RheinEnergieStadion

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1. I attended the Bundesliga game between 1.FC Köln vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, on Saturday 14th September. Being a derby, I anticipated difficulties in getting a ticket and indeed had to purchase one through Viagogo, at approximately double the face value, after mark up and ‘extras’. Face value was around €59 (I think) for an upper tier Ost tribune (opposite side to the main stand) seat. Living in Cologne for a short while, the team sell out, or close to sell out, most non-derby/big-team opposition games so I would suggest booking as early as one can. You can sign-up as a club member for free and then attempt to purchase tickets from the official club website.

   The RheinEnergie Stadion
   Set in parkland around 3 miles for the centre of the city, the stadium was rebuilt for the 2005 Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup and has a capacity of just under 50,000, and a few thousand less for internationals due to seating regulations. The top tier has the secure railing along every row which I found useful to park my head against (behind me, not in front…). The legroom and seat width were both fine in my opinion, and certainly from the top tier it seemed evident that every seat had a non-impeded view of the pitch. Enough bars in the stadium so the queues weren’t prohibitive, and enough people drinking the alcoholic-free beer on sale (for high profile fixtures). Likewise the toilets – enough not to queue for any length of time. Public transport access from the city centre to the stadium (in the region of 2.5 miles) is primarily by tram #1, all the way down the long and straight Aachener Straße. After a couple of post-match (alcoholic) beers, the trams were still frequent and not at all busy.

   I liked the stadium a lot, and the staff in and around the stadium were courteous and helpful. I was also impressed by the number of fans who cycled to and from the match.

   The fans/atmosphere
   The 4,000 or so away fans over two tiers in the eastern corner of the North stand were incredibly loud for the 90+ minutes, as you would expect from a visiting team in a local derby. Sitting in the Ost tribune, fairly close to the away fans, I was staggered at the number of Mönchengladbach fans around me. Easily in the high hundreds, possibly into the thousands. And they were lively with it, giving it as large as the officially-sectioned away fans. However, at no point at all was their a threat of trouble – even at the end when the Mönchengladbach fans around me were celebrating, the worse that happened was for both sets of fans (in the same rows) giving the middle-finger salute to each other, with both hands, and even that was done with a degree of respect that never threatened to turn into a ruck.

   During the game the home/ultra fans behind in the South stand sang throughout, but it always seemed to be singing for sake of it, rather than actively supporting the team when required, whereas the away fans, whilst non-stop, also upped the level depending what was happening on the pitch. All in all, I was a little disappointed with the home fans – I expected more as everyone I’ve met here recently told me about the ‘passion’ Köln fans have – I’m not doubting their love for the team but it felt more like a love for the city itself, and not necessarily the team. Not saying that’s a bad thing. Additionally, a Mönchengladbach fan I spoke to said this wasn’t their main derby but it was for Köln. Someone can confirm or advise otherwise, perhaps.

   Bar culture
   With the RheinEnergie Stadion set in parkland, there were no bars in the immediate vicinity but 5 minutes away you have the junction of Aachener Straße and Alter Militärring with bars on three of the four corners of the junction and also down the all the streets in the local proximity. €2.60 for the local Kölsch beer per half-pint (approx.) wasn’t as cheap as I expected and whilst other German beers are way superior in my opinion, this fulfilled a need. Bratwurst from street vendors excellent value and quality at €2.50, and the abomination that is Currywurst at €3. In the stadium the (alcohol-free for this fixture) beer was priced at €4 for a half-litre, and again a decent Bratwurst sampled at €3.70. In the stadium credit/debit cards are accepted, along with the ubiquitous stadium card, but no cash. Conversely, the bars in the immediate area are cash only (cash is very much King, in German bars).

   Policing
   As to be expected for a local derby the presence of the Politzei was high, especially at the junction mentioned above. The police would keep themselves to themselves other than telling fans drinking out of bottles to finish the drink and then bin the bottle. In my opinion it was very sensible policing – discreet but with a visible presence. Away fans came in on special trams which have to pass right through the Aachener Straße/Alter Militärring junction. Every home fan, whenever one of the away fan trams passed by, everyone would rush to the side of the pavement (fenced off and police guarded from the tramlines), sing the same song about Scheiße Mönchengladbach, along with the double-handed one-fingered salute and then get back to the business of drinking when the tram passed. An absolutely futile exercise in attempted hostility, albeit amusing to watch when you’ve had a few beers.

   The game
   A poor Köln side with no bite upfront (or elsewhere for that matter) huffed and puffed but Mönchengladbach had far too much for them, without having to go to top gear. In particular, the Cameroon-born Swiss international Breel Embolo was by a Straße the best player on the pitch, playing deeper than he usually does, controlling the midfield for 75 or so minutes. He then reverted to being the lone striker as Mönchengladbach changed formation to kill the game off. The locals accepted the defeat, in general, with an air of expectation, and frustration of course.