Rioja Raya means Auf Wiedersehen Albania as England vs Slovenia looms
A memorable trip to the strangely mesmerising Dusselfdorf Arena ahead of the Three Lions match here in sunny Cologne - but one place we won't be visiting is Pacha
Happy Tuesday,
It’s gloriously hot and sunny here in Cologne, ahead of the city hosting England vs Slovenia later tonight.
England fans have flooded here ahead of their final Group C game, qualification already assured after Spain’s victory over Albania that I covered on Monday.
We’ll be heading over to the Aldstadt (old town) shortly to catch up with pals, before heading up to the Mungersdorf later.
With so many England fans here, hotel rates have skyrocketed.
A room just for tonight is now - staggeringly - double the price we paid for four nights in this fine city.
With the number of spare rooms rapidly dwindling, apparently some England fans have decided to stay in a place called Pacha Koln. Which styles itself as a ‘brothel, nightclub, hotel.’ Where, I suppose, room service takes on a whole, new meaning.
Don’t laugh, but the address is on Hornstrasse, with a bratwurst take-away joint named Willy Wurst near to it. (Just down from a Lidl supermarket…)
Apparently in liberalised Cologne they also have something called verritungsboxen - literally meaning ‘getting things done’. Where sheds or stables are transformed into ‘sex boxes’.
Whatever turns you on I suppose. I think I’d rather just have a beer in the old town, thanks very much.
Disclaimer: We have to stress that we been nowhere near this place, which apparently is a pink building…the only thing we need from a hotel is a good night’s sleep…and we’ll leave Cologne’s cathedral as the only ancient erection worth bragging about in this town…
Pascha: A self-styled ‘brothel, hotel and nightclub.’ CREDIT: Pasha website
It has also been reported that a large number of England fans have done what we’ve been doing, and drive here.
With so many camping, they’ve been dubbed the ‘Camper Van Army’.
I did that during the World Cup here in Germany back in 2006 and it was great fun, but gruelling, not to mention smelly after a couple of weeks in a tent.
Mind you after four nights in the same hotel room here in Cologne, our place isn’t particularly fragrant, especially after I badly cut my ankle the other day.
My left foot. Or my previously box fresh Adidas left trainer after a mishap with a piece of jagged glass.
During our big night out here on Sunday, we got a cab to a busy bar.
After we got out of the taxi and paid, as it was driving away, its wheels drove over discarded glass bottles around the kerb - which caused them to shatter, and a piece of glass embedded itself in the back of my left ankle. A complete accident. But as anyone who knows me will attest, I am noxiously accident prone.
But, thankfully inebriated, I simply pulled the jagged piece of broken glass out of my ankle and carried on.
However, the next time I looked down, my trainer and left ankle sock was soaked in blood. Needless to say I carried on drinking, not least because I hadn’t had my daily late-night currywurst.
No dramas, it’s fine now, but it did look like I’d had a fight with a chainsaw….
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Monday afternoon was spent heading over to Dusseldorf, a leisurely trundle through the North-Rhine Westphalia region, on a sleepy red train from Cologne Hauptbanhof (central station) under the shadows of the cathedral.
The views were strangely eclectic, ranging from getting a close up of a petrochemical plant - the train virtually went through the middle of it - prior to a sweep around docks complete with transporter bridges, and a myriad of colourful containers, via perfectly bucolic scenes along the River Rhine.
As Dusseldorf’s iconic tower honed into view I couldn’t help humming the theme from Auf Widersehen, Pet - that iconic 1980s series about English brickies working on a German building site in Dusseldorf. I loved that programme. In homage I would have looked for the site they supposedly built, were it not for the fact that someone told me the majority of scenes were actually shot in Boreham Wood.
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Dusseldorf Arena
Dusseldorf Arena
Another trundling journey, this time a tram, hobbling around on tracks laid next to a main boulevard, took us to the ground where I was to cover Spain vs Albania.
The tram contained mostly Albanians, peppered with a few noisy Spaniards as it wobbled its way to Dusseldorf Arena.
What I love about football trips, and travel in general, is that it gives you the rare ability to be genuinely surprised with a new experience, and, at a time when you simply aren’t expecting it.
I was looking forward to visiting Fortuna Dusseldorf’s ground as it would be a new continental ground for me to tick off as a self-confessed stadium nerd.
