News blog about 1. FC Cologne
Ready for the derby? This is Thielmann’s comeback plan
Updated on November 4, 2025 – 11:50 a.mReading time: 27 mins.
1. FC Köln is playing first class again this season. In the news ticker on t-online you will find all the important reports about the “billy goats”.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Jan Thielmann is currently missing from 1. FC Köln due to a muscle injury. The attacker was injured before the two highlight games against Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich. The 23-year-old was originally supposed to be able to play again after the international break.
If Thielmann has his way, the comeback could take place earlier. “Of course I’m aiming for the derby,” said the FC homegrown player on Sunday during the half-time break in the game against Hamburger SV. However, the attacker himself knows that a return on Saturday against Borussia Mönchengladbach could come too soon. “But,” Thielmann continued, “the sensible option would be to get back in after the international break.”
Denis Huseinbasic played his 100th competitive game in the 1. FC Köln jersey on Sunday against Hamburger SV. “Proud and grateful to have taken this path in Cologne. Here’s to many more,” Huseinbasic wrote about the fellow promoted team on Instagram after the 4-1 win. Only seven players from FC’s current squad have already surpassed this mark.
At the same time, it was Huseinbasic’s first appearance over 90 minutes this season. The midfielder was the strongest professional on the entire pitch. At the beginning of the season, Huseinbasich had struggled after poor preparation and was not even in Lukas Kwasniok’s squad in the first round of the DFB Cup. Now the 24-year-old is once again a serious option for the coach – and can be happy about the milestone in the FC jersey.
Sunday, November 2, 2025
Florian Kainz scored a remarkable free-kick goal in 1. FC Köln’s 4-1 win against Hamburger SV. The goal to make it 2-0 was the first directly converted free kick for FC in more than a year and a half. On February 11, 2024, Max Finkgräfe had previously scored for the Billy Goats against TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
“The free kick was supposed to go exactly there,” Kainz reported afterwards. “Isak (Johannesson, editor) wanted to shoot, but I saw that the goalkeeper was standing relatively far in the goalkeeper’s corner. Then I told him to let me shoot. I hit it well and I’m happy that I scored the first free kick goal in my career.” It was also Kainz’s first game in the starting line-up this season.