1. FC Köln welcomes VfL Bochum on Friday evening. Steffen Baumgart has a high opinion of the guests from the Ruhr area.
Steffen Baumgart, coach of 1. FC Köln, welcomes VfL Bochum for a Bundesliga duel on Friday evening.
Not only Bochum are fighting for relegation, Cologne are also far from being saved. The Cologne coach therefore believes “that two teams will meet on equal terms.”
In an interview with FUNKE Mediengruppe, however, he looks beyond the match and talks, among other things, about his cult image with a sliding cap – “You wouldn’t find a picture of me from the past five or six years in which I’m not wearing a sliding cap in private” – and a short T-shirt in wintry temperatures – “I’m freezing, too, just not during these 90 minutes.”
He said he didn’t want to overstate the discussion: “I’ve been in the business for a long time and I know that coaches are rated as good today and not good tomorrow – even though they haven’t changed their work. Ask me again in ten years whether cult is the right word for me. “
Bochum have a right to play in the Bundesliga not only because of tradition, but also because of the way they approach the games.
Steffen Baumgart.
He has been watching VfL Bochum for a long time. “If you take a close look at the past games, you realise: with Bochum, results and performance don’t go together,” he says. “Bochum have a right to play in the Bundesliga not only because of tradition, but also because of the way they approach the games.”
He himself feels very comfortable at 1. FC Köln: “There are no special clubs I want to go to. I’m very happy at 1. FC Köln, have a very good team – that’s what counts.”
2021, however, he had also held talks with Rouven Schröder, then sports director at FC Schalke 04: “I had a good conversation with Rouven Schröder about certain possibilities,” says Baumgart.
“But it was clear relatively quickly that I would go to Cologne. Such talks don’t immediately end in a commitment. At the time, I talked to two or three clubs. I also think it’s normal to talk to others when you’re under contract. For me, too much is always interpreted into such things. Basically, in our job you have to expect everything – and you have to be ready for everything yourself. “
