The recent slump in the league has not shaken Steffen Baumgart’s conviction. But even if Cologne’s coach is basically satisfied with FC’s performances, he is missing a crucial element.
0:5 at 1899 Hoffenheim. 2:2 against Leverkusen. 0:2 in Dortmund. 2:2 against Union Berlin. Four games from which FC only picked up two points. A yield that satisfied no one at the Geißbockheim.
This should change in the future. In principle, but ideally also directly on Sunday in Mainz, where Steffen Baumgart’s eleven has to deal with one of the top teams of 2021. Since Bo Svensson took over the 05ers at the beginning of the year, the team has developed extremely positively.
Baumgart also pays tribute to that. “Mainz have been one of the most stable and one of the best teams we have had since the coaching change,” said the 49-year-old, praising the work of his Mainz colleague. “What we have coming up is a very stable, very strong team that can defend very well and has two strikers who can light a fire well. “
So a real task for the FC. Especially as the opponent brings in the attributes that already caused the Cologne team some problems recently in the 2:2 against Union Berlin. Mainz play “similarly in terms of intensity”, knows Baumgart, who is nevertheless as attack-minded as ever: “Nevertheless, we’ll try to decide the game for ourselves.”
The FC coach knows that a sense of achievement is important to ensure that his own courageous style of play is consistently followed through. A creeping drop into the relegation zone should be prevented as far as possible, so that there is no danger of the FC game losing its new lightness and the courage it requires.
Baumgart is satisfied with the performance of his players
Baumgart’s watchword is therefore clear: “Now it’s not just about picking up a point or two, but also about winning. That is the next goal. The performance gives us hope and courage. Accordingly, I hope that we will develop further and get over this small point more quickly – I just wish that we reward ourselves more and more with wins and not with draws. “
The recent dry spell in the league can’t do anything to the coach’s conviction. Which is primarily due to the form of his players’ performance. “The all-important thing is the performance. And that is right. We are still on a positive path upwards when we look at the games,” explains Baumgart, but sees a decisive weakness: “We still don’t manage to reward ourselves 100 per cent.
