After Steffen Baumgart’s time at 1. FC Köln ends, the cards will be reshuffled. Many a professional can hope for a new opportunity.
Everything new in January: Cologne’s new coach Timo Schultz also has to get previously unhelpful players into shape. picture alliance/dpa
27 players raced through Cologne’s Franz Kremer Stadium on Friday afternoon. Some fans had also gathered for public training under the winter sun; there is great interest in the work of the new head coach. How does Timo Schultz approach the project of staying in the league?
There are no new additions due to the transfer ban by the international sports court CAS, but the selection of professionals is large enough. And little by little the last of the injured and ailing are returning: Schultz should have almost the entire squad fit for the start of the year against 1. FC Heidenheim on January 13th.
Schultz knows the pressure he has
Until then, there is at least a test match against third division team Rot-Weiss Essen (Saturday, 2 p.m., LIVE! on kicker), in which the 46-year-old would like to try out as much as possible. Against Heidenheim, his personnel selection should be better given the meager ten points so far. Schultz knows what pressure he and the team are under in the first league game.
It is quite possible that there will be surprises. Because Schultz’s job will also be to get the players into shape and to make them factors that have so far fallen short of their expectations.
An unsatisfactory situation for all parties
Above all there is Faride Alidou. The 22-year-old winger arrived on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, but has only appeared on the pitch nine times since then, never for more than 90 minutes. A few times he was even completely missing from the squad, and he was usually completely disappointing in his appearances. The times when half the Bundesliga was said to be interested in the former U-21 international are over.
An unsatisfactory situation for all parties, but canceling the loan was never up for debate. Rather, Alidou was gambling on a change of coach – and now hopes that his situation will also change under Schultz. In any case, FC could really use the speed and their skills in one-on-one situations.
The youngster was ahead
There should also be a new opportunity for Leart Paqarada. The left-back was in the starting line-up for the first ten games of the season, then Baumgart preferred the trained central defender Dominique Heintz and finally even the 19-year-old Max Finkgräfe. In the internal ranking, Finkgräfe was ahead of the two experienced competitors at the latest after his courageous performance in the 0-2 defeat against Union Berlin (kicker rating 3.5).
Now Paqarada, who was recently stopped by a muscle injury, can hope again. Schultz knows the 29-year-old from their time together at St. Pauli, where Paqarada was an absolute top performer and became one of the top left-backs in the second division.
Then there is Mark Uth. The qualities of the Cologne native are undisputed; the offensive player can direct games and provide decisive impulses towards the goal. However, Baumgart often brought the veteran off the bench after his return and doubted that Uth was already fully fit.
He lasted at least 74 minutes against Union (kicker grade 4), but he also has strong competition in the tenth position behind the well-placed striker Davie Selke.
Does the captain catch himself?
And finally Florian Kainz. The captain has already played as a six, left winger and ten. Where to take him? This question sparked a lot of discussion in Cologne, and the captain hasn’t really been able to convince in any of his 16 appearances so far.
Baumgart thought he was too slow for his signature role on the front left; Luca Waldschmidt and Uth can excel at number ten. And in the defensive midfield, the Dejan Ljubicic/Eric Martel duo didn’t make any dramatic lapses.
Many questions that Schultz has to clarify. The RWE test should provide an initial indication of its possible solutions. The Heidenheim game is the first acid test for this.
2024-01-05 14:17:31
#benefit #coaching #change #Köln
