Matchday In Cologne

First stop on the agenda for Saturday was a stop at 1. FC Köln to meet with their youth director Klaus Pabst.  Klaus oversees the youth programs at 1. FC Köln and also has his own soccer training company based in the city as well.  He also one of the editors for Success in Soccer, a popular coaching magazine found throughout the US.  We meet with Klaus for about 30 minutes at which time he presented some of his club’s philosophies on youth development. 

A couple take home lessons from the presentation included
-1. FC Köln is the 4th largest club in Germany in terms of supporters
-They have teams ranging from U8-U23 (reserve team) in the academy
-U16 is when the players sign their first contracts
-Youth U15 and under pay 43 Euros to train at the club
-The club has extensive season long and weekly plans for each team

Q & A with 1. FC Köln  youth director Klaus Pabst

After the presentation and a little Q & A the group had the opportunity to walk around the training grounds.  While walking around the director of marketing for the club, Joachim Lange introduced himself.  During our conversation he inquired about where I lived in the US.  After letting him know that I was from Michigan he informed me that he had previously worked at Ford Motor Company and served as their director of sports marketing.  While working in Dearborn at the company headquarters he lived in Ann Arbor.  He was been employed at 1. FC Köln for 2 months.  We discussed briefly the big match between 1. FC Köln and Leverkusen for that afternoon and he cited how important a win for his employer would be.  He said that Leverkusen had beat 1. FC Köln earlier in the season 3-2 and that Cologne had not beaten Leverkusen in the last 16 meetings.  However, he said that those statistics would mean very little when the whistle blew to signal the beginning of the match.

1. FC Köln Youth Team training on one of the 4 fields at their training complex

We headed off to lunch in downtown and had a traditional German meal.  There was a ton of excellent food and my favorite part was probably the dessert.  It consisted of a warm slice of apple strudel along with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and several spoonfuls of whipped cream.  Yes, there was also some tasty German beer to accompany the feast.  After the meal the group boarded the bus and headed off to the stadium.  As Mr. Lange had suggested earlier in the day the match was quite meaningful and while on the surface it was rivalry match between 2 teams located less than 10 miles apart there was much more to the match up.  Leverkusen currently 2nd in the Bundesliga could secure a position in the Champion's League for next season which is worth several millions of dollars to the club.  More importantly, 1. FC Köln which is was in 15th place (18 teams play in the top German division) need every point out of their last 3 matches to avoid being relegated to the 2nd division.  For 1. FC Köln there is also millions of dollars at stake but in their case they are more concerned about the money or revenue they will lose playing in a lower division. 

RheinEnergieStadion-Home of FC Cologne

Support for the club could be seen throughout the city center.  Everywhere people were wearing jerseys, scarves, and their team’s colors. We made our way to the stadium and settled into our seats a couple minutes before the players walked out to the field.  Fans for Leverkusen that had made the short trip to Cologne were located in their own heavily secured area in the corner of the Stadium. 

Leverkusen Fans Getting Fired Up

The game kicked off with neither team really looking to attack.  Both teams played with a bit of reserve not wanting to make a mistake that would put them behind early on.  Defensive organization for both teams was strong.  Clearly the best chance for either team took place in the 24th minute, when Leverkusen midfielder, Michael Ballack played a brilliant ball over the top to his teammate Gonazlo Castro.  All alone 30 yards from goal he received a ball over the top that he brought down with his chest onto his right foot hit the ball on the volley and would miss wide from just inside the box.  Although the cheering and intensity of the fans for both teams was sky high the teams were not able to match their spirit with so much on the line.  The game entered halftime 0-0. 

Halftime of my 2nd match of the trip and still waiting to see my first goal

#13 Michael Ballack, former captain of the German National Team patrols the midfield for Leverkusen

Immediately at the start of the second half the pace of the game picked up.  Leverkusen went on the attack pressing for an early goal.  Leverkusen forward Stephan Heissling nailed a shot off the crossbar int he 51st minute and 1. FC Köln was living dangerously.  Leverkusen then again broke down the 1. FC Köln defense but the team's keeper Michael Rensing made an outstanding save with Ballack just missing an opportunity less than 3 yards from the goal in the 63rd minute.  It just seemd to be a matter of time until Leverkusen would net the games first goal.  However, 1. FC Kölnwould strike first.  In the 67th minutes After a nice combination between a 1. FC Köln winger and midfielder, the Slovenian forward Milivoje Novakovic ran onto a through ball, clear of the Leverkusen backline and played the ball one touch into the far side of the net.  1-0, advantage 1. FC Köln.  With the goal, momentum really began to swing the way of the home team.  For the next 10 minutes Leverkusen would be the team struggling to get the ball out of their end.  The game would slowly even out once again and with  let Leverkusen just missed tying the game in the 76th minutes with a ball that had the 1. FC Köln keeper beat.  However, the ball drilled the post and then the rebound would find its way out of bounds.  Shortly there after 1. FC Köln scored a second goal.  After a Leverkusen foul, a ball was shot on goal from the left wing.  1. FC Köln was able to control the rebound and Novakovic recorded his second goal of the game.  Leverkusen would threaten once more but Rensing was equal to the challenge and preserved a 2-0 win for the home team.  With other results posted on the day and two matches remaining 1. FC Köln is not out of danger yet but sitting much better than they were before the match.  Even though Leverkusen did not get a point they also benefited from other results in their favor and look very good to qualify for the Champion’s League, needing only 1 point from their last 2 matches. 

1. FC Köln celebrates their second goal of the match

1. FC Köln acknowledge their supporters after the win

After the game we filtered through the happy 1. FC Köln supporters and made it back to the bus for the short return trip to our hotel in Leverkusen.  There was certainly plenty to take away from the visit to the training center and critical match. 

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Holland to see Eindhoven (3rd in the Dutch League)face off against Vitesse (16th out of 18), who is also facing a relegation battle similar to 1. FC Köln.