Keep waiting for Downs – defenders sick

Newsblog for 1. FC Cologne

Keep waiting for Downs – defenders sick

The 1. FC Köln is the football club from the cathedral city. In the New sticker on T-Online you will find all the important messages about the “billy goats”.

The 1. FC Köln started on Monday afternoon with persistent staff worries in preparation for the difficult away game at SC Paderborn. In addition to Linton Maina, Dominique Heintz, Jusuf Gazibegovic, Luca Kilian, Julian Pauli and Jacob Christensen, who are definitely due to their injuries, Joel Schmied, Damion Downs, Mark Uth and Steffen Tigges were also unable to take part in team training.

Uth and Tigges trained at least individually with ball after their recent injuries, could start again in the coming days. Downs should actually play with a rail after his hand operation almost two weeks ago, but has also only been able to work individually. Schmied was missing due to illness. In addition, Eric Martel, Jan Thielmann, Learst Pacarada, Mathias Olesen and Jaka Cuber Potonik are still on international trip.

The 1. FC Köln actually wanted to travel to Japan in September 2025. The professional team should go on advertising tour for the goats and German football. It was originally planned to fly to Japan with Pierre Littbarski and Lukas Podolski. Both ex-professionals of the billy goats also played in Japan in their active time.

But now the FC has postponed the trip. “The FC with its size and its history still has a certain radiance abroad,” said sports managing director Christian Keller the Express. “We would like to travel to Japan. The international break in March 2026.”

While all other teams of 1st FC Köln are pausing this weekend, the U17 of the “billy goats” got the next victory. In the DFB youth league, the talents trained by Manuel Hartmann won 5-0 against Augsburg at the start of the main round round. The goals scored Benjamin Ley (28th minute), Milan Nikolic with a hat trick (43./52./55.) And Josias Simon (76.).

The U17 is currently the most successful FC team. In the sixth main round game, the B-juniors celebrated the sixth victory. According to the four remaining league charges, the German championship is played in co-mode, starting with the round of 16. Just as the Cologne people are currently presenting, you can have a say in the fight for the title.

Luca Waldschmidt wishes to remain at 1. FC Köln, but provides his future with a question mark. “When we climb, it is my absolute goal to stay at FC,” says Waldschmidt in an interview with the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. If the return to the Bundesliga fails, the 28-year-old’s contract contains an exit clause.

But even for the promotion case, Waldschmidt, who most recently scored the Cologne winning goal against Ulm and Darmstadt, does not want to define 100 percent. Although he assumes to stay at FC, he refers to his unsatisfactory operating times. “I love the club, the city and I want nothing better than we are successful. But in the end it’s my career. I want to play,” says the offensive player, who has only stood in Gerhard Struber’s starting eleven eleven times.

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Next setback for 1. FC Köln: The billy goats have to do without Dominique Heintz for the time being. The central defender suffered a muscle injury in his thigh on Wednesday. The veteran will fail for the time being and will probably miss the games at SC Paderborn and against Prussia Münster.

But that’s not all: on Thursday in the test game against SC Verl – FC lost 1: 2 after weak performance – Mark Uth could not be used. The striker that is prone to injury had to stop warming up after feeling a stab in the calf. Now Uth has to be examined in more detail.