After the separation from Sandro Wagner wants Bundesliga club FC Augsburg will continue to employ his interim coach Manuel Baum until the end of the season. “After he took over our team at the beginning of December, he did a very good job. We want to build on that together in 2026,” said managing director Michael Ströll. “I really enjoyed working with our team. That’s why I’m looking forward to being FCA’s head coach for a little longer,” said Baum.
At the beginning of December, FCA parted ways with Wagner after 14 games – under him they only managed ten points in twelve games. In the second round of the DFB Cup, Augsburg were eliminated at home against second division team VfL Bochum.
Baum – actually the club’s head of development and football innovation – then took over the team and was originally only supposed to coach the team for three games until the winter break. Now he wants to return to the official position in the summer. The 46-year-old had already been a coach in Augsburg from December 2016 to April 2019.
Four points from three games
In his first league comeback as coach, Baum has led the team to four points in the games against Bayer Leverkusen (2-0), in Frankfurt (0-1) and against Werder Bremen (0-0). This puts the FCA in 15th place in the table, two points ahead of the relegation place.
After the short winter preparation, FCA starts the Christmas break on January 11th with an away game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. This will be followed by home games against Union Berlin and SC Freiburg. “The performances under Manuel Baum give us confidence that the season will be successful,” says Benni Weber, FCA sporting director, with a view to the rest of the season.
