In May, Jonas Hector said a tearful goodbye to “his” 1. FC Köln. Now it comes out: The 33-year-old has been lacing up his football boots again for a long time – but not in the Efftoe.
Instead, Hector plays in the Cologne Bunten League at Och Jeck FC, a carnival club with an affiliated football department. Two former employees of 1. FC Köln from the media department are also active there. The “Geissblog” reports on this.
Hector is not listed as a member of the squad on his new team’s website. Last weekend he even scored his first goal in the Bunte Liga in Och Jeck’s 4-2 win in a duel with FC District Zwo.
According to the report, one of his teammates then interviewed the former national player in an Instagram video.
“I tried to take advantage of the chance I had. I’m glad it went in,” said the 33-year-old, who was always considered media-shy during his professional career, with a view to his debut goal.
347 competitive games for 1. FC Köln
Och Jeck (team motto: “As colorful as confetti, as loud as a big fan!”) had a mixed start to the new season despite his extremely prominent new addition. Two wins and two defeats are in the statistics after four games.
Hector turned his back on 1. FC Köln and professional life after last season.
“This is a big loss for the club. A great FC player is leaving,” said Effzeh managing director Christian Keller, paying tribute to the club icon. “We will miss him, as a player and as a personality,” said coach Steffen Baumgart about Hector.
The native of Saarbrücken moved to 1. FC Köln in 2010. The Domstädter remained his only club station in professional football. The bottom line is that he played 347 competitive games (23 goals, 29 assists) for Cologne.