Cologne Provides Support From Afar For Indy Eleven

By Rebecca Townsend

Soccer’s cross-cultural, trans-oceanic, bridge-building capacity finds apt illustration in the relationship forged between the sister cities of Cologne, Germany, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Now in its second decade, the alliance between Cologne and Indianapolis is a labor of love for the collection of volunteers that keep the partnership vital. These people offer long-term, consistent support even as the occupants change within the cities’ mayor’s offices, where the Sister City programs are officially overseen. Volkmar Schultz, the chair of Cologne’s Indianapolis Sister City committee, for example, has held the position for its entire 27 years of existence.

The partnership, “is great for the city from a business standpoint and from a soccer standpoint,” Juergen Sommer, Indy Eleven’s head coach and Director of Soccer Operations said.

The Cologne and Indianapolis committees see each other on an almost annual basis — they host an exchange program for firefighters and librarians, sponsor cultural literacy programs, and seek to collaborate on new business opportunities. These collaborations are moving to a new level now that Indy can speak one of Germany’ primary languages — fußball.

About three years ago, Schultz and the treasurer of Cologne’s Indianapolis committee, Andreas Küpper, approached Martin Baier, chair of Indy’s Cologne committee, to say, as soccer fans, they thought sports could act as a bridge to strengthen the Sister Cities program by appealing to common interests with younger audiences.

“They were asking to build a relationship between the known, traditional soccer club FC Köln (based in Cologne) and a professional soccer club in Indianapolis,” Baier recalled during a late February interview at his International Center Office, overlooking Downtown Indianapolis from the 20th floor of One Indiana Center.

“At that time I said, ‘Well, we don’t have one.’”

The Europeans, likely surprised that a city Indy’s size had no professional club for the world’s most popular sport, Baier said, responded with “a question mark on their faces.”

Soon after, however, the Indy Pro Soccer movement began to build as Ersal Ozdemir hired Peter Wilt and Indy Eleven began to take shape.

BUILDING BRIDGES

At the end of 2013, Indy’s Cologne Committee hosted a celebratory dinner in honor of its 25th anniversary. Cologne’s Deputy Mayor Angela Spizig was among the guests as were coach Sommer — the son of German immigrants — and Indy Eleven’s first signed player, German goalkeeper Kristian Nicht, a veteran of the world-renowned Bundesliga.

The plan became official that night: The Cologne contingent would begin building a Brickyard Battalion affialiate in Germany to support Indy Eleven. Cologne’s Sister City Committee treasurer, Andreas Küpper, took the lead in organizing, looking to traditional American holidays such as Fourth of July and Thanksgiving to host parties and membership drives. Indy Eleven helped by sending promotional materials for distribution.

“We are 21 members in the BYB Cologne,” Küpper said in a recent Facebook exchange. “The youngest is 13, the eldest 81 (my father). My impressions of Indy Eleven are very good. You can see a lot of discipline and a lot of  passion. That is a very good mixture. Kristian Nicht is well known in Germany. He played for Alemannia Aachen - not far from Cologne."

In response to a question about what gives German soccer its edge, he responded, “I think it´s a lot of discipline and the unconditional will to reach a target - and we have with Joachim Löw a very good coach.”

The Cologne Brickyard Battalion’s Facebook page is just beginning build. As of March 11, it has 18 likes on Facebook.

“I was in Indianapolis in 2011,” Küpper said. “It was a great time, and I love your city very much! I come back to Indianapolis in October 2015 with a group of, I think, 10 people. We will make a program with culture and sport (soccer!)”

To formalize the partnership with Indy, Baier and Küpper reached out to the Brickyard Battalion, which like the Cologne contingent, had been eager for Indy to launch a professional soccer team long before Ozdemir and Wilt teamed up. In making the connection, the Cologne contingent received official permission to become the first international BYB chapter. They also learned that BYB President Derek Richey had strong German ties.

“I spent many of my younger years in Germany, as we were stationed in Erlangen and we visited my grandfather (Opi) in Berlin a number of times over my years,” Richey wrote in a Facebook exchange. His mother, Regina Wallrath, is a native of Berlin. His father, a U.S. soldier, met her while he was stationed in Berlin.

