Saturday April 24th 2021
Funkel: Cologne is alive
Heiko Herrlich wobbles tremendously
Fierce fight against relegation: 1. FC Köln can hope for a happy ending, in Augsburg that could not apply to Heiko Herrlich. The coach is counted, a furious second half probably saves him his chair. But the Effzeh is still worried.
Friedhelm Funkel was in a good mood, but he pushed the pace vehemently. “We have to be at the airport by a quarter to twelve,” said the short-term coach at 1. FC Cologne. But before he left after a shaky 3: 2 (3: 0) at the tumbling FC Augsburg, he said he wanted “FC Augsburg to see each other again next year with 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga “. However, it is a wish that in many ways could not come true.
Funkel was able to establish that “Cologne is alive”, while Augsburg, on the other hand, is in a grave mood. After only one puny point from the last four games and only four points ahead of the table-16. Heiko Herrlich has to tremble for his job in Cologne. In any case, manager Stefan Reuter did not want to make a clear commitment to the coach. “You are well advised,” he said, “to let something sink in and sit down and consider what the right steps are for the last three games.”
The trigger for a separation, which is no longer improbable, is likely to have been the first half against Cologne, which Herrlich and Reuter unanimously described as “disastrous”. “I can’t believe,” said the unusually harshly phrased coach, “that you can enter such an important game like this”. It was “unbelievable”, he added almost caustic for his standards, “that some players have still not understood it”. The question arises: what exactly did the players not understand?
“If he didn’t reach the team …”
In any case, in the first half Augsburg stumbled so miserably over the place against the committed Cologne that it was still well served with the three goals by the outstanding Ondrej Duda (8th / 33rd) and Florian Kainz (23rd). After all, the reaction in the second half was “good and appropriate” after loud contributions in the cabin, Herrlich mentioned. And Cologne actually saved its victory after goals from Robert Gumny (54th) and Ruben Vargas (62nd) with luck over time.
And yet: Haften remains a terrifying first half of this game, which also acted like an oath of disclosure for the coach’s work. Reuter tried to soften a little: “If he”, ie Herrlich, “did not reach the team, a second half would not be possible”. He also knows how the coach tries to “turn things off” that keep failing. But Reuter must also have noticed that the team has not only suffered from playful poverty for weeks.
Herrlich shifted the responsibility for the increasingly unfortunate situation onto the players. “We were nine points ahead with seven game days before the end,” he said, looking at the already thick pad on the relegation place. “Some felt they were in a false sense of security,” he complained, but also defiantly added: “We have 33 points, we still have everything in our own hands to keep the class and we will do it.” That may be correct, but doubts are still allowed.
In fact, Cologne is still worse off. Three points ahead of Hertha BSC and the relegation place are not very meaningful at first: The Berliners still have six games to play after their quarantine is over. Both Cologne and Augsburg now only have three.
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