Lightning comeback after the exit from 1. FC Köln? Steffen Baumgart can imagine a surprisingly quick return to the sidelines.
“I don’t set myself a limit for a break. First I have to let everything sink in. I think at the end of January I could imagine being ready for something new again,” said the 51-year-old in an interview with “Bild”. But he hopes he won’t be “driven around the village like a pig” as soon as a club is looking for a coach.
Baumgart and Effzeh separated amicably shortly before Christmas. Since then, he has received inquiries from other clubs, but most of them have not been answered at all, says the coach.
“Nobody has to tell me what’s next for me,” said Baumgart, under whose direction Cologne recently plummeted to 17th place in the Bundesliga table.
But he’s “not the type of person who just sits at home in the long run. Then my ass will be itching and my wife will definitely say: ‘Go to work, you have to go out!'” said Baumgart.
Being a coach is “kind of a dirty job,” explained the ex-professional. “If one person leaves, there will be 20 new candidates.”
Steffen Baumgart raves about 1. FC Cologne
Baumgart was still enthusiastic about 1. FC Cologne. “I will never have a station like Cologne again. This club does something to you. Anyone who believes that they can oppose this club with all their emotions – that’s not possible. My heart will always be with FC. It was two and a half for me really nice and intense years.”
He admitted that he was disappointed in himself because of the sporting developments of the last few months. “I would have liked to solve it and I didn’t manage it,” said Baumgart. “We underestimated the situation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that this team can do it. The boys are willing – and no one has stabbed me in the back the whole time. I really appreciate that.”