YOU’VE probably heard about the fracas that broke out outside a bar in Gelsenkirchen at the weekend, and that resulted in the arrest of seven Serbian supporters as well as an English fan who was detained on his return to the UK.

But have you heard the story of the family from Barnsley that gave up their places on a crammed shuttle bus outside the stadium in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night so that a Serbian family with distressed young children could get on instead? Or the tale of the bar in Essen, where I’ve been staying, who were so impressed with the behaviour of the English fans who were frequenting it over the weekend that they bought everyone a free round to express their thanks? Or what about the German chief of police who praised English supporters for preventing a travel nightmare on Sunday evening from developing into something much more alarming?

It is estimated that around 350,000 England fans will travel to Germany at some stage during the Euros, and the vast majority are well-behaved supporters who are here to enjoy themselves. Yes, there’s the odd idiot, as you’ll tend to find at any football game, and the choruses of ‘Ten German Bombers’ that have been ringing out in various German cities are wholly unnecessary.

But England’s travelling support has changed markedly since the dark days of the 1980s and 90s, and certainly since Euro 2000, when English hooligans went on the rampage in Charleroi, fighting against German fans. The first tournament I attended, as a supporter, was Euro 2004 in Portugal, and the transformation was already under way then, and it had gathered even more pace by the time of the 2006 World Cup, my first tournament as a working journalist.

Today, there are many more families following England than you would ever have seen in the 80s and 90s, and a much more even split of the sexes. Geographically, fans follow England from all over, and there’s an extremely healthy contingent of North-East supporters out here in Germany. I’ve seen flags expressing support for Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Darlington, and you don’t have to wait long until an accent you recognise pipes up.

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One of the biggest decisions England fans have had to make is whether to remain in Germany for the duration of the tournament – or at least the group stage – or dip in and out of the country on a game-by-game basis.

An unscientific chat with supporters before and after Sunday’s game suggests a pretty even split. James, a Watford fan who I watched the France-Austria game with in an Essen bar on Monday evening, has opted to stay in Germany for the first three group games before heading back home, with a view to potentially coming back out from the semi-finals onwards if England are still involved. Jimmy, a long-term England fan from County Durham, was here for the opener on Sunday, headed back via Amsterdam first thing on Monday, and is back out on the Eurostar on Wednesday for the Denmark game. Not only is it expensive following England, but it also eats into holiday time if you’ve got a job. Sometimes, just getting back for a day or two can be worthwhile.

Others love the chance to explore between matches though, perhaps taking in an occasional game not involving England if they’ve been lucky enough to secure a ticket via UEFA’s ballot system. The hope, for all England fans, is that however they’ve decided to negotiate the tournament, they’ll be meeting up in Berlin for a party in mid-July.


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WHAT do you do if you’re a German football legend with more than 100 caps, and have had a successful career taking in the likes of Bayern Munich and Arsenal but are now retired at the age of 39?

Well, if you’re Lukas Podolski, you set up a chain of kebab shops. But you don’t just set up any old shops, within the space of a couple of years, you establish a kebab-shop empire that takes over Germany.

‘Lukas Podolski’s Mangal Doner’ shop has pride of place in the middle of Essen’s main drag, with the former striker having set up his first kebab shop in Cologne in 2018.

Lukas Podolski's kebab shop in EssenLukas Podolski's kebab shop in Essen (Image: The Northern Echo)

Since then, his empire has grown and he now owns more than 30 shops spread across Germany. His net worth is estimated to be more than $225m, and he recently hit the headlines in his homeland for a YouTube rant against McDonald’s in which he extolled the qualities of his kebabs.

As someone who is partial to a late-night kebab or two back at home, I can confirm that his signature ‘Pod special’ is not at all bad.


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GERMAN fans are understandably optimistic after their opening-game thrashing of Scotland, and it’s been noticeable just how many German flags are being flown from houses, cars and businesses out here.

That hasn’t always been the case. For decades, overt shows of nationalism via the German flag were frowned upon because of the horrors of the past, but as generations move on, so that is changing.

The 2006 World Cup was regarded as a major sea change in the German public’s relationship with the national flag, and there seems to be much less reticence about using the flag as a means of expressing national identity today.

German colours will be out in force tomorrow, when the hosts play their second game against Hungary, and that’s just how it should be in such a football-mad nation.