There were times when they would have sounded the alarm in Cologne in view of the bare record. One win from the past seven league games – that sounds anything but positive. In fact, 1. FC Köln only won the game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth in this period, 3:1 after trailing 0:1.
But this view is not valid. Because in the same period, FC picked up points against teams against whom this was not necessarily to be expected: Freiburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Leverkusen – teams that could not necessarily have been described as FC’s collar length before the season.
Times have changed and the football the Cologne team plays has changed with them. And that is why there is not only calm in Cologne, but confidence. And that is why Steffen Baumgart was able to draw this conclusion unchallenged after the 0:2 in Dortmund: “Apart from the result, I am satisfied with many things. The boys played a good game. Many of the things we had planned worked out. We just didn’t score a goal.” Praise from colleague Marco Rose reinforced Baumgart’s assessment:”….with everything that happened with the ball, you have to say that FC was the better team. “
Kessler: “In the end, it’s an award for our boys “
This is exactly where the progress FC has been able to make. The almost identical squad is now actively playing football, and is increasingly – with the exception of Hoffenheim in the 0:5 defeat – on a par with teams that are rated much higher. Baumgart and his team are convinced that the results will come. At least in such a way that the gap to the basement is always maintained.
Licensed player boss Thomas Kessler put it in a nutshell: “We had more possession and I think BVB did surprisingly little for their own game here, often just stood in the back and waited. In the end, it’s an award for our boys, what they have brought to the pitch in the past weeks.” The reward should follow, preferably as early as next Sunday. A win against Union would make the progress finally clear. After all, in four Bundesliga games against the Berliners, FC have so far not picked up a single point, with a goal difference of 3:8.
