The RheinEnergieStadion was rebuilt in the west of Cologne city of Germany. It is the home ground of the football team 1. FC Koln and has a crowd capacity of around 50,000.
The stadium is named after its sponsor RheinEnergie AG, which is a local power supply company. The stadium has a museum which is fully dedicated to the 1. FC Köln club.
History
1. FC Koln’s old homeground Müngersdorfer Stadion was replaced by RheinEnergieStadion in the year 2004. It was reconstructed to have a grand venue for the 2006 FIFA World Cup which was held in Germany. About €119.5 million was spent for building this stadium.
Major Matches
It hosted five games in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which included four group stage games and one Round of 16 match. It also hosted a few games in the 1988 UEFA Euro Cup before its reconstruction.
During the 1996 UEFA Cup, Borussia Mönchengladbach played a match each against Arsenal and AS Monaco.
The stadium was a venue in the 2005 UEFA Confederations Cup. However, it has never hosted the national team of Germany in any of the international matches.
Controversies
In a Bundesliga match at RheinEnergieStadion, there was a handball controversy when Hannover’s Leon Andreasen deflected the ball into the goalpost and the referee did not notice it. The controversial goal was scored in the 38th minute of the match.
After the match, Leon acknowledged that the goal should not have been considered. A huge controversy was created which defamed the main referee Bastian Dankert.
Recent Matches
FC Koln faced Hertha BSC in their most recent home game. V Ibisevic scored the first goal in the 17th minute for Hertha BSC. He made full use of the penalty kick he got in the 64th minute. FC Koln remained goalless as they lost 0-2.