“With my own German roots, it was natural for me to be excited about a partnership with the City of Köln.  I really envision the partnership growing, and that every year we'll have a bigger and bigger contingent of supporters from Köln visiting Indy each year to catch [an Indy Eleven match with the] BYB!”

This cross-continental futbol appreciation is flowing from Indy to Köln as well.

Baier, a native of Essen, Germany, and resident of the Indy metro area since 2007, joined Indy’s Cologne Sister City Committee shortly after his arrival in Indiana. He has served as chairman since 2010 and is preparing to reciprocate Cologne’s support of Indy Eleven.

“I have to say, I’m becoming one of their biggest fans,” Baier said. “Don’t tell my parents; they already wrote me out of their will because they are Schalke fans. The whole family was Schalke fans and then, joining military — I was stationed in southern Germany close to Munich — I became a Munich fan.

“But now with all sister city relationships, I’m representing the Köln fans here, and we’re going to start a Köln fan club here.”

The FC Köln website has international fan clubs listed in Belgium, England, Spain, Canada, Costa Rica, and Nigeria. Perhaps the Indy Köln crew will be among the first — if not the first — U.S. contingent to organize.

Coach Sommer is excited to see the relationships build not only among the soccer fans in Cologne and Indy but between the clubs themselves.

Sommer said he wanted to travel to meet F.C. Köln while the team was in Florida over its January break from Bundesliga play. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts evaluating prospective players and preparing for preseason prevented the connection. Still, he said he hopes to take Indy Eleven to play a match in Cologne, perhaps at the end of this season.

“I think it would be great to build a relationship with Cologne,” Sommer said. “There’s a lot to be learned from a club that’s been around as long as they have.”

A GERMAN AT THE REINS AND A GERMAN IN THE NET

Sommer spent the summers of his youth in Cologne visiting family.

The German identity is “in my DNA — my blood,” Sommer said. “You see the diligence and the commitment they have — especially when it comes to soccer.”

This year, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention held in Philadelphia, Sommer said he attended a seminar in which three German coaches explained how the country retooled its youth development program after a poor showing from its national team in the 2008 Euro Cup. By increasing the resources dedicated to the sport and the number of training facilities and coaches available to its young players, Germany increased the options available to German National Team head coach Joachim Löw. The payoff was legendary: At the 88th minute of a scoreless World Cup final against Argentina last summer, Löw benched veteran superstar Miroslav Klose with a World Cup rookie, Mario Götze.

“That took guts,” Sommer said. But, he added, the bet paid off.

Here’s how the FIFA match report characterized Götze’s performance:

“...With seven minutes of the 120 remaining, the decisive moment arrived. [German attacker André] Schurrle bulldozed past three Argentina defenders on the left flank, drawing [Argentina Coach Alejandro] Sabella’s charges out of shape and clipping over them to Gotze. The 22-year-old’s technique was exquisite, cushioning the ball on his chest and volleying at an awkward height, finding the far corner of the net to write his name into German and World Cup football folklore.”

The take-home lesson by Sommer? “Don’t be afraid to look at past mistakes and come up with a comprehensive plan of action.” 

In addition, Sommer noted of his German counterparts, they leave no detail unattended. For example, while other teams scrambled back and forth between hotels and World Cup game venues, often traveling thousands of miles involving major changes in climate, the German team (with private funding from supporters) created its own training camp in Brazil, allowing the team to live and train in its own compound near the cities when its group stage matches were scheduled.

“They are methodically detailed in everything — no detail is left unattended,” Sommer said. “We’re trying to do the same on a smaller scale with Indy Eleven.”  

From the perspective of an expatriate German living in Indy with season tickets to Indy Eleven, Baier said he is confident the team is establishing a strong foundation — both on the field with “experts like Juergen and strong players like Kristian” and among the fanbase, especially in Indy’s international community.

“Indy Eleven is now the sport and the team for a lot of our internationals now, who feel they have a home with a familiar sport and a familiar turf, a home for people from abroad.” Baier said. “It’s great to see that.”

