1. FC Cologne
Curious Kwasniok comparison: “Don’t hope for a sexy teacher”
December 4, 2025 – 6:09 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
1. FC Köln conceded the majority of their goals from set pieces. Lukas Kwasniok compares the problem with his previous chemistry lessons.
Who knows where that one is 1. FC Cologne would be in the Bundesliga table if it didn’t have this glaring weakness: on the first twelve match days, the Billy Goats have already conceded twelve goals from set pieces. Again and again it is corners, free kicks or penalties that put FC in dire straits.
Lukas Kwasniok had already identified this problem after just a few match days, but he and his coaching team have not yet managed to resolve it. Why is that so? The 44-year-old is reminded of his school days – and compares the annoying standard situations with the unloved chemistry lessons.
“It was always like that,” says Kwasniok: “If you didn’t like something, then you weren’t good at it. There was only one option: if the teacher was a cool guy, then he gave you a little bit of insight into the material.” It is similar in a “dry subject such as standard situations”.
The Cologne head coach says: “As a standard coach, you can’t make the standards more interesting than they are. But they are crucial to the game and extremely important.” And that’s why his team says: cramming, cramming, cramming. “Even if it’s chemistry,” emphasizes Kwasniok: “We can’t hope for the sexy teacher to make it more palatable to us, but we have to explicitly deal with the topic and put ourselves in the shoes of this chemical reaction.”
You have to take each individual situation apart and analyze it and not think that the problem will get better on its own. “We have to focus on making sure the boys enjoy it,” says Kwasniok, explaining his approach and tackling the topic both on the pitch and in individual and group discussions.
“The stupid thing is,” adds the FC coach: “St. Pauli takes the corners completely differently than Werder Bremen. Once you’ve absorbed one chemical reaction and written a good test, the next topic comes.” Means: “We have to stick with it.” The team is willing to do exactly that. “The topic concerns them,” says Kwasniok and also relies on the football gods in this matter: “It’s important to pray upwards a little bit – in the hope that the opponent will head past every now and then.
But just as noticeable as the weakness in set pieces is a Cologne strength that Kwasniok doesn’t want to go unmentioned: “We only conceded eight goals from the game. That’s sensational for a promoted team. Eight goals conceded after twelve games is amazing.” This number shows “that the boys are willing to make things happen.” A good basis for chemistry lessons.