How many points does the 1. FC Köln still need to climb? This question deals with many fans of the billy goats. But the players are not allowed to participate.
Fans and media around 1. FC Köln have been expecting SC Paderborn since victory: How big are the chances of promotion? How many victories and points do the billy goats have to get in the last seven games? After all, FC is four points ahead of third place, and five points are already in fourth place.
No wonder that before the home game against Hertha BSC there are hopes that the FC will bring the next three points towards the Bundesliga against the pictures. But this arithmetic – a common banter of professional football in the area – poses the risk that these mind games will also arrive in the team. But that should not happen.
This also warned Gerhard Struber during the week. The Austrian has now made a name for himself as a rational, focused head coach, who rarely can be distracted from secondary locations. The 48-year-old also expects his players to do so, knowing that his team is no longer allowed to let up.
The final phase of the season becomes a big exam for FC – for the coaching team as well as for the team. Against Hertha BSC on Saturday evening, it’s not just about scoring three points again. With a win, the FC could also send the next exclamation mark in the fight for the promotion. To add a week after the 2-1 win in Paderborn, the assembled competition would also show: This 1. FC Köln can no longer be removed from the bread.
On the one hand, it is good that Dominique Heintz, Julian Pauli, Dejan Ljubicic and probably also Damion Downs will be back in the squad. For Struber, however, it also becomes a Vabanques game, as he puts together his starting eleven. After all, the Austrian is not a friend of major changes, especially not after a win.
But for Hertha, FC needs the best possible eleven and no emergency formation as in Paderborn. Then the fourth victory in a row is also possible, and with it the justified hope of being able to continue to be able to settle. After all, several competitors will play against each other again this weekend. This view of the other places is exactly what only the Cologne environment can interest. The FC itself only has to keep an eye on Hertha BSC.