Ahead of Saturday’s derby (6.30pm) against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart doesn’t want to hear anything about “redemption on Gladbach’s side” despite his side’s 4-1 first leg win.
It has been a very long time since 1. FC Köln won two Bundesliga games in one season against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Under coach Christoph Daum, this was achieved in the 1989/1990 season. Now the opportunity presents itself again and this time in a league table constellation that no one even expected before this season.
FC sent the “Foals” home with a heavy 4:1 defeat in the first half of the season, so the Cologne team can confidently expect an opponent who is out to make amends. Coach Steffen Baumgart doesn’t want to hear anything about that: “It will be a hot game, it’s a derby. That’s all I expect. “
Baumgart thinks nothing of redemption
This had nothing to do with “making amends on Gladbach’s side”. And in general: “I don’t think anything of this concept of making amends in football.” The atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch is no different just because the first leg ended 4:1 for Cologne: “Two teams will meet who will give everything they’ve got,” says Baumgart and adds: “We hope that it will be a nice, interesting evening for everyone, and above all a peaceful one.
The “kölsche Cafu” and other returnees
Right-back Benno Schmitz will be back in the game. The “kölsche Cafu” trained with the team again on Tuesday for the first time after injury and infection, and is expected to complete the full programme tomorrow. The same applies to striker Sebastian Andersson, “who,” said Baumgart, “still has to undergo one or two examinations”, “but under normal circumstances should be up and running again soon. “
The coach can of course count on Timo Hübers and Jan Thielmann, who were suspended recently, so that he can draw on a full complement against Mönchengladbach. Unless the injuries suffered by Ondrej Duda and Jeff Chabot in training on Tuesday develop negatively. Baumgart: “Jeff felt unsteady with lateral movements, we want to clarify that. Duda also had a few problems, so we sent them both in. But they trained, so I assume it’s not that dramatic. “
