The 1. FC Köln gives everything in the training camp. It is still open what role trainer Lukas Kwasniok wants to give to captain Timo Hübers.
When Timo Hübers came to the training square in Bad Waltersdorf on Sunday, hundreds of fans of 1. FC Köln rose from their seats in the stands. The supporters sang a birthday serenade to the freshly baked 29-year-old. The captain clapped towards the stands, thanked. Hübers had obviously not expected to be considered with a song by the fans.
In preparation, on the other hand, Hübers has not yet been the focus. The central defender goes into his fifth year at FC, one of the experienced forces is one of the constants. This is one of the reasons why the 1.90-meter-tall defensive chief was appointed captain by ex-coach Gerhard Struber last summer. A role that is now being questioned.
On the one hand, because Hübers also rarely reached his highest level in the 2nd league. On the other hand, because he was able to lead the team only to a limited extent in a difficult year after relegation. The hierarchy problem was known, including various discipline without disciplines. With Lukas Kwasniok as a new coach and Thomas Kessler as the new sports director, it was foreseeable that Hüber’s’ role would also be questioned.
“The captain’s question is a nice summer hole topic, “Hüber’s Hüber’s discussion in the birthday interview with the” Geissblog “wandered away.” In preparation, there is no other alternative than accelerating. I will do that when I stay captain – and I will do that if I don’t stay captain. There is little room for personal sensitivities in football. “
A healthy perspective, especially since Hüber’s himself does that. He promises nothing to the FC fans, does not talk out the club, which is still dear to his heart. It is “a big deal to be captain for such a big club”, but personally the captain’s armband “not so much” because it does not affect his daily work. He was not another person, with or without a captain’s office. “That’s why it was a nice confirmation. But I don’t kiss the captain’s armband every day when I get home.”
This is also due to the fact that Hüber is committed to keeping open where he will go in the future. So far, he has chosen FC again every summer in recent years. But that could change soon, also because his contract expires in one year. In any case, the 29-year-old wants to play again abroad. “Currently my focus is only on FC.” So will he be playing for FC at least next season? “I assume that, yes.”
It is these confessions with a back door that Hüber wants to hand in without making false promises. “It can always go quickly in the football business because nobody can really predict what happens,” he said in Bad Waltersdorf. He estimated just as honestly: the club currently has differentities than to take care of the future of the (still) captain.
Sports director Kessler has a big task: he has to extensively rebuild the squad. In central defense, too, he is still looking for reinforcements to a competitor to Hüber. On the other hand, Kessler has to negotiate with players like Eric Martel and Jan Thielmann, whose contracts also expire in 2026. As a 23-year-old, they “still have a higher added value for the club from the club’s perspective,” says Hüber’s himself. “That is why there are now significantly more urgent topics than me.”
Hüber’s only wants to sit down with FC later and talk about the future. A future that he has quite clearly in mind. And which will probably lead him out of Cologne in the summer of 2026 at the latest.