1. FC Köln: Sava-Arangel Cestic on farewell – “It was a mistake”

Ready for new task

It’s almost two years since Sava-Arangel Cestic sniffed Bundesliga air for the first time. At the age of 19, the central defender made his surprising debut in the starting XI of 1. FC Köln in Signal Iduna Park against BVB and celebrated a 2-1 win after the final whistle – the first win for Markus Gisdol’s team on matchday 9. As a right-hand player in the back three, Cestic kept the Dortmund offensive away from his own goal for large parts of the game and was immediately voted into the eleven of the match day by the TM users. Cestic would not have expected that he would be without a club today.

Instead of celebrating another success of “Effzeh” against BVB, the 21-year-old has to keep fit himself. In the summer, Cestic prematurely terminated his contract with the Croatian first division club HNK Rijeka six months after leaving Cologne. “Even during the time in Rijeka I worked with a personal trainer on site, who also coached me in the first few weeks of my absence from a club,” says Cestic in an interview with Transfermarkt. Born in Offenbach, he has returned to Germany.

“After comprehensive performance diagnostics, I decided to work with Yannick Obenauer in order to improve my performance even more specifically on site in Frankfurt and to be immediately ready to play for a new club,” describes Cestic. The performance coach has already looked after professionals such as Julian Draxler (29), Thilo Kehrer (26), John Anthony Brooks (29) and Mërgim Berisha (24) and was athletics trainer at TSG Hoffenheim from 2010 to 2013.

Obenauer should bring Cestic back to where his rapid rise began – from the dream debut against BVB to the senior national team of Serbia in a few months. “My personal dream of being able to play in the Bundesliga came true very quickly, so that at first I couldn’t really realize it. That only came a few days later,” Cestic recalls. The coach was an important sponsor. “Mr. Gisdol was crucial in my first year as a professional. Having a coach by your side from a young age who recognizes and encourages skills and has the courage to give you responsibility is crucial. I am still grateful to him for that today.”

After Gisdols left in April 2021, Cestic had no place in the Cologne squad under rescuer Friedhelm Funkel and successor Steffen Baumgart. “Unfortunately, I injured myself at the beginning of the preparation and two new central defenders were signed at that point, so I didn’t get the opportunity to play in the team,” Cestic looks back on the summer of 2021. 1. FC Köln publicly suggested to him several times that a change would be better. “I had a constructive discussion with Mr. Baumgart regarding my situation. At that time I would have hoped for better coordination from my management, which unfortunately didn’t happen. In hindsight, it certainly should have gone differently.”

Sava-Arangel Cestic: Farewell to 1. FC Köln “was certainly a mistake”

Cestic initially stayed in Cologne, but was only allowed to play in the regional league reserve. Last January, he finally canceled his contract with “Effzeh” and went to Croatia. “With the move to Rijeka, I was aware that I would be taking a step backwards from a sporting point of view. However, I was always aware that I was only at the beginning of my career and that one step back would mean two steps forward.” Looking back, however, it wasn’t the right thing to do. “At this point in time it was certainly a mistake to terminate the contract with FC. A loan would have made sense in hindsight.”

The move out of Germany came about at short notice. “The move to Rijeka was implemented within 48 hours after my contract was terminated. Unfortunately, I was not aware of my situation at the time. The impetus for this change came from my management at the time,” explains Cestic, who played nine games for the Croatians. “In Rijeka I was received and accepted flawlessly, for which I am grateful to the club. On site, however, I quickly realized that this step is currently not the right one for my development.”

Despite the months without a club, Cestic knows that “things change quickly in football and I am very sure that I will make my way accordingly successfully.” For the time being, the focus is again on Germany. “After my short time abroad, I became even more aware of how professional and intensive football is in Germany. These prerequisites must be met for my next step.”

The year 2022 was very turbulent for me.

Performance coach Obenauer sees Cestic well prepared for this: “The intensive cooperation in the last few weeks has clearly shown that Sava already has the current capability in all areas to concretely strengthen a team. By integrating soccer training and athletics training, we were able to fully cover all essential aspects.” Does the defender regret the decisions made last year? “The year 2022 was very turbulent for me, from the termination of my contract in Cologne to the move to Rijeka to not having a contract. Nevertheless, I have had a lot of experience that will be decisive for my future career,” Cestic clarifies.

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