1. FC Cologne: Managing Director Keller remains in office – the search for a coach is ongoing

Cologne boss remains in office

One day after coach Steffen Baumgart left, the search for a potential successor at 1. FC Köln is in full swing. While the professionals from the weak cathedral town team said an emotional farewell to their coach, media reports already mentioned personalities such as ex-coach Friedhelm Funkel, former Schalke player Thomas Reis, Heiko Herrlich and Enrico Maaßen. Managing director Christian Keller commented on the current situation at FC in a press conference on Friday afternoon.

“We deliberately didn’t speak to any other coaches during Steffen Baumgart’s time. That’s why no successor has been determined yet. I can’t say yet whether it will be an internal or external solution,” the 45-year-old said. U21 coach Evangelos Sbonias will also be an issue at Geißbockheim, but the 41-year-old still lacks the necessary license to coach permanently in the Bundesliga.

After the 2-0 defeat at 1. FC Union Berlin, the Cologne team parted ways with coach Baumgart at the end of the year. Quite a few players reacted to this on social networks and expressed their regret, for example striker Davie Selke wrote: “Thanks for everything Coach! Your departure is the most painful defeat.” Also about a separation or resignation from Keller, who has been repeatedly accused of mistakes in squad planning and transfers in the club environment in recent months (an overview of all Cologne transfers since April 2022), had been speculated in the wake of Baumgart’s dismissal. However, the FC boss, who now also has to deal with the transfer ban imposed on his club by CAS on Thursday (background), remains in office for the time being.

When asked who was to blame for Cologne’s sporting misery, which slipped to 17th place in the table, the managing director said that no one was “solely responsible” and emphasized that he had “no thoughts of resigning” himself. “We will overcome the challenges without Steffen Baumgart and in a new constellation,” he said confidently. “I read today that we are having an apocalypse. But maybe it’s day one. With our attitude we determine what it will be and how it will develop. And the team will give everything to stay in the league.”

The requirement profile for the new Cologne coach has been defined internally: “We have a clear game idea that has been implemented into the youth teams under Steffen Baumgart. Nothing should change about that.” Baumgart’s successor must “see the quality in the team that we also see” and also “incorporate and develop young players. We have a good youth workforce, but far too few players have made the jump to the professionals.”

Keller on Cologne’s transfer ban: “We prepared ourselves for scenarios”

“When challenges like these arise, it is also an opportunity to grow together even more. We can build a fortress that is the breeding ground for mastering these challenges,” continued Keller, referring to the upcoming difficulties in the wake of the transfer ban. “We have prepared for the scenarios of the CAS ruling. Now the mood is on the attack and we are all pitching in.” FC President Dr. Werner Wolf expressed “the necessary trust” in the management level around Keller.

When asked how he would approach FC’s squad planning for the future, Keller explained: “All of our key top performers have a contract that extends beyond the summer and are therefore tied to FC. The players we loaned out will come back in the summer and will then compete for Bundesliga places. And we will then assess how far they have come. Almost all of our player contracts are also valid for the 2nd Bundesliga.”

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