But I hadn’t expected to be astonished by what I saw.
My first sighting of the Arena, in the heat, amid a blaze of colour from Albanian and Spanish fans in a relaxed atmosphere in the sweltering late afternoon heat, was distinctly underwhelming.
As if IKEA in Milton Keynes had been crossed with a power station and plonked in an industrial estate. It also looked like a high security prison.
But on closer inspection, its post-industrial, brutalist gunmetal grey facade confused me, as I couldn’t decide if it was an utterly genius original design - or something unutterably awful.
Intriuged, instead of heading straight for the press box, I decided to have a wander around, for a closer inspection of its astonishing, thought-provoking architecture.
Which, like good art, is the point of such things. To make you think.
Twenty four hours later I think I absolutely love its brutalist nihilism.
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DAILY LIST:
Find more plasters to stop my ankle soaking my left Adidas trainer in blood
Beers in Cologne old town then watching England vs Slovenia as a fan
A late night trip to Lucas Podolski’s kebab shop
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PS
If you’re interested here’s my official Spain 1-0 Albania match report for the Morning Star newspaper.
Spain 1-0 Albania: Report by Layth Yousif at Dusseldorf Arena
Luis De La Fuente’s side underlined their strength in depth at this tournament by easing past battling Albania on a hot Monday evening in Dusseldorf.
A first half strike by Ferran Torres was enough to seal victory and make it three wins out of three for the Spanish who remain a strong favourite to lift the European Championship title for the first time since 2012.
Despite making ten changes from the side that beat Italy 1-0 in their previous match last Thursday, the Spanish second string were too good for Sylvinho’s side.
Despite being roared on by more than 30,000 passionate Albanians in the Dusseldorf Arena in a crowd of 40,586 – including a mesmerisingly rousing rendition of their national anthem - the side led by the former Arsenal defender could not grab the goal they needed that would qualify the side for the next round.
With red smoke from the booming Albania contingent barely cleared, Spain nearly went ahead through Espanyol’s veteran 34-year-old forward Joselu, but his header flew over Albania keeper Thomas Strakosha’s bar.
However, Spain’s dominance told moments later, when they went ahead in the 13th minute through 24-year-old Torres.
The Barcelona attacker is nicknamed the Shark, and the talented 24-year-old certainly showed his predatory instincts.
The £55m Nou Camp signing from Manchester City two summers ago, latched onto Dani Olmo’s pass, to slot home past Albania’s Brentford netminder Strakosha.
As the sweltering temperatures in hot and humid northern Germany cooled slightly from the afternoon’s intense heat in this stadium - featuring a fascinatingly brutalist, post-industrial façade – Joselu spurned a chance to double the lead when he headed over five minutes before the interval.
Unbowed, Albania nearly levelled with Kristjan Asllani’s long-range strike, but Arsenal keeper David Raya – in for Unai Simon, La Roja’s No1 choice from Atletic Bilbao – made a superb save to ensure Spain went into the interval 1-0 ahead.
With the temperature still nearly 25C at the break, half time ice creams - rather than currywurst – were the order of the day on such a hot evening.
Sylvinho’s side started as intently as the large number of youngsters studiously devoured their gelatos as a special treat from parents and guardians in the concourse below the pressbox during the break, many wearing traditional woolen qeleshe caps, distinctive white, brimless caps, normally made by skilled artisans.
After the restart Sylvinho was booked by no-nonsense Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg, before Olmo – who starred in place of PSG’s Fabian Ruiz - nearly scored with a speculative long-range effort that flew past Strakosha’s left-hand post.
Huge cheers came from the vociferous Albanian contingent when Armando Broja replaced Rey Manaj as Sylvinho sought the goal that could change everything for his side.
Substitute Broja would have brought the house down had he equalised for Albania shortly afterwards – were it not for Raya who kept the ball out with 25 minutes remaining.
Albania swept forward but Arber Hoxha failed in his plan to increase productivity by firing over.
As the clock ticked down Raya again foiled Broja to break proud Albanian hearts – even if the team’s incredible support hailed their heroes at the final whistle.
“We are all free to dream,” De La Fuente said afterwards, adding: “Dreaming is a great engine and we want to generate more positive feelings.”
The result also ensures that England have now qualified for the knock-out stages.
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Albania fans in the Dusselfdorf Arena. CREDIT: