1. FC Cologne
“Cool!” Fan invasion in Luxembourg makes U19s cheer
October 23, 2025 – 10:01 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
Emotional return to Europe: 1. FC Köln not only won 3-0 at Racing FC Union in the Youth League. The fans provided a highlight.
1. FC Köln is back in Europe. The Billy Goats’ U19s represented FC on the European stage again in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday evening and achieved a victory in this competition for the first time. Coach Stefan Ruthenbeck’s team deservedly won 3-0 (1-0) at Racing FC Union Luxembourg.
In addition to the sporting victory, which could have been even bigger, the focus was on the FC fans: they gave the Billy Goats’ talents an extraordinary experience. More than 1,000 supporters traveled from Cologne to Luxembourg, creating a rare atmosphere in the competition that is considered the little sister of the big Champions League.
“An unbelievable support,” enthused Ruthenbeck afterwards. “It’s unique in Europe that a U19 is so supported by its own fans. That’s amazing. When I see the number of spectators at other Youth League games, it doesn’t exist anywhere else. That was very, very special.” And with a smile on his face, the coach added: “I heard that 1,500 spectators were here. So 1,499 came from Cologne.”
Not only managing director Philipp Türoff, vice president Ulf Sobek, technical director Lukas Berg and numerous other FC employees came, but also parts of the active fan scene. With flags, block flags, loud chants, Cologne songs and also some pyro-flares, the Stade Achille Hammerel Luxembourg was transformed into an FC home game.
And the players paid the fans back. Fynn Schenten gave the Billy Goats the lead after 20 minutes. Cenny Neumann (61st) and Alessandro Puzzo (78th) followed up with two impressive lobs in the second half. This means FC can already plan for the next round, provided there is no surprise in the second leg in Cologne’s Franz Kremer Stadium on November 5th.
“We were all a bit nervous,” admitted Ruthenbeck about the special atmosphere in Luxembourg. “We realized it was something special. It wasn’t all good, but you could see the passion in the boys. We paid back a little.” The victory could have been even bigger. And yet Ruthenbeck assumes that his team will not let anything go wrong in the second leg.
Then the Cologne journey through Europe would continue. The so-called “Domestic Champions Path” of the UEFA Youth League, to which FC belongs as the reigning U19 champions, is played in a knockout mode. After a bye in round one, FC has to survive the duel against Racing FC Union in round two. Then the winner of the game FC Midtjylland (Denmark) and FK Budućnost (Montenegro) would wait in round three.
The Danes also won their first leg 3-0 on Wednesday. And so 1. FC Köln and FC Midtjylland can prepare for a direct meeting on November 26th in Cologne and December 10th in Denmark. Then numerous FC fans are likely to travel along again. Because you don’t often see a tour through Europe at 1. FC Köln – be it among the professionals or the A-Juniors.