Cologne (AP) – He trotted through the living room, yelled at the television with the family dog Jory on his shoulders and insulted an opponent who was apparently acting.
During the corona quarantine, Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart converted his living room into a coaching zone and was allowed to celebrate at the end of an emotional afternoon, which was also loud for the neighbors: The 1-0 win against SC Freiburg brought 1. FC Köln to Baumgart’s absence in the Bundesliga, even within striking distance of the Champions League places, which are only two points away.
Shortly after the final whistle, defender Timo Hübers expressed the hope that “everything was safe” at Baumgart’s home. The video that his daughter Emilia posted on “Tik Tok” on Saturday evening raised at least slight doubts. “I have to yell at someone,” Baumgart shouted at an assistant on his cell phone. He gave the instruction: “They should play forward, even if they get three pieces.” And apparently he shouted at a Freiburg player via the screen: “Get your ass up, you cry every time.”
Baumgart is not a quiet trainer type
But Baumgart was able to relax about a minute before the end of the Sky broadcast. “He had a time delay of about 50 seconds,” revealed sporting director Jörg Jakobs with a laugh: “That’s why he was in radio contact with our people in the last minute. When the message came from the final whistle, he was at least able to watch the last 50 seconds relaxed we all granted him.”
For Baumgart, the emotionality during the game was nothing special. “I was just as loud as ever. I hope the neighbors don’t complain,” he told the “Bild” newspaper. However, he explained to the “Express” that he was hardly worried about it: “Most of them are FC fans anyway.” And he is just “not the guy who sits quietly on the sofa when it comes to the boys.”
Despite the often pithy phrasing, that’s exactly what players appreciate about him. And the relationship between the team and the coach is considered the recipe for success at FC, which was almost relegated last year. Nevertheless, his absence in this one game was not a problem, everyone asserted. “It was a bit special. But in the end we know what we have to do,” said striker Anthony Modeste, who scored the golden goal again with his 14th goal of the season (23rd). And youngster Jan Thielmann (19), who prepared the goal well, explained: “He gives a little bit of motivation again. But we didn’t need that at all today.”
Dream of Europe not illusory
Assistant trainer André Pawlak, who represented his boss “perfectly” according to Jakobs, assured: “The processes are easy, consolidated over weeks and months. Of course, Steffen’s emotionality is missing. But the team has shown that they can also do it without Steffen can.” Also because the otherwise level-headed Pawlak went out a bit more. “André was already hoarse at the break,” reported Hübers: “I had to smile. He probably tried to do the same as Steffen Baumgart.”
Obviously the two are a good team. This ensures that the dream of Europe is not an illusion. But nobody in Cologne wants to talk about it yet. Sports director Jakobs says with a smile: “We’re getting closer to the situation where we can say we’re keeping the class safe and maybe we can think about other things.”