
Youri Tielemans fired home after 73 seconds to put Belgium ahead, following powerful hold up play by Romelu Lukaku to prompt raucous scenes at the Mungersdorf.
Domenico Tedesco’s side dominated throughout, despite their opponents battling hard to stay in the game, while also creating – and fluffing chances of their own – before De Bruyne sealed victory by doubling the Belgian’s lead with only 11 minutes remaining.
Nearly 46,000 fans were treated to an attacking clash at an atmospheric Cologne Stadium, with the majority resplendent in either yellow for Romania or red and yellow for Belgium.
Romania, were backed by more than 25,000 travelling fans, many of who certainly gave the centre of this fine old city - including around the iconic twin spires of Cologne’s beguiling 12th century cathedral - more than a splash of colour, noise and joie de vivre.
In an enthralling opening, Edward Iordanescu’s side went close moments later when former Juventus youngster Radu Dragusin’s header was tipped over by Belgium keeper Koen Casteels.
However, Belgium, who started the match rock bottom of Group E after Tedesco’s side lost their opening match 1-0 to Slovakia, dominated the first half, which included forcing an early goal.
Influential Aston Villa midfielder Tielemans robbed Romania, before feeding Lukaku who played the ball to Jeremy Doku. The City wideman returned the favour for Lukaku to tee up Tielemans, who made no mistake with a sublime long-range finish to put the Red Devils 1-0 up in under two minutes.
Manchester City pair Doku and De Bruyne dovetailed excellently along the left channel in the opening stages, before the outstanding De Bruyne dropped deep, even switching flanks at one stage, in a bid to bamboozle the backline in receiving the ball in unexpected areas.
In truth though, everywhere you looked Belgium possessed quality, threatening constantly, prompted by the powerful play on and off the ball from Everton’s Amadou Onana to set up Sevilla’s 26-year-old wideman Dodi Lukébakio.
Lukebakio, who was later booked, then subbed after Tedesco said the player picked up a small muscular complaint, forced Wolfsburg’s Saudi bound-keeper Casteels into another save.
With the peerless operator De Bruyne dropping deeper to receive the ball, the Romania backline absorbed punishment like a boxer on the ropes – was it unsurprising Tredesco’s side had 67 per cent possession in the first half – but with each passing redoubt, the Romanian players were cheered to the rafters by their vociferous fans at the other end of the stadium.
The tens of thousands clad in yellow making a constant noise, and at one stage unfurled a large banner that read: "Pentru Tara Si Tricolori" – For The Country And The Three Colours – as if to underline solidarity between the fans and Iordanescu’s side.
But survive the onslaught they did, to the point Andrei Burca headed over when well-placed moments before the interval, with many in yellow unsure to be relieved the score was only 1-0 in arrears, or frustrated they weren’t level.
Iordanescu’s side started the second half brightly, with Dennis Man – who Tedesco praised afterwards, saying the attacker was ‘dangerous’ - forcing a save from Casteels. Shortly afterwards, Romania broke again, sweeping upfield through 24-year-old Valentin Mihalia. Yet, as the left-winger drove into the box, his shot lacked conviction and the chance was lost.
Lukaku put the ball into the net on 64 minutes after latching onto an exquisite through-ball by De Bruyne, but VAR ruled the strike out – the third time the former Chelsea striker has had a goal ruled out during this tournament.
As if to cap his luck, Lukaku then had a chance saved by veteran Romanian keeper Florin Nita.
In a crucial moment, for Iordanescu’s team, many Romanian journalists around this correspondent in the Cologne press box stood up as Man ran through on goal. But the 25-year-old Parma winger hesitated momentarily as Belgium keeper Casteels blocked - leaving the Romanian journalists to throw their arms into the air in despair at spurning such a chance, along with tens of thousands of their equally frustrated compatriots massed in the stands.
Determined to seal the match, De Bruyne showed power and determination as he successfully battled to latch onto a long ball from Red Devils keeper Casteels to double the lead on 79 minutes, breaking Romanian hearts, as Belgium got back on track.
In a microcosm of what makes De Bruyne just so good was watching the 32-year-old – who’ll be 33 before the end of this month – racing nearly half the pitch at full sprint with only moments remaining to get on the end of substitute Leandro Trossard’s cross. The ball ultimately flew over rendering such effort fruitless, but the run underlined De Bruyne’s conviction and work ethic. Such determination and hard work from one so talented separates the great from the merely good.
Speaking after the match with the clock well beyond midnight in a post-match press conference attended by the Morning Star, boss Tedesco said ominously: “We are [now] released and ready for the rest of the tournament,’ adding: “If you see the quality and quantity of chances we created in these two games scoring four or five was possible.”
Belgium now have the chance to land a place in the last 16 when they face Ukraine in their final group game on Wednesday, while brave Romania still have hope.