European Football Championship: Extraordinary outsiders and embarrassing top dogs

Now it has also hit the Romanians. They ran out of energy in the 3-0 defeat against the Dutch on Tuesday evening. The round of 16 was the final stop for all outsiders at the European Championships. Sometimes it was really close, like in the Slovenian team’s lost penalty shootout against Ronaldo’s Portuguese team. The Slovaks were only a few seconds short of winning against the great England. The little ones, they still exist in football.

The market value of the English team is estimated at around 1.7 billion euros. The sympathy for second division players in the national jersey becomes even greater when England star Jude Bellingham poses in a big way after his team’s late equalizer and a shamefully bad game: at 180 million euros, the young man from Real Madrid is almost 30 million on the football market worth more than the Slovaks’ entire 26-man squad.

Meet and laugh

“No Georgia, no party” is chanted in Alt-Müngersdorf. Not from Georgian supporters who are on their way to the Cologne stadium for their team’s round of 16 game against Spain. The red and white fan march is welcomed by the residents of the tranquil district. Some are standing on balconies, many in front of their houses, most at the Church of Saint Vitalis. This square with its markets is also a lively center in other ways; today it is a place for new encounters and spontaneous conversations, mostly in English. A small bazaar is particularly popular with Georgians: two girls sit behind a colorfully painted table and give away homemade souvenirs. Almost everyone here has a smile on their face.

The underdogs win sympathy not only with their passionate performances on the pitch, but also with the way they celebrate taking part in this tournament. Scotland’s exit came in the group stage, and many fans are still there. A few Scottish boys tell me in Frankfurt that they have booked their accommodation for three weeks. Of course, they hoped to see their team during this time. “No matter,” says one. They stay. They want to celebrate, and apparently everyone wants to celebrate with them. The Romanians threw a spontaneous huge party on Cologne Cathedral Square.

Beer courage and cheap singing

It’s not just overpaid professionals who are embarrassing top dogs; some football fans also seem to think that the world belongs to them. On the journey from Stuttgart to Frankfurt, two brittle, middle-aged men in Germany jerseys refuse to accept the fact that no one wants to listen to cheap après-ski songs in the quiet area of ​​the train. It’s difficult to keep a beer-loving Belgian from destroying the top window flap on the tram to the Cologne stadium.

The resident protection zones that have been set up are unnecessary in Alt-Müngersdorf. “We say thank you,” says police director Martin Lotz after the game, pleased about the “quiet operation.” Georgian coach Willy Sagnol says: “We’re not disappointed, just a little sad that we lost.” The fans celebrate after the final whistle – their team and their participation. At Georgia’s first major tournament, Sagnol raves about “playing against the best, in the biggest stadiums – everyone wants to come back.” The outsiders will be missing for the remaining eleven days of the European Championship.