Circus Europe: Albania is European champion

The DFB campus lies between a Chinese palace ruin with a pompous pagoda roof, which was supposed to become a luxury hotel, and the distant Frankfurt skyline. In the tranquil south of the Main metropolis, the pleasant air comes from the nearby city forest, and strange songs are blown by the wind from the extensive grounds. The squeaky, jangly music sounds somehow familiar – it’s the Scottish national anthem.

It’s the European Championships here. Everything is a little smaller, the game is played on the half court with six field players and a goalkeeper. But the goal is the European title. The “National Team Fan Club” has invited you to this tournament. Teams came from seven European countries. Eight were actually planned, but the Danish fan selection had celebrated their national team for too long after the game against England.

Celebrate and play football

The English think that if you can party, you can also play football. But the ball and body don’t go so well on this sunny afternoon. They come last – but at least in the style of their role models: They lose the game for seventh place against Switzerland on penalties. Some things here are similar to the official European Championships, including the lush green of the playing field. “The lawn is incredible,” enthuses Steffen. He is the captain of the German team from »National team fan club«, which wears the original white jerseys of the DFB team.

Some things are even better than at Euro 2024. While Steffen nods in agreement when I draw a comparison to his fellow captain İlkay Gündoğan and Co after two wins in the group phase against Switzerland and Croatia, one of his teammates shouts: “No, we are better , we’re keeping a clean sheet.” Here, too, pride comes before conceding a goal, in the semi-final it was 1-1 against Ukraine, but people still cheered after the subsequent duel from the point. The answers also promptly become more professional. “No, not nervous, but motivated,” says Steffen, explaining the emotional state before the game of the European Championship title.

Travel and collect points

The “National Team Fan Club” now has almost 60,000 members. For most people it is about increasing the chances of getting tickets for international matches and tournaments. This works with a bonus system introduced in 2016, in which you collect points by attending international matches. This even works well, as two fan club members recently told me while they were queuing at the luggage storage in Stuttgart – with their tickets for the DFB team’s game against Hungary in their hands. It’s a shame that no one really cares about the choreography or singing.

Some members also want to play football. “National coach” Patrick’s job is no easier than that of Julian Nagelsmann. He had to build his ten-person team from more than 100 applications. Anika is the only woman. She scored an important goal in the 2-0 win against Scotland, after all the dress rehearsal in one of the so-called fan matches, this time as part of the opening game of the European Championship between Germany and Scotland, was lost 6-1. The myth of the German tournament team ends with a 0:3 in the final – Albania is European champion.