News blog about 1. FC Cologne
These players will be officially farewelled at 1. FC Köln
Updated on May 7, 2026 – 2:12 p.mReading time: 22 minutes
1. FC Köln is fighting to stay in the Bundesliga. In the news blog on t-online you will find all the important news about the Geißbockheim.
These players will be officially farewelled at 1. FC Köln
The 1. FC Cologne will officially say goodbye to three players on Sunday before the last home game of the Bundesliga season. Florian Kainz, Dominique Heintz and Luca Kilian will be able to say goodbye to the fans again before kick-off against 1. FC Heidenheim. While Kainz ends his career, the expiring contracts of the two central defenders will not be extended.
“We will say goodbye to these three,” confirmed sports director Thomas Kessler, who “even had the special situation” with Heintz and Kainz, “that I shared the dressing room with both of them and they were my teammates.” The contracts of Timo Hübers and Eric Martel also end after the season. However, the club is still in talks with both professionals about further collaboration. The duo, like the loan players whose future is still uncertain, will not be officially farewelled.
That’s why 1. FC Köln is hoping for Paderborn’s promotion
1. FC Köln should follow the promotion battle in the 2nd Bundesliga with particular interest. In addition to champions Schalke 04, SC Paderborn, Hannover 96 and SV Elversberg are also fighting for promotion. From Cologne’s perspective, a promotion from Paderborn would be particularly lucrative: Then a further 200,000 euros bonus payment would be due for Steffen Tigges, who initially moved to SCP last summer for 400,000 euros.
However, Paderborn recently suffered a setback. Due to the clear 1:5 defeat in Elversberg, the team slipped from second place to fourth place. Also bitter: Tigges saw yellow-red in stoppage time and will therefore miss Friday’s game against Karlsruhe. In terms of sport, things are still going well for the former FC striker: with six goals and four assists, Tigges is one of the SCP’s most important offensive players and, with four joker goals, is one of the most dangerous substitutes in the 2nd Bundesliga.
1. FC Köln interested in Dresden talent?
As the portal “Transfermarkt.de” reports, 1. FC Cologne is said to be among those interested in Dynamo Dresden’s Kofi Amoako. The defensive midfielder is a regular at the second division club and will be monitored by three other Bundesliga clubs: Hamburger SV, Union Berlin and 1. FSV Mainz 05.
