Tuesday afternoon in the Ruhr area, rush hour traffic is starting on the A40. The Ruhr expressway is once again becoming a Ruhr secret route. It’s raining, the sky is grey.
The journey to the Turkey vs. Georgia game feels modest. I’m starting to question the point. Turkey vs. Georgia – do we really need this game? They’re not exactly two tournament favorites. It’s the fourth European Championship game on the fourth day in a row for me. I’ve been a sports reporter for almost 30 years and was really looking forward to the tournament. But somehow, I thought in the traffic jam between Bochum and Dortmund, I could imagine spending the evening differently today.
Especially since the European Championships have their own problems for people who have to work in the stadiums. UEFA is stingy with so-called parking permits. So there are two options: either travel by overcrowded public transport or by car, but then park somewhere far away from the stadium and walk the rest of the way. Neither is great. I chose the latter. A mistake.
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The moment I get out of the car in Dortmund, the rain gets heavier. I think about the severe weather warning that was issued. It seems to be true. It rains and rains. More and more, it never stops. Real masses of water. I try to walk, but it’s no use. My shoes are soaked, then my jacket, then my trousers. My colleague Rouven Chlebna and I take shelter under the tent roof of a restaurant, a kilometer from the stadium. Crowds of people stream past us. They are wrapped in Turkish or Georgian flags that stick to their bodies.
Bizarre scenes in the stadium
When I arrived at the stadium, I was greeted by bizarre scenes: torrents of water pouring down from the roof of the stands. I was freezing, what a summer fairytale. Not here, not now, and certainly not for me. I just have a job to do – this time under adverse conditions.
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I definitely need another coffee. You can get one in the so-called UEFA Media Café. The coffee costs 3.50 euros. It comes from the same machine that comes out at Borussia Dortmund’s normal home games. But it’s always free there. Thanks, UEFA. Oh, and yes: the bratwurst costs 6.50 euros, and chips 7.50 euros. Bargain.
I look for my place in the press box. Ah, there he is. A Georgian colleague is sitting there – significantly, wearing a jersey. Strange attitude to his job, I think. He stands up, I sit down. I unpack my laptop. It’s going crazy. Apparently the humidity. Great. I’ve finished my coffee in the meantime.
Before kick-off, stewards tried to get the water masses in the Dortmund stadium under control
Quelle: dpa/Andreea Alexandru
Kick-off is approaching. There is a fight in front of the north stand. The south stand, where the BVB fans normally stand, is not a yellow wall today, but a “red wall”. Somehow strange. The “Türkiye, Türkiye” chants swell to a hurricane. It is unbelievably loud. The anthems. The Turks sing with fervor. Goosebumps. Then the Georgian anthem – booed down by the Turkish majority. The journalist colleagues in the Georgian jerseys almost go crazy with anger. What on earth is going on here?
Kick-off – and from then on, the madness has a method. The game developed that is hard to beat in terms of speed, intensity and emotion. No feeling each other out, open visors. The Turkish team seems to feel an obligation to give everything for their fans. I have to think of the words of Kaan Ayhan. “We are the second host here,” said the Turkish midfielder born in Gelsenkirchen. That’s true. Turkey presses and presses. Chances every five minutes.
Ecstasy in the football temple
Then the first lightning strike: Mert Müldür puts Turkey in the lead with a volley – the “Red Wall” explodes. Shortly afterwards, Kenan Yildiz also scores, everyone goes crazy. But it was offside. Georgia, the newcomer to the European Championship, is unimpressed – 1:1. Now the hurricane is coming from the north, from the Georgian fans.
Then it’s halftime. I feel as if the stadium is steaming – and it really is. As a result of the heavy rain, fog has settled over the arena. I speak to Hamsa, a colleague from Istanbul. He is furious that Turkey was able to throw away the lead so carelessly. He uses various swear words. His anger reminds me of Fatih Terim, the former Turkish national coach. “We never learn,” shouts Hamsa. To calm down, we smoke a cigarette behind our hands in the circle. Like we used to do in the school playground, I think. There is a strict smoking ban at the European Championships.
Kerem Aktürkoglu (r.) scored the 3-1 for Turkey
Source: dpa/Julian Stratenschulte
Then Turkey got serious – and Arda Güler became immortal. The super talent from Real Madrid hammered a ball into the corner from 26 meters. It was the most beautiful goal of the European Championship so far. After that, there was no more holding. The game swayed back and forth. It got better and better, wilder and louder. What a showdown: first Giorgi Kochorashvili missed a huge chance to make it 2-2, then the Turks countered again: Kerem Aktürkoglu ran with the ball into the goal left by the Georgian goalkeeper. 3-1, end, ecstasy. The dam broke. Pure joy for the Turks – sadness and tears for the Georgians.
I have never counted how many games I have seen in the Dortmund stadium, maybe even 1000. There have been many epic battles. There is no more atmospheric stadium in Germany. But I don’t think I have ever experienced it as loud as it was on this Monday.
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A good hour later, I leave the temple of passions. I treat myself to a taxi. Not a good idea. Dortmund is congested. People and honking cars with the red flag with the crescent hanging from them bring everything to a standstill. It seems as if all 1.2 million people of Turkish descent who live in the Ruhr area are on the streets.
I’m tired, still soaked, but happy. It’s the European Championships. And even after all these years, I still have a really, really cool job.
