The 50,000 spectators, including 3,200 Mainz 05 fans, can expect a heated game in Cologne on Saturday. FSV coach Bo Svensson and FC coach Steffen Baumgart are the yellow kings of the league.
picture alliance / BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Wunderl
Since the introduction of yellow cards for the 2019/20 season, Svensson has received twelve warnings and Baumgart nine. In the current season, the FSV coach is three in the Bundesliga, with the fourth an indoor ban is automatically due. Baumgart received two yellow cards in 2022/23.
At Svensson, warnings increased at the beginning of 2023. The 43-year-old received a yellow card on the 17th matchday against Dortmund and on the 21st matchday in Leverkusen. In between was the DFB Cup round of 16 against Bayern Munich (0:4), where Svensson was given a red card by referee Deniz Aytekin. The DFB sports court spoke because of the saying “Are you blind?” an indoor ban for the next cup game. After the Dane was under special observation in the meantime, the situation has calmed down in the meantime.
At 1. FC Köln, Mainz now meets an opponent who is regularly very emotional, including on the coaching bench. “The last two games were heated, both sides want to win and push their team. But there is a lot of respect between me and Steffen,” says Svensson. The actors on the green lawn are occasionally particularly hot-blooded. In the first half of the season, ex-Mainzer Luca Kilian was sent off with a yellow card in the 28th minute, and Mainz celebrated one of their highest Bundesliga wins with 5-0.
Svensson: “I think Steffen is an asset to the league in general”
Svensson’s appreciation of his colleague is extremely high: “I really enjoy looking at the Cologne team and generally think Steffen is an asset to the league. It also speaks for him how the team managed the situation when it wasn’t successful “, but still played well. That also shows the quality he brings as a coach. In the 90 minutes of the game it will be hot and maybe there will be a few sayings, that just happens. I can’t hide who I am and Steffen should too don’t hide who he is.”
How things are going this time on the pitch and between the benches will be shown on Saturday from 3.30 p.m. (LIVE! on kicker).