After a slap against Leipzig
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There was no sign of self-doubt in Sandro Wagner, even after the toughest hit yet for the new coach. 0:6 – until Saturday, FC Augsburg had never lost at home in 15 years of the Bundesliga as against RB Leipzig. It was “a mess,” as even Wagner admitted. But the 37-year-old has no doubts about his path. And those responsible at FCA also continue to believe in the path with Wagner.
When the reporter asked whether he still felt 100 percent support, the former assistant coach of the national team smiled smugly and then answered loudly and clearly: “Yes!” When asked, Wagner elaborated: “Because it’s the path we want to take. And especially with the young team, everyone knows that there can be a crunch.”
Against the young turbokickers from RB Leipzig who were getting more and more into a flow, Wagner’s courageous approach to the game led to disaster. It was rather cocky to attack far up front and then be “brutally” countered and “punished for every mistake,” as midfielder Robin Fellhauer groaned.
Almost every Leipzig shot was a hit. After 22 minutes it was 0:3. Boom! The naive Augsburg team, including their coach, didn’t even notice that they were beating themselves. “It felt really strange,” said Wagner. Because he actually thought his team was doing well in the game. In the end, for example, they were on par with Leipzig in terms of shots on goal – but not in terms of yield.
All five Leipzig offensive players Yan Diomande, Rômulo, Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner and Assan Ouédraogo were able to score to their hearts’ content against an overwhelmed FCA defense. Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, who was recently invited to the national team twice, was also no longer a source of support. He made a particularly bad mistake when conceding the sixth goal by Castello Lukeba.
Bayern hunter? RB coach Werner smiles
RB coach Ole Werner saw effectiveness “close to optimum” in Leipzig’s highest Bundesliga away win. After 19 points from the last seven games, the question was inevitable as to whether the second-placed team now feels like a Bayern hunter? Werner smiled and then replied dryly in northern German: “We feel like we are RB Leipzig and are happy that we are getting more and more of our football on the pitch and that it is also leading to points. That is the most important thing for us.”
Werner also had to endure a 6-0 debacle at FC Bayern at the start in Leipzig. Since then, however, the newly formed RB team has developed rapidly. “I’m not surprised that we’re taking these steps. But we should still stick to ourselves and not just evaluate games based on the scoreboard,” said Werner. The gap to Bayern is five points after eight match days.
FC Augsburg convinced of the path under Wagner
Can Wagner also go this route in Augsburg at a lower level and with a less high-quality squad? The man with the big ego believes in it. “Hopefully the carryover into the next few weeks is that we remain clear, that we remain stable,” he said. “We’ll price in the setback after four points and continue on the path – and hopefully we’ll be rewarded. A 0:6 hurts, but we can do it.”
Augsburg’s sports director Benjamin Weber reiterated his belief in Wagner and their shared path – “until it works”. It’s about “remaining convinced of the way things are done,” emphasized the 42-year-old. With seven points, FC Augsburg is only in 15th place.
War of words between fans and players of FC Augsburg
However, the fans reacted angrily after the fifth defeat. At the fence in the corner, the FCA professionals had to listen to some harsh words, as Fellhauer and teammate Fabian Rieder reported: “The Ultras were served.” Some like Kristijan Jakic had a real war of words with the fans. The Croatian found it difficult to calm down injured captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw. Aggressive tones and threatening gestures determined the situation, which Rieder later described as a “good exchange”.
The FCA professionals had to justify themselves to the supporters for minutes. “Their hearts are bleeding. They told us that very clearly,” explained Fellhauer. But there was also a different tenor in the catacombs: you shouldn’t let the fans insult you publicly like that after such a defeat. “Sure, 0:6 sucks, we don’t want to lose,” said Rieder. “We have to listen to this from the fans. They are rightly not happy with us. But we are the first critics of ourselves. We still have an incredible number of games this season. It is a path we are taking.”
Yesterday after the game I was really no longer able to make any comments here, I was really too shocked. 0:4 after 45 minutes, 0:6 at the end. The result is one thing, the inability of our coach (up to now I just didn’t like him, now I blatantly doubt his learning abilities) to reflect on anything and to make tactical and playful changes during and after the game or to stand up and communicate clearly, because…
The supporters are demanding a reaction in the two home games with which the English week continues in the DFB Cup on Tuesday against VfL Bochum and on Friday in the league against Borussia Dortmund. The players – like Wagner – continue to believe in the common path. “It’s a completely different style of play,” said Rieder and asked for patience with the team and coach: “We are still in the discovery phase.”
