Steffen Baumgart coached 1. FC Köln for two and a half years, a “great time,” as he says. On Saturday he returns as coach of Union Berlin and wants to score points.
- Union Berlin will play against 1. FC Köln on Saturday (3:30 p.m.).
- Union coach Baumgart coached Cologne for two and a half years
- Berliners follow suit 3-1 win against Leipzig confident in the game
- Cologne only got two points from the last five games
Union’s top topic of the week
At the away game at 1. FC Köln (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) Steffen Baumgart will be traveling as coach for the first time 1. FC Union Berlin to his old place of work – and looks forward to his return with great anticipation. “Everyone who knows what a great time I had in Cologne also knows that I always enjoy going there,” said Baumgart before the guest appearance at his former club. “I’m looking forward to the city, I’m looking forward to the people. I had a very, very nice and emotional time, and from my point of view a successful time.”
Baumgart was Cologne’s coach for two and a half years from 2021 to 2023. In his first season he reached the UEFA Conference League. “The fact that I personally have a lot in common with this city will still be the case in ten years. It will stay that way. That has a very special meaning for me,” says Baumgart about Cologne. The 53-year-old Rostock native has been working as head coach in Berlin since the beginning of the year.
Facts about the game
- Union (18 points) is just ahead of newly promoted Cologne (16) in the table before the 15th matchday.
- Union scores better against top teams and got half of its points against the current top seven in the table
- Cologne has been without a win for five games
The sporting situation at 1. FC Cologne
An extremely successful start to the season and a temporary European Cup placement were followed by five winless games in a row for Cologne, including two painful derby defeats against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen. “The opponents are now better prepared for FC. And then you realize that Cologne simply has a stronger second division squad,” says Cologne fan and expert Marco Thomas.
Due to numerous injuries, coach Lukas Kwasniok recently only had two fit central defenders. Now he can at least plan again with Dominique Heintz, who also wore the Union jersey in 2022/23. FC will also have to do without Joel Schmied (thigh injury) as well as the long-term injured Luca Kilian (torn cruciate ligament) and Timo Hübers (knee injury) in the last Bundesliga game of the year.
The opponent expert
Marco Thomas42, is the voice behind the fan podcast Anyway here. Together with five Cologne fans, he analyzes the previous match day every week and looks ahead – over 370 episodes have already been published. Professionally, he manages sales for a pumice stone manufacturer.
This moves the Cologne fans
The Effzeh community likes to dream big – usually about returning to the European Cup. This unshakable self-confidence naturally also consists of a large portion of coquetry, says Marco Thomas.
However, the hopes are not completely out of thin air: there have been at least two international seasons in the last eight years (2017/18 and also 2022/23 under Steffen Baumgart). “Right now the club is in no man’s land in the table. It’s a phase in which the fans are looking: Where are we going?” says Thomas. This makes the duel with the Unioners, who are two places better placed, all the more important.
Cologne’s shooting star: winger Said El Mala. (Source: imago images/Revierfoto)
Union should pay particular attention to these Cologne players
The power of Cologne’s lightning-quick and goal-scoring winger Said El Mala spread in no time – certainly as far away as Köpenick. “He’s the typical street kicker,” says Marco Thomas about this season’s 19-year-old shooting star. He is “strong at dribbling, good at sprinting, can hit crosses. And has the cool-headedness to take the ball and then put it in. He doesn’t seem to care much about the huge hype at the moment.”
El Mala’s influence on Cologne’s game can also be measured: almost half of all Cologne attacks have so far come from his left wing (48 percent). This is the highest proportion in the Bundesliga. He has already collected nine scorer points this season (six goals, three assists). Baumgart’s defensive specialists should be warned.
That’s what the coaches say
Steffen Baumgart (1. FC Union Berlin): “Cologne is one of the teams that you can’t prepare 100 percent for. We have to stick to what we do and bring our strengths to the pitch.”
Lukas Kwasniok (1. FC Köln): “When you’re fighting to stay in the league, you mostly have phases where you don’t win. And that’s when you have to stay calm and objective and not fall into hysteria.”
This is how Union could play
“What I want to see is that the boys give it their all, that the boys will do everything they can to get more points after the game,” said Steffen Baumgart before the clash with Bundesliga promoted Cologne.
In Köpenick the mood has changed 3-1 win against RB Leipzig brightened. For the first time this season, two wins in a row could be achieved. The Unioners have their entire staff available for the task, with the exception of the long-term injured Robert Skov, everyone is on board.
The possible Union starting eleven: Rönnow – Trimmel, Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite, Rothe – Khedira, Kemlein – Burke, Ilic, Ansah
The forecast
The opponent expert’s tip: “Cologne wins 2-1. At least that’s my wish,” says Marco Thomas.
Editor’s tip: The Union team spoiled Cologne’s pre-Christmas mood when Baumgart returned and defeated the Kwasniok team 1-0.
Broadcast: rbb|24, December 19, 2025, 1:45 p.m
