Ten games in office
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FC Augsburg is in a difficult phase. A few days after the embarrassing 0:6 at home against RB Leipzig, the Fuggerstadt team lost 0:1 in the DFB Cup against VfL Bochum, 17th in the table. the 2nd Bundesliga. At the center of the criticism is Sandro Wagner, who took over FCA in the summer.
Despite the crisis, Wagner has the club’s full backing. “Today the CEO came to me and said: We are really keen to go down this path with you as coach and are just keen to get involved,” said the 37-year-old at the press conference before the game against BVB on Friday evening. “I’m still convinced and I’m up for the story. If we get out of there, it’ll be great for my personality. Maybe that’ll be good for me now, the rough wind.” Before joining Augsburg, Wagner led Unterhaching to the 3rd division and was assistant coach to Julian Nagelsmann with the German national team.
Since promotion to the Bundesliga in 2011, only two FCA coaches have had a worse points average than Wagner after ten games. Markus Weinzierl scored an average of 0.9 points per game after he joined in 2012, while Martin Schmidt only scored 0.8 in 2019. Wagner is averaging exactly one point per game. Weinzierl showed that a bad start is by no means the same as an early exit. He stayed on the FCA sidelines for four years before moving to FC Schalke. Under him, the club had the most successful Bundesliga years with eighth place in 2013/14 and fifth place in 2014/15.
Hotly debated personnel: This is what the TM Forum says about Wagner
Wagner’s personality is also hotly debated in the FCA forum at Transfermarkt. TM user “Auxxis” writes: “Wagner is not the first coach to fail with a style at a club. That’s just part of it. Of course you also need a bit of luck in one scene or another, but above all a main game idea that fits the squad. He will be one of those coaches.” FCA fan “trenk” goes even further: “Wagner polarized and provoked throughout his sporting life, but above all he always produced himself. His performances dripped with arrogance and self-promotion. He remained true to himself throughout. I was an opponent of his commitment from the start because I thought he didn’t fit in with the FCA, as a person.”
The style of play under Wagner is also up for debate, as “malcolm3” thinks: “I have the impression that Wagner wants you to play something that the team is not put together for, that does not correspond to your club DNA and that the team is not capable of.” TM user “Thommy_S”, on the other hand, defends Wagner and sees the team as having a duty: “I am of the opinion that Wagner’s demeanor is different than that as a player. And even then I didn’t think it was that bad, all these run-of-the-mill interviews from the media-briefed players are also boring. The sporting arguments against Wagner are the same as those against his predecessors in case of failure. You can then also question the team.”
After eight match days, FCA is in 15th place (in the table) with seven points. In the history of the Bundesliga, the club had a worse start five times. The defense is particularly worrying, as Wagner’s team has the worst defense in the league with 20 goals conceded. And the next two opponents have it all. Dortmund are in fourth place, while third place goes to Stuttgart the following week.