Cologne coach
Baumgart and the bonus: How long does the “grade 1” last?
Is Steffen Baumgart’s time in Cologne coming to an end soon or will he remain the Cologne coach for a long time? photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
Celebrated in the summer, without a club in the fall – that already applies to Bo Svensson from Mainz and Urs Fischer from Union Berlin. In Cologne, however, Steffen Baumgart seems to have his job secure – for now.
Of course, Baumgart doesn’t have to worry about his job yet. Since managing director Christian Keller publicly gave him a “grade 1” for his work and assured: “We will manage to stay in the league with Steffen Baumgart,” no further competitive game has been played. And even a major defeat on Friday (8.30 p.m./DAZN) against series champions FC Bayern Munich should not shake this trust. “The situation of points is unpleasant, the situation of cooperation is less so, because we are doing well there,” Baumgart told Sky: “It’s good to know that people have trust and I also hope that I can repay that .”
Baumgart and the Union DNA
Nevertheless, the wind has become harsher at Geißbockheim and Baumgart and is no longer untouchable for every observer. After the Bayern game he will have to deliver when the last five opponents of the first half of the season are Darmstadt, Mainz, Freiburg, Union Berlin and Heidenheim. And Baumgart has already experienced first hand how quickly things can happen in this business. Because Urs Fischer had to leave his favorite club, Union Berlin, almost two weeks ago, even though he had led the club from the 2nd division into the Champions League.
“It won’t have been a snap action,” said Baumgart: “Not only did I read it, but I’m assuming that I also know a little something.” Because of his proximity to Union – Baumgart is a club member, he plays in the traditional team, his primary residence is in Köpenick and his wife once worked in the fan shop – the 51-year-old was already seen by many as the logical new coach for the Berlin team.
“Baumi would fit like a glove. He has the Union DNA and the fans like his style,” said Sky expert Torsten Mattuschka, for example, who is closely associated with the Union: “If he had been free, he would have been Coach at Union, I’m sure of that.” However, we can hear from both Berlin and Cologne that the step is not intended by either side in the long term. According to reports, there are skeptics even in the highest circles at Union because Baumgart could outshine everything at Union. The coach himself, on the other hand, might want to remain a fan instead of becoming an employee who will one day be criticized and fired.
The FC coach still has a grace period
This season has shown inexorably and rarely that even the most celebrated coaches’ half-life is finite. Fischer, Baumgart and Bo Svensson, who resigned from Mainz, seemed to be more firmly in the saddle than almost any other colleague because of their successes with modest means in the summer. Now the other two have already left, both said a highly emotional farewell to the club and fans. And with Baumgart, despite the clear Keller words, the grace period probably only applies until winter.
After six points from eleven games, the core question has long been discussed, which also leads to the main culprit of the crisis: Did Keller Baumgart put together a squad that was too bad? Or does it not get enough out of it? The fact is: Keller did not bring in the strong six-man or the accurate striker he had hoped for in the summer. But it is also a fact: Baumgart classified the team as absolutely suitable for the Bundesliga before the start of the season. This is what he will now be measured against. His popularity, his merits and his game idea have rightly given him a big bonus. But he will soon have to add current successes to this. That’s how hard and cold the business is.