Saturday, October 16, 2021
“Got the ass full”
Cologne’s resounding slap in the face of reality
After the bitter bankruptcy at feared opponents Hoffenheim, the previously surprisingly strong 1. FC Köln must first gather. This also applies to trainer Steffen Baumgart, who makes no excuses. He demands the necessary conclusions from his team that has been “demonstrated”.
The prospect of coming to terms with the gossip caused Steffen Baumgart physical pain. “That will hurt,” admitted the 1. FC Köln coach after the 0: 5 (0: 1) at TSG Hoffenheim: “Because we got our asses full.”
In fact, the bankruptcy of the feared opponent brought the FC back down to earth. The first defeat after five unbeaten games in the Bundesliga hit the so far strong Rhinelander to the core. Before the upcoming derby against the top team from Bayer Leverkusen, the Cologne team must first fight.
“That is not ticked off quickly. Because these are the games from which you can learn a lot. We have to draw the right conclusions from them,” demanded Baumgart, who was emphatically combative: “Nevertheless, we have to go our way. That is one Situation that we have to deal with. It’s a learning process for me too. “
Baumgart and his protégés had learned the hard way beforehand. Ihlas Bebou (31st and 49th), Christoph Baumgartner (51st), Dennis Geiger (74th) and Stefan Posch (87th) shot down the guests in front of 14,309 spectators – once again. The Hoffenheim team have not lost eleven games in a row against FC and have won all of the past seven games.
In order to protect his professionals and not stir up unrest in the cathedral city before the derby, Baumgart took the defeat on his (slide) cap. “It’s not that the boys didn’t want to,” said the coach, who had almost only received praise since he took up the job at the beginning of the season: “We as a coaching team may have to react faster to their back three. That is also an experience for me. “
The fact that Cologne captains Jonas Hector, Dejan Ljubicic and Ellyes Skhiri were missing, and thus three important pillars, was not an explanation for Baumgart: “We’ll leave that straight. That would be just an excuse,” said the 49-year-old: “We said that we have a good and broad squad. “
Baumgart, the greenkeeper
Timo Horn didn’t even look for excuses. “They showed us – and we have to accept that,” said the goalkeeper: “We got pissed off.” Substitute captain Rafael Czichos made no secret of the fact that the defeat was “definitely deserved” even at the height.
Despite the bankruptcy, the professionals are still a long way from using up their credit with the fans. After the final whistle, the team was cheered and cheered by the supporters who had traveled with them. Incidentally, Baumgart worked as a greenkeeper at the time and repaired the maltreated areas of the lawn. The trainer has to do repairs in the coming days anyway – even if they will hurt.