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1. FC Köln: His advice – his verdict: This is how world champion Wolfgang Overath thinks about FC – Bundesliga

It was like an accolade for FC. World champion Wolfgang Overath (78) recently even looked at the test victory of the B-Elf in Siegburg (8:1). In BILD, Overath now speaks exclusively about coach Steffen Baumgart (50), the team and the big European dream.

BILD: Mr. Overath, do you seem to be enjoying FC again?

Overath: “It was also important for me to come because it was a special test match for me. FC is my club and Siegburger SV was my youth club. I started there as a seven-year-old worm and learned to fight my way through the ashes. That shapes. But yes, FC inspires me again. What the boys showed in the Dortmund game, especially in the first half, against a team that is a completely different team in terms of squad and quality, that was just great fun.”

BILD: What exactly?

Overath: “They fought sensationally, got on incredibly early, basically never gave Dortmund any room to breathe and also played convincingly. That was impressive and I thought back to the relegation first leg against Kiel almost a year ago, which we lost at home. At the time I thought they couldn’t do it anymore, it was so weak. Today almost the same team plays such a season and is in 7th place.”

You can’t just reduce coaches and teams to fighting

BILD: Do you have an explanation for that?

Overath: “First of all, thanks to the coach and then, of course, to the team that follows him. Steffen Baumgart succeeded in making the boys a unit and taking everyone with him in his own way. We used to play for the club and gave our last shirt for them. Nowadays, I think the coach is the key figure. He has to get everyone ready to follow him. They obviously are. When I alone see how young Jan Thielmann runs backwards from the halfway line at top speed against Dortmund in order to prevent the goal conceded with a tackle and then celebrates it like a goal of his own, then you can see what’s going on in the squad. “

Photo: WITTERS

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Pure emotions! Jan Thielmann (left) celebrates his monster tackle against BVB – Haaland (right) pushes frustrationPhoto: WITTERS

BILD: Fight, passion and will are back…

Overath: “And they are also able to keep the ball in their own ranks for a long time. Which then leads to them playing very good football. Reducing Baumgart and his boys to fighting and running doesn’t do them justice. The team has developed enormously in terms of play. Salih Özcan, for example. Or Anthony Modeste. Everyone knew that the one in front of the gate could be a weapon. But under Baumgart he is much more than that.”

Aim for Europe – keep stars if possible

BILD: As a result, all of Cologne is dreaming of Europe again. Permitted?

Overath: “Of course you can dream. It must be the goal of the team to achieve the best possible. As a footballer, when you have a tangible goal in mind, you simply have to do everything you can to achieve it. However, from a distance I cannot judge whether a European qualification would come too early for the development of the club.”

BILD: The contracts of Hector, Modeste and Baumgart expire in 2023. Should you extend?

Overath: “If you are financially able to do it, you have to do it as soon as possible. These are supporting pillars who also feel very comfortable in the club and in the city. Above all, Hector is an exceptional player with outstanding importance for this team. I have already commented on Modeste and Baumgart. It would send a strong signal to hold them. But I don’t know the general conditions. And they have to be right.”

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