1. FC Cologne
Eleven gates in a wild test: The 1. FC Köln rehearsed the Bundesliga
03.08.2025 – 9:22 p.m.Reading time: 3 min.
The 1. FC Köln won a wild friendly against Vitesse Arnheim with 7: 4 (3: 3). Lukas Kwasniok said afterwards why he was not dissatisfied.
Four goals from a Dutch second division club, an interim 0: 3 after only 40 minutes: The 1. FC Köln did not spill out against Vitesse Arnheim on Sunday. In the test game over a total of 120 minutes, FC Lange did not find the game. Only late did the billy goats turn the result.
Afterwards, Lukas Kwasniok was still satisfied with the performance of his team. The chief coach of the billy goats knew very precisely that a lot had not yet run round in the DFB Cup two weeks before the competitive start. But the 44-year-old took parts of the weak performance on his cap.
The reason: Kwasniok had improvised against the Dutch second division team and tested a starting line -up that will probably no longer appear in this form. Only a single central defender was in the initial team, in addition, Kwasniok wanted to see a lot of offensive – and got the receipt against aggressive and strongly playing Arnheimers.
“We were surprised at how grippy and gallig the Arnheimers performed here,” said Kwasniok after the game. The FC lost the ball several times in front of its own penalty area in the first 40 minutes and conceded the first two goals. “If you lose the ball, but only have a regular central defender on the field, it can fly around your ears. That was exactly what happened,” said Kwasniok.
Only Timo Hüber had acted as a regular defender in the triple chain. In addition, Kwasniok with Sebastian Sebulonsen and Learst Pacarada withdrew two offensive full -back because the FC had actually expected a different course of the game. “We wanted to lay the opponent up to be able to play it and have more action in the last third. But we did not succeed because we were too faulty.”
Nevertheless, the test was a good rehearsal because Kwasniok wanted to try out how FC could act in the Bundesliga in the event of a backlog. “Such situations can appear in one season if you are 0: 1 behind and have to bring even more offensive presence on the square,” said Kwasniok. “But there is a test game to test it. It can be an option for the last 15 minutes in one game.”
After the 0: 3 after only 40 minutes, however, FC started again against Arnheim and ultimately won 7: 4 – also thanks to a hat trick by newcomer Ragnar Ache. “The goals were very important for him because he takes a bit longer than others to find his way around in a new environment,” said Kwasniok about the new attacker. “Shooting the goal helps him. In this respect, I assume that this inspires him.” Ache even wore the captain’s bond in the second half, even if he is not a serious option for this position in the new season.
Marius Bülter, the recent newcomer to the billy goats, also made his debut in the FC jersey on Sunday. In the meantime, the 32-year-old awarded a big chance for the possible 3: 3 equalization, but collected 60 minutes of game practice and was able to show himself for the first time on the left outer lanes in the FC system. “He does not yet know our processes, but you can see what makes him.