30th matchday: Cologne’s seventh relegation is approaching: “No Bundesliga level”
Darmstadt’s Christoph Klarer (M) celebrates after scoring the 1-0 lead. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
The fans of 1. FC Köln react in horror to the pitiful performance in the 0:2 against the bottom team Darmstadt. They are calling for the end of the sports director. He finds clear words.
No first division level, hardly any hope left: 1. FC Köln is teetering towards its seventh relegation from the Bundesliga since 1998. The fans of the second to last team reacted to the miserable performance in the 0:2 (0:0) against bottom team SV Darmstadt 98 with anger and horror. With shouts of “Keller out” they demanded the departure of sports director Christian Keller during the game and shouted “We’ve had enough” at the overwhelmed professionals.
Should direct rivals Mainz 05 score points at SC Freiburg on Sunday, FC’s gap to the relegation zone would grow to five points with four games still to play. “We know that the situation is tense,” said defender Timo Hübers. “It was an absolute shit afternoon for us too.”
Coach Timo Schultz also had to digest the non-performance of his professionals in the game in which a win was firmly planned and gave his team two days off. “Maybe the point has been reached right now where you can create a no-shit atmosphere,” said Schultz.
Keller predicted a victory before the game
“With all due respect to the opponent, if you have the Bundesliga aspirations, you have to beat them at home,” complained the criticized Keller, who had predicted a threesome before the game. After all, the last team from Hesse had last won a game over six months ago.
“My statement wasn’t correct. Now it’s getting even more unpleasant, but it’s still possible,” said Keller. In the current state, the Cologne team is unlikely to gain anything from their direct competitor Mainz in the coming week. “It’s obvious: what we brought to the pitch in terms of quality wasn’t at Bundesliga level,” said Keller.
The guests had an all too easy time with the completely unsettled Cologne team on Saturday. The pressure of having to win seemed to have paralyzed the Rhinelanders. “That was also because too many players didn’t bring nearly what they were capable of onto the pitch,” said Keller, who showed understanding for the hostility against him: “That was a brutally important game. And that’s where we play for the most part “Not at Bundesliga level,” said the 47-year-old. “In the end, I’m primarily responsible and understand that people let out their frustration.”
Darmstadt’s victory increases Cologne’s worries
After 22 Bundesliga games without a win, goals from Christoph Klarer (57th minute) and Oscar Vilhelmsson (90th) ensured the away win for the Hessians, who last won 2-1 at FC Augsburg on October 7th. This means that the Hessians’ early relegation has been postponed by at least a week. “Today we are just happy,” said coach Torsten Lieberknecht.
The likelihood that FC will ultimately have to go into the second division with Darmstadt increased significantly on Saturday. Cologne’s coach Schultz wasn’t the only one left with perseverance slogans. “We can play better and we have to play better. If we can do that, we have a chance of winning in Mainz,” said Schultz, although his team has been completely harmless all season. Only 23 goals from 30 games so far are anything but suitable for the Bundesliga.
dpa
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