How much does the Bielefeld coach earthquake affect FC before the home game on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) against Arminia?
Three days before the duel in Cologne, Bielefeld had fired head coach Frank Kramer (49) yesterday and surprisingly promoted goalkeeping coach Marco Kostmann (56) to head coach. With Michael Henke (64), of all people, an ex-Cologne (2009/10 assistant coach of Zvonimir Soldo (54) should help with the restart on Saturday in Cologne.
Bielefeld’s coaching earthquake a problem for Cologne?
Coach Steffen Baumgart (50), at least, didn’t expect it: “That surprised me,” said Cologne’s coach honestly at the press conference before the Arminia game. “I was in Bielefeld and watched the game against Bayern. I didn’t find it too bad that you had to react. But it’s hard to judge from here.”
Nevertheless, the coach swap also affects FC. “With such a change, Bielefeld wants to draw the last straw again, because for them it’s about staying in the league. They want to get the last percent out. I don’t want to allow myself to judge whether the decision was right or wrong. But the fact is that we have a tough game ahead of us.”
Completely curious: The fact that goalkeeping coach Kostmann is suddenly the boss is not really new for Baumgart! “I experienced that before with the same coach when he took over from Hansa Rostock. This constellation already existed in 2009/10,” reveals the Cologne coach. “At that time he took over the team from Hansa as boss. Now, with Michael Henke, he also has a lot of experience in the background.”
Photo: Friso Gentsch/dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/neues-bielefeld-team-marco-kostmann-r–und-michael-henke-uebernahmen-den-fc-gegner-48126240c6484ff18144d0941005446e-79838132 /image/2.image.jpg”/> New Bielefeld team. Marco Kostmann (right) and Michael Henke took over the FC opponentPhoto: Friso Gentsch/dpa
What does Baumgart expect from Kostmann and Bielefeld? “They won’t completely change the way they play in the short term. They act very aggressively, especially when starting up, leaving little room for Bayern. For us, however, what is decisive is what we want to implement. We want to win our home game with all our might.”
Baumgart wants to land in front of Union and Hoffenheim
Because for FC, the final sprint in the league is about Europe. The goal? Rank 6! Baumgart combative: “We want to attack in the fight for this international competition. In the end I would like to be ahead of Union and stay ahead of Hoffenheim. I would like to get as many points as possible from the last four games.”
And he wants to start against Kostmann, Henke and Bielefeld…
