Arminia Bielefeld added veteran Gonzalo Castro (34) and Turkish talent Burak Ince (17) to their squad during the winter break. With FC Augsburg, a rival in the relegation battle has struck in a completely different way – and thus provides an additional incentive.
Arminia Bielefeld are currently two points behind FC Augsburg in the table. This is the distance to the save shore, which FCA currently occupies in 15th place in the table, and which was established shortly before the winter break. In the transfer market, however, the East Westphalians have recently been made aware that there is clearly a world of difference between these two relegation candidates.
Augsburg added striker Ricardo Pepi to their ranks in the fight to stay in the relegation zone. The Bavarian Swabians paid 16 million euros for the American international striker from FC Dallas. The reaction of Arminia coach Frank Kramer: “Wow, hats off!
For Klos, a trio that played in the second division last season is being considered
The coach has to think these days about how to replace his veteran striker Fabian Klos after his sending-off in Leipzig (2:0) to close out the first half of the season in the next two games on Saturday in Freiburg and then against SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The choice is usually likely to fall on Janni Serra, who was already on the field in the two victorious games before the short break, “Bryan Lasme and Florian Krüger can also play up front,” Kramer notes. In short: three players who played second-class football until last summer. Serra (Kiel) and Krüger (Aue) in Germany, Lasme (Sochaux) in France.
Millionaire Pepi, even though he is only 18, is a different matter. One that “is now possible at FC Augsburg thanks to the investor who got involved,” says Kramer. “You can see what kind of pool we’re in, what kind of sharks we have to compete with.” At the same time, however, it is an incentive for Arminia to show it to such financially divided clubs, to stand up to them. “We have to fight with our weapons,” the coach emphasises. “For us, that’s about unity, about the team.” And through the further development of our own players. Like Serra, Krüger or Lasme, who are expected to take a step forward after their first half-year in the German top flight.
The Arminia wants to swim free in the relegation battle, Kramer knows at the latest since the Pepi deal: “Augsburg is a different shark than we are. We take note of that. When it comes to the pitch, we want to show that we can compete with our weapons. “
