FC Augsburg has been in good form for weeks and is simply unbeatable at the moment. The fact that Cologne is now a kind of feared opponent is not important for coach Jess Thorup.
Wants to celebrate the fifth win in a row with his FCA against Cologne: Coach Jess Thorup. Getty Images
Due to the current situation surrounding FC Augsburg, coach Jess Thorup’s appearance at the press conference wasn’t exactly surprising. The Dane answered the journalists’ questions calmly and always with a smile on his face. Why not? Ultimately, the 54-year-old’s team scored a maximum of twelve points from the last four games.
“We went into the international break with a lot of self-confidence,” which should also be seen on the pitch again on Sunday against Kellerkind Köln (3:30 p.m., LIVE! On kicker) in the WWK Arena, which, according to Thorup, is “hopefully sold out.” The atmosphere in the surrounding area is good, as is the dressing room, “everyone in Augsburg is looking forward to Sunday.” A new club record could also be set against the previously unpopular opponent, against whom FCA has only scored 1-1 in the last four games in the first half of the season.
Augsburg has never celebrated five wins in a row in the Bundesliga. It is of course unfortunate that top scorer and captain Ermedin Demirovic is now missing due to a yellow card suspension. Apart from Robert Gumny (torn cruciate ligament), all players are otherwise fit; only Niklas Dorsch was missing from training on Thursday. Why exactly is not known. Nevertheless, Thorup explained: “We now have the feeling every time we step on the pitch that we can win – no matter against who.”
We now have the feeling that we can win every time – no matter against who.
Thorup did not want to reveal who will replace Demirovic. But there are some plans in his head, a system change is also possible. “In the test match (4:1 against second division team Fürth, Anm. d. Red.) tried a few things and we have two strikers in Sven Michel and Dion Beljo.”
Does the “momentum” speak for Pep Biel? – Warning about Cologne
“However,” says Thorup, “it’s also about momentum.” This would speak for winter newcomer Pep Biel, who showed a strong game against the cloverleaf. And: The versatile Spaniard, who was the only one of the three options mentioned to score against Fürth, and Thorup already worked together successfully at FC Copenhagen.
One thing is clear: despite the possibility of setting the club record, 1. FC Köln should not be underestimated. “Cologne haven’t lost their last four away games, there were four draws. I know they lost 5-1 against Leipzig recently, but they played evenly in the previous games,” explained Thorup. “They were often close to winning, it won’t be an easy game.”
In general, the Danish coach relies on his own strengths, the focus is “on our performance, we want to stay in the flow”. It would “of course be nice to play internationally,” Thorup laughed and added: “But with current data we can’t buy anything, there are still eight games to play.”
2024-03-28 14:03:18
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