| 15.09.2008 |
|
||||||||
| Soccer fans are, in general, a fickle breed. One minute they can be singing the name of their favorite player as if they were praising the Almighty, the next they can be spewing venom at the same guy for an act of treachery. The most punishable of acts is, of course, deserting the cause to join another team. No other situation can turn a fan's love so quickly to hate. It was pleasantly surprising then to see the Cologne fans so warmly re-embrace their most prodigal of sons this weekend even though he turned up in the colors of the most despised team in Germany, a club which revels in success and the arrogance which goes with it, and scored a late, late goal that should have added insult to injury. Instead of shouting "Judas" and waving one-digit gestures in the direction of Lukas Podolski, the FC Köln fans sang his name as if he was still decked out in the red of the home side and not in the black of the visitors, Bayern Munich. It was an act of appreciation and deep affection which Podolski honored with his reaction to his last gasp goal, the strike that made the 3-0 win even more convincing. A young man often ridiculed for his perceived lack of IQ, Poldi has shown on occasion that he's not stupid when it comes to people's feelings and not afraid to temper his own when diplomacy is needed. Rather than punching the air in celebration (an act that many would not deny him considering the continued humiliation he endures on the Bayern bench), the Prince buried his face in the turf of his former club - who he describes as his "first love" - and did not even allow himself a smile having made no secret of his desire to return to Cologne. And when he touched his hand to his chest, he did so not to blatantly pat the badge of his new club but to hold his heart as he received the praise both of the home and traveling fans. Polish-born Podolski said: "It was just like when I scored two goals for Germany against Poland at Euro 2008, the celebration was as a mark of respect. As an opposition player to be welcomed here in the way I was by the Cologne fans - that is probably unique in the world." He is probably spot-on with that observation. Bayern, due to their historical dominance of the Bundesliga and success in cup competitions, snap up the top players in the league like their wives would snatch at half-price Louis Vuitton luggage. This fosters a barely concealed animosity in the supporters of all the other clubs and often the players they buy are then seen as glory hunters and traitors by the fans they leave behind. Not so the faithful of Cologne. They remember that Podolski gave everything while a teenage amateur at the club before eventually graduating to the senior squad where he scored 46 goals in 81 Bundesliga games. They remember that he stayed with them when the team was relegated in 2004 and scored the goals that got them back into the top flight the following season. They continue to hear his heartfelt words about their club and dream that one day the Prince will return to be king. Whether Podolski will one day return to Cologne, no-one but the player himself really knows. But one thing is for certain, he will continue to get a heroes welcome even when he arrives for one Saturday every season in the shirt of the opposition. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
| 1 Comment |
| As a supporter of FC Köln, this blog please me very much. We do not get this praise anywhere in Germany but we are the greatest fans. We love our team so much, through bad and great times. And Prinz Poldi is one of us and we love him because of this. We are family and Poldi is a son. He may no longer live at home but the love does not die because of this. He is 100% Kölsch and one day he will come back to the open arms of his family. Wherever the Prinz may be, he will always be in Köln and Köln will always be in him. | ||
| Christian Hoffmann | Homepage | E-Mail | 15.09.2008, 11:56 | ||