1. FC Cologne
No criticism of Kwasniok and a big secret
April 3, 2026 – 8:48 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
René Wagner wields the scepter at 1. FC Köln. Now the new head coach has made it clear what he has changed at FC and still wants to change.
He came in a black FC shirt, shook hands with all the journalists in greeting and then did not take the seat that Lukas Kwasniok had occupied for nine months. René Wagner held his inaugural press conference on Good Friday 1. FC Cologne held – and would like to do much more differently than just sit in a different place on the podium.
On Friday, the Billy Goats’ new head coach gave a foretaste of what FC and the fans can expect from the 37-year-old in the next few weeks. The quiet man from Dresden only showed his hand to a limited extent, but he let it be known between the lines that he would definitely differentiate himself from his predecessor. Five lessons from his first appearance.
1. No (direct) criticism of Kwasniok
Wagner avoided criticizing his predecessor Kwasniok. The previous assistant apparently knew that he would hardly have been allowed to do that. “I don’t think you should sit here after two weeks and say what the problem was. Because on the other hand, I was already there nine months before.” And yet Wagner made it clear that he wanted to change a few things.
2. Changed communication
The press conference was the first example of Wagner communicating differently than Kwasniok. Calm and matter-of-fact, without great excesses, friendly, but not pushing himself into the foreground – that’s how Wagner appeared two days before his head coach debut. His credo: “It’s not about me being able to take advantage of an opportunity or getting my foot in the door as head coach. If everyone around me is successful, I will automatically be successful too. That’s my approach.”
Wagner knows very well that he can now prove himself at a high level in the Bundesliga. But he explicitly doesn’t want to take himself too seriously. Instead, he also relies on trust with the players and his employees. “You can introduce emotions into a team through language, but you can also create a bond through everyday work. That’s my approach. I want us to function as a group.” Kwasniok had only been able to achieve this to a limited extent recently.
