European Football Championship: Organization World Champion: Germany loses title at the European Championship

When 24 nations come together in one place, a lot of clichés come together. The Germans are supposed to be punctual and thorough, they say. And so they were awarded a title before this European Football Championship. “You are world champions in organization,” praised Martin Kallen. The managing director of Uefa Events also expressly mentioned the mobility package on the occasion. Have you already guessed? Yes, in this case too, things turn out differently than you think.

Asking costs nothing. In Düsseldorf you even get a smile from almost every volunteer. And a shrug. Nobody here knows about an alternative departure from the stadium to the main train station. So back to the tram stop? No way. The bridge entrances from both sides are already so full that some people in the crowd are actually calling for help from the police officers below. This time there is a uniform shrug in response. The fear in the crowd doesn’t diminish, those behind are pushing from behind.

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Who would come up with the idea of ​​transporting almost 50,000 people from a stop that is far too small in just two-car trains the size of a Berlin tram? Someone must have thought this up, because Düsseldorf is not an isolated case. The exact same thing happened in Gelsenkirchen. And because, in addition to local transport, Deutsche Bahn is also part of the mobility package, thousands of English fans were stuck at the main station hours after the final whistle.

Hundreds of Austrians only reached the Düsseldorf stadium with the mobility package in the second half. Now they can’t get away. A look at the clock: there’s still a good hour left until the train goes back to Berlin. A look at his cell phone: He’s driving on time. As a rule, only two thirds of DB trains can do this. Why this one? Another look at my cell phone: an hour and a half walk. I’ll start running anyway. Not completely alone, but almost – there shouldn’t be anything here. Fifteen minutes later I get on an empty bus that is at least going in the right direction. There are a few other empty buses behind them because no one knows about them.

Another good tip from the bus driver and I’m at the platform on time. Have you already guessed? I also arrive in Berlin on time, really! “Ridiculous!” “Absolute chaos!” That’s what the English are now saying about the world champion in organization. But thorough, that’s what we Germans are still: In order to be really on the safe side and not to ignore anything, the introduction of the Deutsche Bahn’s Germany cycle planned for 2030 was postponed – by 40 years!

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