“Laughter and Farewells: Highlights from 1. FC Köln’s End-of-Season Party”

1. FC Köln said goodbye to their stars at the closing ceremony on Sunday. A video with Steffen Baumgart as a 101-year-old pensioner caused laughter.

Jonas Hector came with his wife Annika, while Timo Horn came without his wife Carina, who had given birth to their first child just three weeks ago. Ellyes Skhiri also appeared unaccompanied. The two Cologne veterans and the Tunisian were the focus of attention on Sunday evening in the “Playa in Cologne”.

There the billy goats celebrated their end-of-season party. In the shadow of the Rheinenergie Stadium, the trio bid farewell together with Sebastian Andersson. With them, FC also announced the departure of six Bundesliga players, including homegrown Ally Gudorf and captain Mandy Islacker.

On the one hand, Anna Adamyan provided eye-catchers in the evening. The influencer and wife of FC professional Sargis announced her pregnancy a few months ago via social media. Now the 27-year-old proudly showed herself with a baby bump.

And then there was Davie Selke. The center forward came in shorts and shirt, but above all in grass-green mules in terrycloth style from the Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta (price 450 euros).

However, a video provided the biggest laughs of the evening and the highlight of the event in Müngersdorf. FC-TV’s creative department had put together a humorous season review and aged Steffen Baumgart, Timo Horn, Jonas Hector and Ellyes Skhiri by 50 years.

On May 28, 2073, the three departing players – hard of hearing and plagued by physical ailments – looked back on the 22/23 season. Hector as a successful golf retiree, Skhiri as the world champion from 2050 and Horn as a retiree who can’t stop skateboarding – they all shake their heads when a voice is heard on the street below.

“Ellyes, please close the window, the old man is screaming again,” Hector can be heard saying. What is meant is: of course, Steffen Baumgart. He, now 101 years old, walks the sidewalk with a walker and murmurs to himself: “I kicked her in the ass, I made her hot.” And later, when Baumgart crosses a zebra crossing, he murmurs: “I won the cup, I won the Champions League.”

Are these the new goals of FC? Not in the next season. And yet: FC showed on Sunday evening that they are very satisfied with the path they have taken under Baumgart.