Mönchengladbach – Borussia Mönchengladbach wins the first ghost game in Bundesliga history. Only after the game against Cologne, thanks to the waiting fans, derby atmosphere arises.
Only after the final whistle the players and responsible persons of Borussia Mönchengladbach got some derby mood to feel.
Immediately after the 2:1 victory against 1 FC Köln in the first ghost game in Bundesliga history, Marcus Thuram grabbed “his” corner flag and went up the stairs of the north curve with his team mates. Behind the block, hundreds of fans had waited in front of the stadium, not wanting to disappoint the Gladbach derby heroes.
For minutes the fans celebrated with players and the coaching team, only after that the protagonists came back inside the stadium and went into the catacombs. Christoph Kramer was jokingly reminded of a championship celebration and said to his colleagues: “Get me a bowl for a minute.”
Aytekin: “That’s scary.”
“I find it remarkable that many fans are standing behind the north curve in the rain and waiting for us,” said Kramer at Sky. “There were a lot of fans, it was a very nice moment. I’m very happy that they were there.”
The previous 90 minutes had been marked by eerie silence and a joyless thrill: With a 2:1 (1-0) in the 90th Rheinderby against the 1st FC Köln, Gladbach had regained a Champions League place, but the long time mediocre performance of both teams matched the unworthy atmosphere.
“It’s hard to put it into words Something is massively missing. I can only hope that something like this will not prevail in the long run. This is frightening and has nothing to do with football. It is very difficult to concentrate permanently. Without fans, the whole thing is only worth half as much,” said referee Deniz Aytekin afterwards.
Fans celebrate the arrival of the players
Breel Embolo (32.) and an own goal by Jorge Meré (70.) ensured the success of the five-time German champion, who with 49 points again pushed past Bayer Leverkusen (47) to fourth place. Promoted Cologne, who scored the next goal through the strong Mark Uth (80.), remains in a secure midfield position.
“A derby without spectators is not nice. It’s not easy for everyone involved,” said Cologne’s managing director Horst Heldt after the game. “It is important not to be completely dragged down. We want to finish the season in an orderly fashion.”
The game was originally scheduled for February 9th, but had to be postponed due to hurricane Sabine. Now the ever spreading coronavirus caused a game without fans and therefore without atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the fans of the foals gave their best. “Get the derby win” was the clear order on a poster on the empty north stand. When the Gladbach bus arrived at the stadium, several hundred fans celebrated the players, flares were fired.
Cologne gets into the game better
At the beginning of the warm-up programme, the professionals got the pros in the mood for the game with songs from outside Borussia-Park, after which it was quiet. The instructions of the coaches could be heard in the stands as well as the shouts of the players. Only from the boxes in the stands could the shouts of some fans be heard.
Driven by Schalke’s loaner Uth, these were initially the guests who came to the first conclusions through Florian Kainz (2.) and Jhon Cordoba (10.) and who were able to show their self-confidence after eight wins in the last ten games.