Cologne coach Christoph Daum had a happy return to former club Stuttgart on Saturday with his side claiming a comprehensive win at Gottlieb Daimler Stadion.
Daum ensured his place in the Stuttgart history books when he led the Swabian outfit to the Bundesliga title in 1992.
And his Cologne players did their part in making it a memorable day for Daum as goals from Milivoje Novakovic (two) and Armando Petit secured three points for the visitors.
Roberto Hilbert scored the only reply for Stuttgart, who have now lost three of their last four Bundesliga matches.
The hosts found themselves trailing after just three minutes when Miso Brecko whipped in a cross for Novakovic to smash home from close range.
Stuttgart refused to lose heart at the early blow and Hilbert came close to an equalizer 10 minutes later with a blistering 25-yard drive which flew narrowly wide.
But Cologne looked the better side for the rest of the first half and Roda Antar had the best chance to add to their tally with a drive which stung the palms of Jens Lehmann in the home goal.
Lehmann was also happy to see Novakovic drive over the crossbar at the start of the second half, but his relief proved short-lived as the Slovenian striker grabbed his brace in the 62nd minute with a neat left-footed shot following Thomas Hitzlsperger's failed clearance.
Stuttgart eventually got onto the scoresheet seven minutes later with a messy goal.
Mario Gomez headed into the path of Ciprian Marica, who saw his shot saved by the feet of Cologne keeper Farid Mondragon. But Hilbert managed to pick up the loose ball and sneak a shot through a host of bodies into the bottom corner.
It was as good as it got for the hosts though and Cologne grabbed another goal in stoppage time with Petit capitalizing on a spell of pressure to stab the ball beyond the reach of Lehmann.
