Augsburg did not experience a good Saturday afternoon in Sinsheim. At least there was some positive news: newcomer Ricardo Pepi made his debut. Fellow player Florian Niederlechner put the brakes on expectations for the record transfer.
When FC Augsburg brings in a player for 16 million euros plus possible additional payments, expectations naturally rise for this record transfer. Pepi, who is just 18 years old, arrived in the winter from FC Dallas in the USA. On Saturday, he was allowed to play 30 minutes in the second-round opener in Sinsheim. In the end, the attacking player, who had a rather inconspicuous debut except for one goal, could not prevent the 3-1 defeat.
“Of course I’m not happy because we lost the game. We had a few opportunities to take at least a point here, but the opponent was also really good. The 30 minutes of action did me good, so I got a feeling for the team and also for the league. The team and everyone at the club made it easy for me to arrive. We will now continue to work in the next few weeks and be ready for the next games,” Pepi is quoted as saying on the Augsburg website.
Of course the youngster still needs time to get used to the country, the league, the language and the team. He should be given this time, as sporting director Stefan Reuter recently emphasised and fellow striker Florian Niederlechner underlined on Sky after the encounter with TSG: “We have to take it easy with him. He is 18 years old and has just come here from America. The expectations shouldn’t be too high either, otherwise it will be difficult for him. We support him and hope he can help us further. “
Gikiewicz: “That’s why it will be a successful second half of the season “
And if Pepi plays up to his potential, he will undoubtedly do so. He didn’t manage to do that on Saturday. Niederlechner saw the sticking point at a time when he and the new signing from MLS were not yet on the pitch. “The 1:2 shortly before half-time was a small blow, then Hoffenheim got more and more into the game. They are a very ball-playing team, it is incredibly difficult to play here. We can take a lot of positives with us,” said Niederlechner.
What was less positive was that Augsburg slipped to 16th place as a result of Stuttgart’s point in Fürth. “Of course we have a little bit of pressure, but we feel a lot of support and therefore it will be a successful Rückrunde. I think we have enough quality to stay in the Bundesliga,” regular keeper Rafal Gikiewicz exuded confidence despite the opening defeat.
