Berlin (dpa) – It is not often that an opposing coach is already celebrated at the presentation. It will be that time again this Friday. For the first time in a long time, the An der Alten Försterei stadium will be packed with more than 22,000 fans.
Steffen Baumgart knows how loud it gets. Firstly because he played there himself, secondly because his family still has their center of life and an apartment in Berlin-Köpenick.
Baumgart against Urs Fischer, 1. FC Köln against 1. FC Union Berlin. The start of the 28th match day of the Bundesliga will be a hit with special side notes. Because there are two coaches on the sidelines, both of whom carry the iron in their hearts.
“Special lot” in the old forester’s house
Baumgart because he played there from 2002 to 2004 and developed a special relationship with the blue-collar club. His wife Katja worked for the club until 2019. “Union always interests me more than other clubs. I want to know if Union is doing well or badly,” he told the “Bild” newspaper.
As the current Union coach, Fischer is already a legend because he led the club to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2019 and established it there straight away.
Baumgart versus Fischer. Who are the two? And how are the two? Fischer has been with Union since July 2018, is 56 years old and played for FC Zurich and FC St. Gallen in his professional career. He then also trained in Zurich, other stations were only FC Thun and FC Basel.
Fischer stands for consistency. He does not reveal much about the private Urs Fischer, but recently revealed in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that he is a “huge” Michael Jackson fan. Fischer has been able to cope with all the personnel changes at Unionern so far, but Max Kruse’s departure in winter posed a special challenge.
The record since then has been rather sobering: five defeats, only one win and one draw. Union slipped to ninth place. Opponent Cologne, who have never won against the Irons in the Bundesliga (four defeats, one draw), arrive in seventh place. With Baumgart, the former Unioner on the line. He has been coaching Cologne since last summer. And does it there, like everywhere else.
“It’s just 90 minutes of full-on football”
“He sparks a magic in a club,” said Sven Michel about Baumgart. The Union professional and the Cologne coach know each other from their time together in Paderborn: “It’s just 90 minutes of full-on football.” Baumgart will ignite a fire for Cologne, “it doesn’t matter what the situation is,” predicted Michel for the game in Berlin.
Baumgart sometimes seems like an epicenter that has become human. The video from his corona quarantine is already legendary. Emotional would be an understatement when the 50-year-old is in action.
It is all the more remarkable what this Steffen Baumgart, who lets the people of Cologne dream of international business, says about Urs Fischer and what, in his opinion, makes him special. “His calmness and experience,” he emphasized in an interview with “Bild” and gave his Swiss colleague a huge compliment: “It’s not for nothing that Urs is the best coach there is for me. At Union he has fulfilled a lot of wishes and desires , also because he embodies the club.” Baumgart should know.