Just a spark that burns out again, or is it the crucial fuel to start a fire? 1. FC Cologne wants to regain hope.
1. FC Köln wrested a point from VfL Wolfsburg at the weekend. A draw that doesn’t help FC much at first glance. But the billy goats want to use this draw to make it better again. If possible, next weekend in the form of a win.
FC has only had two wins this season. Cologne needs more, Cologne needs points, Cologne may need a series in order to be able to save themselves and catapult themselves out of the relegation places. But at least: The 1-1 draw in Wolfsburg was enough to slip back to 16th place – even if Mainz (17th) and Union Berlin (15th) are still meeting directly in a catch-up game and have therefore played one less game so far.
Important partial success for the chief psychologist Schultz
What the other teams are doing shouldn’t interest FC at the moment. What must be important is that Cologne itself is able to win games again. And they came closer to that again in Wolfsburg. Statistically speaking, VfL was the better team, but everyone involved agreed after the game that FC was actually the better team.
The billy goats can’t buy much of that, the bottom line was only one point. But with the small jump to the relegation place and the associated exit from the direct relegation places, the Cologne team was able to record an important partial success. That might not seem like much at first, but Timo Schultz knows what’s important now.
Otherwise rescue will not be possible
The biggest task for the new FC coach is to give his team back hope and the self-confidence that they can compete in the Bundesliga. The 1-1 draw in Wolfsburg was helpful. Finally the FC was able to reward itself for the effort. Finally, every mistake was no longer punished. Finally there was something countable at the end, and more could have been possible.
Anyone who wants to survive the relegation battle in the Bundesliga must not lose faith. In the meantime, the billy goats had lost this in the last few weeks. Schultz, who is primarily in demand as a psychologist, has now been able to stop this downward trend. Two points from the first three games of the year may not be enough in the long run. But they are a start that can be built upon. At least that is the route that is now being taken. And one thing is clear: rescue will not be possible otherwise.