After his reactivation from coaching retirement, Friedhelm Funkel is about to make his home debut with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. After the 1-1 draw in Nuremberg, he is hoping for a win against Karlsruher SC.
Head coach Friedhelm Funkel stands in front of a big crowd before his home debut with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. 47,260 tickets have already been sold for the southwest derby against Karlsruher SC (Saturday, 1 p.m./live in the SWR-1 Stadium).
Funkel: “Sometimes you just want to play there yourself”
“You always look forward to playing your first home game as a new coach. I hope that the atmosphere will give the team enough impetus to make my home debut successful,” said the 70-year-old Funkel, who is excited about it game is. “It must be fun to play football. Sometimes you just want to play yourself.”
Difficult situation for the FCK
There was already a sparkle effect with the 1-1 draw at 1. FC Nürnberg last Sunday. After all, FCK had previously lost six away games in a row. The danger of relegation is still great, Kaiserslautern is still in relegation place 16. Coach Funkel has great respect for their upcoming opponents Karlsruhe.
“It’s undoubtedly a tense situation in the table. But I don’t like the word pressure. We have to try to achieve results in the next few weeks,” emphasized Funkel.
Against KSC, in addition to the suspended Tymoteusz Puchacz and the injured Frank Ronstadt, Hendrick Zuck and Philipp Hercher, he will also have to do without Philipp Klement. The midfielder suffered a muscle injury this week and, according to Funkel, will be out for three to four weeks.
Minute of silence for Andreas Brehme
Before kick-off there will be a minute’s silence in the Fritz Walter Stadium the former FCK player Andreas Brehme, who died unexpectedly on Tuesday night give. The club will also play in crape.
Funkel, who himself played with Brehme in Kaiserslautern in the early 1980s, was moved by the fate of the 1990 world champion. “It was very sad news. We had many wonderful hours together. You first had to digest it for a while realize he’s no longer there,” he said.
Broadcast on Thursday, February 22, 2024, 7:30 p.m., SWR Aktuell Rhineland-Palatinate, SWR RP
