In the test against Mallorca, Cologne came from behind and thanks to an increase in performance to a 1-1. Then coach Steffen Baumgart talked about his findings.
Don’t count on football fireworks from his eleven: Steffen Baumgart. IMAGO/eu-images
Coaches love it when they see their teams develop. How she is able to adjust and change things during a game, even more: improve them. The numerous professionals from 1. FC Köln, who came into action in the 1-1 draw against Mallorca after the break, had seen from the bench what was required in this game against an unpleasant opponent from Mallorca and introduced themselves accordingly.
“The lads went through a learning process,” Baumgart praised, we were much better prepared after the break.” Against “a difficult opponent” they no longer “let themselves be hurt, we hurt them. From the fire, from the start, it was totally fine.”
That’s what this coach loves. When his team fights back, even in complicated situations. When presence is shown, “and,” says Baumgart, “when people intervene. All within reason.” Things had already looked better in the minutes before the change, “then,” says the coach, “we became too restless in two or three actions and therefore didn’t get them played through well.”
Taste of the league
The familiarization phase was finally over when the second half was asked. At the end of the training camp in Austria, the Cologne team most likely offered a foretaste of what the opponents in the league can expect: a team that defends itself, that runs hard and works hard on the opponent and is always looking for a goal itself.
Although – there is still a problem in forward gear, which is understandable given the high amount of physical work in this phase of preparation. Baumgart: “It was a spirited game with a deserved result. But you also noticed what was still missing. Liveliness, movement, the last pass.”
The early phase of the preparation explains this, Baumgart would have preferred to go to the training camp later. The schedule now includes the test against fourth-rate city rivals Fortuna Cologne next Friday, and the coach isn’t expecting football fireworks there either.
The intensity with which the training is carried out is too high for this. “And it will stay that way for at least another two weeks,” announces Baumgart. At the moment you’ve done a lot against the ball, only at the end of the preparation it would “be more about the offensive area. There’s still a lot to come, but we still have three weeks until the cup.”
2023-07-21 17:05:27
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