Bundesliga
Cologne coach search ended: Schultz follows Baumgart
Timo Schultz is the new coach of 1. FC Köln. photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
Two weeks after parting ways with Steffen Baumgart, Cologne has found a new head coach. Former St. Pauli coach Timo Schultz takes on the difficult task for the second-to-last team.
With the rain jacket in my arms and with a friendly “It looks good here” we marched Timo Schultz on the training ground of 1. FC Köln. The Bundesliga club had only recently announced the signing of the 46-year-old as their new head coach, exactly two weeks after parting ways with his predecessor Steffen Baumgart.
And Schultz got started straight away, already leading the first unit at the Geißbockheim. The mission is clear: prevent Cologne from relegating to the Bundesliga for the seventh time. “We will work a lot and intensively in the next few weeks to achieve the necessary results,” said the 46-year-old. The goal is to stay in the league, “we will achieve that, I am 100 percent convinced of that.”
The former professional most recently worked as head coach at Swiss first division club FC Basel, where he was released in September. He previously coached the second division club FC St. Pauli from 2020 to 2022, for whom he was also active as a player from 2005 to 2012. After his playing career ended, the football teacher was initially an assistant coach with the St. Pauli professional team and later head coach in the Hamburg youth academy for six years before working in 92 games as a second division coach for the Hanseatic League.
Difficult mission
“He brings the personality and competence to raise the performance potential of our team,” said sports director Christian Keller about the new coach. “A big task awaits us in the coming days, weeks and months.”
However, the new task is likely to be a much more difficult mission for Schultz: Things have not been going well for the Cologne team so far this season. After just two wins in 16 games, the club is in a direct relegation zone and is three points clear of 15th place in the table.
In addition, following a transfer ban imposed by the Cas International Court of Arbitration for Sport, the club is not allowed to sign any new players during the winter break or next summer. Schultz will therefore have to work with the existing squad until January 2025. And the legacy of his predecessor Baumgart, who is still popular with FC fans, makes his task in Cologne even more difficult.
More offensive football
Shortly before Christmas, one day after the 2-0 defeat at Union Berlin, Baumgart and Cologne ended their cooperation, which had actually been agreed until 2025, early. But the new coach’s playing philosophy, the FC bosses immediately emphasized, should still be similar to that of the old coach. So still offensive football, but with fewer goals conceded. In addition, more young players should be integrated into the professional squad.
Schultz will sit on the bench for the first time in a Cologne game on Saturday (2 p.m.), in the friendly against third division club Rot-Weiß Essen. The Cologne team will play their first Bundesliga game with the new coach on January 13th (3:30 p.m./Sky) against 1. FC Heidenheim.