Steffen Baumgart, coach of the relegation-threatened Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln, expects a difficult task in the DFB Cup duel with second division club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
“I think we all have to be aware of what lies ahead in Lautern,” he said on Monday. Especially with regard to the atmosphere, emotions and style of play, he said, “we have to be clear and not present ourselves the way we did at times in Leipzig.”
In their last Bundesliga game against RB Leipzig, Cologne suffered a 6-0 defeat. “There are things that if they are not implemented, then we have no place in the Bundesliga,” said Baumgart and speaks of a “relegation battle until the last day.”
He now expects Kaiserslautern on Tuesday (8:45 p.m./ZDF and Sky) with “a lot of power” and “a lot of euphoria”. Nevertheless: “We want to move forward with all our might.”
1. FC Cologne: Baumgart wants to field the “strongest team” in the DFB Cup
In order to achieve this, there will be changes. From Baumgart’s point of view, the “strongest team” should play on the Betzenberg.
FC beat VfL Osnabrück 3-1 after extra time in the first round of the DFB Cup. However, things are not going well in the league, with only four points and 17th place in the table. Cologne also has the worst attack in the league with seven goals and in Kaiserslautern they face one of the best offensives in the second division (24 goals).
After a 5-0 win over Rot-Weiß Koblenz, the Lauterers are in round two of the cup and are on track in the league. Coach Dirk Schuster’s team is in sixth place with 18 points, three points behind the top three.
Even if Cologne’s form is weak before the away game, Baumgart says about a possible victory: “I know that we can do it and I really hope that we will be successful.” It would be the third competitive win this season.