FOSTERING FIELD CONNECTIONS BETWEEN F.C. KÖLN AND INDY ELEVEN

Baier has long appreciated soccer as a diplomatic tool.

During his 22-career in the German Air Force, “we used every opportunity to play soccer,” he said. “We were stationed all over the world for exercises and other things, building teams amongst NATO partners and playing against each other. It is a world sport that connects people and builds bridges.”

After the founding of the Cologne BYB, he began working to formalize partnerships between the actual teams FC Köln and Indy Eleven. The work of building these connections led Baier him to an unforgettable experience last summer.

Cologne has about 25 Sister City relationships around the world. Its partnership with Indianapolis is among the most active — both in Cologne and Indianapolis. Last summer, the Indy contingent traveled to Cologne to participate in the city’s Sister Cities Festival, which promotes the business and cultural amenities in each of its partner cities. Ersal Ozdemir asked Baier to deliver a personalized Indy Eleven jersey to Cologne’s Lord Mayor Jürgen Roters. Baier also had several meetings with officials who thought a partnership between the teams could work.

Separately from his official Sister City business, Baier had been working every possible angle to secure tickets for FC Köln’s match against visiting juggernaut Bayern Munich, but the tickets were such a hot commodity that no one, not his season ticket holder friends or his various political connections could help.

Just when he had given up hope, he received an email from a vice president of FC Köln. Next thing he knew, Baier and a fellow Sister City Committee member, Brad Gottschlich, a student at IUPUI, found they’ve been seated in the team’s VIP section. After the game, Baier and Gottschlich were invited to the team’s suite where they were introduced to the team president, Werner Spinner.

Baier recalled: “(Spinner) was like, ‘Yeah, Indiana. I worked five years in Elkhart.’”

Spinner then asked Baier if he knew Toni Schumacher, now an FC Köln vice president.

“Do I know him?” Baier replied. “He’s one of my idols!”

Spinner introduced them. Baier, who prides himself on military-level composure, admitted he was starstruck, but that Schumacher was very personable and was interested to hear about the Sister Cities relationship.

During the course of the evening, Baier found enthusiasm for Cologne’s relationship with Indianapolis and fostering a partnership with Indy Eleven. He found that staff members knew of Juergen Sommer, Kristian Nicht and Kléberson, Indy’s World Cup champ from Brazil.

FOND MEMORIES OF COLOGNE

Kristian Nicht, who grew up in Jena, Germany, played for the club Alemannia Aachen, about 40 miles away from Cologne. Though Aachen and Köln were fierce rivals, Nicht said he and his teammates enjoyed traveling into Cologne to visit the cafés and nightlife along the Rhine River.

Köln is known to have some of the “most dramatic fans in Germany — especially with the rivalry,” Nicht said. “We always loved playing in Cologne.”

Just as Liverpool fans are famous for singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” he said, Köln fans pack the stands to sing FC Koelle, also known as the Köln Hymn.

“Everyone who ever was in Cologne knows that song,” Nicht said. “Everyone wants to be part of that emotional song — it gets under your skin.”

He said appreciates the Cologne BYB’s support, “With my heritage and nationality, I think it’s great to have a German fan club for an American club where I play.”

In addition to memories of playing against Köln, the team’s stadium holds an additional distinction for Nicht: It was the site of Aachen’s first international matches — held during the team 2004-2005 Euro Cup run. Aachen’s stadium capacity of around 25,000 was too small for the crowds associated with matches of that significance, so the team relocated to Cologne for the event.

Nicht remembered that a caravan of perhaps 150 buses drove the highway between the cities. It was so long that the first bus was arriving in Cologne as the last bus was leaving Aachen. Aachen showed well, beating clubs from France and Greece — and ultimately falling to AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands, a club that went on to the tournament’s semi-finals.

The partnership with the Sister Cities — and the potential to build a relationship with F.C. Köln, said Nicht, is “definitely something Indy Eleven as a club and Indianapolis as a city can benefit from.”