Dhe gentle kick in the behind that Davie Selke received from his trainer Steffen Baumgart after a good hour of the Rhenish derby of his Cologne team in Leverkusen had a certain symbolic power. Selke had contributed both goals to FC’s 2-1 victory, now he had come to the sidelines to be substituted with cramps. But Baumgart “said: Go back in,” Selke said later, and accompanied this request with the kick. “Then I’m back in, it’s very simple.” That’s how it seems to work between Selke and Baumgart: very simple.
Once upon a time there was this magical connection between Baumgart and Anthony Modeste, now some people from Cologne are hoping for something similar in the case of Selke. Coaches didn’t always have it easy with him, the now 27-year-old attacker said during the first half of the season, “I’m sure I’ve been offended a few times too often”.
Transfer born of necessity
But Baumgart likes these players, who are not adapted in every respect to the thoroughly professional Bundesliga environment. He recently quoted from the biography of legendary coach Hermann Gerland, who wrote: “If you want to win something, you need bandits.”
Selke is exactly that type of guy, at least “on the field, he reminds me of someone who stands on the sidelines today and shouts from time to time. Because I was one too.” So Baumgart sees himself in this striker, that’s an interesting constellation.
The fact that Cologne’s Selke, who has now scored 39 goals in 219 games, took over from Hertha BSC on a free transfer during the winter break also had to do with the fact that other top scorers could not be financed. But FC needed a buyer for the many crosses that are an integral part of the game concept after Modeste was sold to Dortmund in the summer and Steffen Tigges and Sargis Adamyan never permanently reached the level hoped for.
One from the old school
The transfer was carried out by the idea that bringing Baumgart together with this guy could be an interesting experiment. “Davie is still a center forward from the old school,” Baumgart said. The only other Bundesliga player in this category is Niclas Füllkrug.
For a long time, however, the result of the cooperation was manageable, there was repeated criticism of Selke and this transfer. But now the son of an Ethiopian father and Czech mother has scored three goals in three recent games. He made a decisive contribution to the victories in Hoffenheim and now Leverkusen, which finally secured 1. FC Köln another year in the Bundesliga.
Provocative body language
For Baumgart, this is obviously also a personal satisfaction, at least he replied after the derby victory when asked about Selke: “We often have discussions because I listen to what someone can and can’t do from the outside. That’s why I’m glad that I’ll be the coach and that I’ll be right in one or the other assessment.”
However, it is unlikely that Selke will ever become a guy who conquers hearts, “I am aware that I polarize with my style on the pitch,” he once said. He pushes his limits, has a provocative body language, which can have a special effect in such an emotionally charged derby.
He repeatedly clashed with Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich on Friday, who then said of his controversy with Selke: “Maybe it has something to do with the way he plays. That’s a bit too theatrical for me in many situations. And that’s what I’ve said more than once.”
Selke was pleased with the conflict, he found the atmosphere in the BayArena “great, really good” and after the spring weeks that have just passed, his presence in Cologne even fuels optimism for the future. After the court ruling of the World Football Association (FIFA), which prohibits the Cologne team from transferring in the summer, the club may not be able to strengthen themselves with new players before the new season.
Selke will probably be the team’s most important central striker, and as a player type he fits well with these Cologne side, who cross more often than almost any other team.
However, since his best season at Hertha BSC in 2017/2018, he has never scored more than four times in a year. He has now surpassed this mark with four goals for Cologne and one goal in the first half of the season for Berlin.
