Long before the final whistle, the crowd had broken into song, about the team, the club, the city and the immeasurable joy of a most magical relocation. As per usual, the 47,000 were gathered to worship at the cathedral to Kölsche self-love, the Rhein-Energie-Stadion, on Friday night, but the 3-0 half-time lead meant that everybody was suddenly somewhere completely different, out of their seats. In the stars.

In Germany’s happiest place, the citadel of carnival, people don’t need much of an excuse to have a shindig in the streets: for them, being from and in Cologne is cause enough for celebration. The rather undistinguished fare served by 1 FC Köln over the last couple of decades never spoilt the party – it only hardened the resolve of the locals to have a good time. On Friday, however, they were at last rewarded with something real to cheer about; a result that lifted Cologne “to the place that fits our wonderful city and its people, for the first time that I can remember” as their deputy keeper Thomas Kessler put it very ceremoniously. Köln were the best team in Germany, first in the table, “on top for one night!”, in the breathless headline of Express.

“Spitzenreiter, Spitzenreiter, hey, hey!” the chant went, in praise of the league leaders. The same line was put on an electronic gas station billboard alongside the autobahn by a Cologne-mad proprietor, followed by “Eines Tages, eines Tages, eines Tages wird’s geschehn, ja dann fahren wir nach Mailand, um den FC Köln zu sehn!” (“One day, it’ll be true: we’ll go to Milan to see FC Köln play there.”)

Everybody knew the high would only last for 19 hours, until Bayern Munich or others wrested back top spot. But isn’t all the best, frenzied fun evanescent in nature? Cologne fans had to wait 7,329 days for this moment, 20 years since the Billy Goats had last enjoyed top billing. They weren’t going to miss the chance to go a little crazy. “The streets were full with young and not so young people in red-and-white shirts and singing ‘Spitzenreiter, Spitzenreiter, hey, hey’,” Süddeutsche Zeitung noted, “the old-fashioned term seemed to affect people like a spiritual drug.”

Coach Peter Stöger, an Austrian, and the sporting director Jörg Schmadtke, who hails from the much wealthier, but utterly charmless neighbouring city of Düsseldorf, have worked hard to transform the club from a hub of high drama and bumbling enthusiasm into a serious construct, solid enough to withstand the tidal wave of emotions unleashed by the locals. “Of course they will all lose their head tonight,” Stöger said with a knowing smile after the 3-0 win over newly-promoted Freiburg had confirmed platz eins, “tomorrow at 17.30h, the madness is over.”

The leadership’s reliably sober attitude in the face of one of German football’s greatest challenges – the re-establishment of former giants Cologne among the elite – could not be shaken by an unexpected lift three games into a new season that has brought rather benign opening fixtures. Wins against Darmstadt (2-0) and Freiburg at home, plus a draw away to misfiring Wolfsburg (0-0) isn’t necessarily the stuff champions or Champions League teams are made of. “We will all keep our feet on the ground and won’t redefine our goals for the season,” vowed vice-president Toni Schumacher. Yes, the Toni Schumacher. The former Andy Warhol muse – and Europe’s most hated player after his assault on Frenchman Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup – has grown into a cuddly but smart operator who can also be partly credited with Cologne’s mini-renaissance since promotion in 2014. Last season’s ninth place was their best finish in 24 years. A couple of places higher, and they might just get into Europe again, for the first time since 1992-93 (the Intertoto Cup doesn’t count).

Anthony Modeste scores in the win against Freiburg. Photograph: Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images

Under Stöger, Cologne are not particularly strong at the back nor especially prolific. But some good old-fashioned middle-class mediocrity is not a bad thing when, all around you, clubs of similar size are self-destructing. They have also done well leveraging their unique Cologne-ness to persuade goalkeeper Timo Horn, a Premier League target, and the Germany left-back Jonas Hector to stay. The French striker Anthony Modeste, who scored a brace against Freiburg, was kept despite an astronomical offer from China, much to his initial disappointment. The 28-year-old has since been placated, however; his goals might well usher in more magical nights in Müngersdorf. On Friday night, Modeste also showed that he truly gets it, even if the “Viva Colonia!” cries still sound a little strange to his foreign ears. How much does it mean to be in first place, somebody asked him. “To me: nothing. To the fans: everything,” he answered.

Talking points

• Bayern, as is their wont, spoilt Cologne’s party with a 3-1 win over Ingolstadt, a regulation result after a highly irregular game. The hosts’ performance was as patchy, uneven, unsightly and full of holes as the Allianz Arena pitch; all in all a chaotic affair with more counterattacks for the opponents than all visiting teams put together had enjoyed under Pep Guardiola.

Franck Ribéry blamed the “strange lawn” on his side’s dishevelled show – TSV 1860’s Bundesliga 2 battles have left their mark – but for the second league game running, Bayern’s defensive organisation was shockingly poor. It’s perhaps beginning to dawn on Guardiola’s critics that the new-found freedom under his successor Carlo Ancelotti might just make the champions a little less invincible – especially, if some key names are missing.

“You can’t always play well,” the Italian said, barely raising his left eyebrow. He’s won all six games so far, so perhaps winning badly could be excused this time. Next up to enjoy the post-Guardiola open space but treacherous ground on Wednesday night are Hertha Berlin, the surprise second-placed side from the capital.

Rafinha celebrates his goal against Ingolstadt with a strong Platoon impression. Photograph: Guenter Schiffmann/AFP/Getty Images

• Hertha beat Markus Weinzierl’s Schalke 2-0, to make it nil from three for 04. “You can’t get something from the game if you make such mistakes at the back,” lamented Weinzierl, whose new midfield pairing Benjamin Stambouli and Nabil Bentaleb had been at fault for both of Hertha’s strikes. Schalke are yet to muster a goal domestically. Another defeat, at home to Cologne on Wednesday, would kill the little positive momentum they’ve had under their new leadership dead in its tracks. Borussia Dortmund’s emphatic 6-0 destruction of Darmstadt would have done nothing to lighten the mood in Gelsenkirchen.

• Still, there’s always someone doing worse. Werder Bremen, bottom of the table with no points and a goal difference of -10, went 3-0 down within 21 horribly inept minutes at Borussia Mönchengladbach. At the end, the scoreline read 4-1 at the Borussia Park but only because the Foals had been kind in the second half. Bremen’s ineptitude forced the board to dismiss the hapless Viktor Skripnik (“it was embarrassing”) , with the Ukrainian informed of the decision on the coach ride back north. Alexander Nouri, coach of the club’s under-23s, will take over for the game against Mainz on Wednesday. Another relegation battle looms large.



• Hamburg, too, look destined for more strife on the evidence of Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat by Leipzig. Bruno Labbadia’s men were made to look like school boys by the visitors’ class on the break. HSV’s director Dietmar Beiersdorfer, rather ominously, warned that “changes” had to be made. The north remembers … that it’s been the same sad story for a number of years now.



Results: Augsburg 1-3 Mainz, Bayern Munich 3-1 Ingolstadt, Borussia Dortmund 6-0 Darmstadt, Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-1 Werder Bremen, Cologne 3-0 Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg 0-4 Leipzig, Hertha Berlin 2-0 Schalke, Hoffenheim 0-0 Wolfsburg.