The heading in the picture had the tone of a promise, as if insight and common sense had made a longed-for progress possible: “First Bundesliga coach allows smoking in the dressing room” was the headline, after which one naturally asked oneself whether the second and third Bundesliga coach are also the same Put ashtrays in the locker room.
In truth, there were trainers (long) before Steffen Baumgart who did not ban tobacco to their players. Felix Magath, for example, was of the opinion – even if he preferred to do so in informed circles rather than on public health forums – that he should actually recommend smoking because it contributes to relaxation in nerve-wracking competitive sports. He did not need to use any studies from Oxford University for this; his own experience as a footballer was sufficient for him.
Baumgart, however, did not take a therapeutic approach when he made his point of view. He only rejects the ban; after all, he is dealing with adults: “If you want to smoke, you should smoke,” he says, although he asks for a minimum of discretion: “It would be good if she didn’t do it before Would make the bus. “
The coach of 1. FC Köln is not only a liberal, but also a fairly open-hearted person. In the said talk in the newspaper, he also said, apparently voluntarily, that he loves singing (mostly wrong), drinks malt whiskey to relax and calls his wife Katja, who has been wedded for 24 years, from the cabin before every game. Then he says: “All right, my angel, I love you.”
All of this is perhaps a little more private than a football coach has to share with the audience, but that too is purely a private matter. The people at FC, who have gotten to know Baumgart a little better in the meantime, assure that the 49-year-old football teacher from Rostock basically stays close to his convictions, that he is the expected straightforward type and, as he is often categorized, is actually “authentic”. It is said that one should not be impressed by its occasional booming volume, and that Baumgart – not unimportant in the limited corona crisis operation – is “receptive to arguments”.
After the sale of Bornauw and Jakobs, there is a risk of parting with Skhiri
The trainer does not see the media as a problem, but as part of the job, which also includes a certain amount of self-portrayal. Unlike Peter Stöger, one of his most popular predecessors, Baumgart, however, refrains from approaching the people of the Rhineland folklore. At the moment, he expressly does not want to know anything about the Cologne carnival, for which Stöger prepared himself for all year round, so to speak, when he started working. Not because of a defensive attitude in northern Germany, but because it is August.
His powerful, lively appearance is well received by the Cologne audience. The situation of FC, which was recently viewed critically not only because of its place in the table, has recently appeared to many fans in a more favorable light. You think the new coach will make the team better. There are even supposed to be long-time leading players who, based on practical knowledge of Baumgart’s predecessors, mean the same thing.
The only question is whether reinforcement in the coaching bench will compensate for the losses on the field. For financial reasons, Cologne had to sell its best defender (Sebastiaan Bornauw) and a U21 European champion (Ismail Jakobs), and midfielder Ellyes Skhiri, who is possibly even more important for the team’s balance than captain Jonas Hector, 31, and as is well known, it is already irreplaceable. Baumgart can, however, still hope that the Franco-Tunisian will stay with him. Skhiri, 26, should by no means be sold below value, FC expects 15 million euros. The player allegedly follows the process of his whereabouts with professional composure.
Another transfer business would be good for the heavily debited club account, Baumgart would not get much of it for his squad. In any case, he no longer expects a well-known reinforcement of his worryingly thin offensive, all the more he exudes confidence. His development program for former striker Anthony Modeste, 33, is like trying to set a monument in motion. With the knee injured attacker Sebastian Andersson, the supposed king transfer of the preseason and savior in the relegation against Kiel, Baumgart is relying on modest progress (“The boy is much more on the field than last year”).
While some club members elevate the coach to the most important bearer of hope, Baumgart, who has come from Paderborn, sees this from a different perspective. He sees the move as a promotion, and not just because he’s back in the top division. The FC is the kind of traditional club that a passionate footballer like Baumgart feels connected to. Perhaps it is because he is more optimistic about the situation than is seen at the club: “The team has a whole lot of weapons – weapons that we may not have really discovered yet.”