It’s party time on Friday night in the Bundesliga as two of Germany’s Carnival clubs, Mainz and Cologne, go head-to-head in a game that promises plenty of color and excitement to kick off Matchday 11.
“The anticipation is huge,” Mainz coach Bo Svensson said of the meeting between two teams both steeped in carnival tradition and hungry for points. “We’re playing against a good opposition at home under the lights – I don’t think we’ll see a dull game.”
It’s a clash in which Svensson’s side will be hoping for a first win at their MEWA Arena this season. “Both teams will play with high intensity and sportsmanship [and] both will play to win,” added Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart.
It’s a match that’s ever been called Carnival derby. Mainz, Cologne and Fortuna Düsseldorf come from three cities in Rhineland that hosts the biggest holidays long carnival season, which begins at 11:11 a.m. on November 11 each year and culminates with Empty Monday celebrations in February. That’s when hundreds of thousands of costumed revelers take to the streets to celebrate.
The biggest of the celebrations takes place in Cologne, where around a million people come from near and far to take part. During this time, the screams of Kölle Alaaf – or Here’s to Cologne – can be heard everywhere. In Mainz, meanwhile, the traditional call of “Greetings!” the carnival season begins there.
The cities’ football clubs generally tend to release special edition kits to coincide with the height of the carnival celebrations and – over the years – each side has played their respective Bundesliga matches wearing these limited edition kits. Indeed, it’s not just the locals who are allowed to dress up as they prepare to party. Players plying their trade for affiliated clubs carnival also dress up in colorful costumes for special photo shoots and training sessions.
Mainz fans get into the carnival spirit. – nordphoto GmbH / Bratic via www./imago images/Nordphoto
It was during a carnival season some 70 years ago that Cologne was given a goat named Hennes by a circus ringmaster. To this day, the team is known as Billy the Goat, or The Billy Goats, and features the animal in the club’s crest. Hennes’ successors have regularly appeared at the Cologne stadium before matches.
With Mainz hosting Cologne just three weeks before the carnival kicks off, both teams have a fantastic opportunity to set the mood when they go head-to-head on Friday night. The hosts are top of the away table in this season’s Bundesliga, but would be desperate for their first home win of the campaign to come against them. Rhineland the rivals. “I expect a lot of emotions and high intensity on the pitch,” said Mainz coach Svensson.
Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn in full carnival costume! – Herbert Bucco/image/Herbert Bucco
Cologne have lost just one of the teams’ previous five meetings in the Bundesliga. If the visitors win, they will extend the overall record among teams in Germany’s top flight to eight wins each. “We are well prepared for the game against Mainz – the intensity has increased this week,” said Baumgart.
The Billy Goats go into the weekend seventh in the standings, level on points with Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund.
Eleventh-placed Mainz – have won all four Bundesliga games to date on the road and followed up last weekend’s win against Werder Bremen with a midweek DFB Cup win at fourth-tier Lübeck. “We’ve won twice this week and now we’re playing against them [another] good opponent”, said Svensson. “They’ve been very consistent since then [their coach] has been there. It’s clear how they want to play [and] they are successful with their style. They are a difficult opponent for any team that faces them”, concluded the Mainz coach.
Prepare for fireworks, then, when the Carnival Clubs go head-to-head under the Friday night lights. As always, you can follow the ins and outs of what promises to be an engaging meeting bundesliga.com and across our social networks from 20:30 CET.
