So far, no one from 1. FC Köln has officially commented on the transfer of the game to Leverkusen. Sports director Christian Keller is doing that now. And clearly.
Sports director Christian Keller vented his anger about the circumstances surrounding the relocation of the Bundesliga derby at Bayer Leverkusen in the coming week, criticizing the Rhenish rivals and the German Football League.
“No one here wants to know what the processes are like, otherwise one or the other will lose faith in the integrity of the competition,” said Keller, himself a member of the DFL supervisory board, after the 0-1 draw against SC Freiburg on Saturday. The game in Leverkusen will take place next Friday, it was originally scheduled for Sunday. As a result, Leverkusen have two days more to prepare for the Europa League semi-final first leg at AS Roma.
“I wonder why nothing was moved last year when Frankfurt was playing for the Europa League? Bayern Munich plays for an international title almost every year, so I’ve never seen a game be postponed,” said Keller: “Now at some point everyone comes and says: Come on, we have an important game, let’s move it for overriding reasons.”
Ask for “overriding reasons”
For “overriding reasons” with which the transfer was explained, it is more about health for him. He recalled that Cologne had to play against Hoffenheim about 48 hours after the Conference League game in Slovacko last year and that striker Florian Dietz tore his cruciate ligament in this game of all things. “I can’t explain that to anyone internally either,” said Keller: “And I don’t want that either.”
But what annoys him most of all is the circumstances. “We as game partners were the last to be involved when the number was more or less through,” said Keller in the direction of the DFL and probably Bayer in particular: “We were the last to be called. If you call us first, then I give maybe other answers now. Normally we would have gone along with it without complaining too much. But because of the process and the way I don’t understand it and I don’t think it’s good either.”
Baumgart circumnavigated
Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart was also clearly annoyed, but he avoided the whole thing. At first he was silent for a long time when asked the question, then he said: “People who know me very well know what’s going on inside me. But I think that even I sometimes have to learn not to comment on everything. And I will neither do I.” But Baumgart did not want to resist a tip. When Freiburg coach Christian Streich spoke about the cup semifinals against Leipzig on Tuesday, he asked: “And you can do it in such a short amount of time? You can ask.”
But Keller also said that two things in particular were clear. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Leverkusen, honestly and sincerely, that they progress and, at best, win the Europa League, because that would be very important for German football,” said Keller: “And in terms of sport it’s not necessarily a disadvantage for us. Of course it’s changing A bit of a training week, but in the end that won’t be the decisive factor in whether we’re successful in the game.”