From the terraces: Cologne special

In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from fan protests to finances.

1. FC Köln edged closer to a seventh Bundesliga relegation this weekend, an injury-time equaliser in Mainz only postponing what is surely inevitable. Nevertheless, as Gegenpressing found out in the away end at the MEWA Arena, the atmosphere in Cologne remains surprisingly calm, united and realistic. Read on to find out why. This week's "On the terraces" newsletter comes literally "from the terraces," with Sunday's trip to Mainz being the third installment of a Köln-centric weekend of football. It all began at SC Fortuna Köln on Friday night and continued at Viktoria Köln on Saturday, two games which had implications for promotion from both the Regionalliga and 3. Liga respectively – albeit not for the Cologne teams themselves.

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This is Matt Ford’s 15th “On the terraces” newsletter. The first newsletter for Gegenpressing was made available for all subscribers so readers can get a good idea of what he’ll be covering in German football this year. If you like what you see, please consider taking out a paid subscription.