With 32 points after 19 games, the U21 team of 1. FC Köln is doing very well in the Regionalliga West. We spoke to the coach.

Nine wins, five draws, five defeats, 38:26 goals: that’s 1 FC Köln II’s record after 19 of 34 matchdays in the Regionalliga West.

Even though the Cologne second team squandered an even better starting position with four winless games – two draws, two defeats – in the last matches before the winter break, those responsible are satisfied.

Evangelos Sbonias, coach of the 1. FC Köln U21 team, on…

… the first half of the season for Cologne’s second team: “We are very, very proud of the first half of the season with this young team. As FC Köln’s U21s, it’s all about developing players under the best possible conditions. That’s working very well and we’re also absolutely on target in the table, as our results show. That’s why the conclusion is consistently positive, in the knowledge that we still have a lot of potential that we can exploit.”

… the best moment of the past first half of the season: “There wasn’t just one moment for me. The fact that there were several moments is absolutely down to how well our team performed. But I have to say that when we’re not playing alongside the professionals and under floodlights in the Franz Kremer Stadium with the support of the active fan scene, it’s very, very special.”

… the worst moment: “For me, the worst moment of the half-season was the first 25 minutes of the season against Fortuna Köln. We were 3-0 down and had the worst possible start to the season. But thanks to good and focused work, there haven’t been so many bad moments since then.”

… the goals for 2024: “It’s clearly about continuing to develop our talents and giving them plenty of playing time under competitive conditions in a difficult league. If we can continue to do this as well as before in the cooperation between the coaching team and the team, the results will inevitably be good too. “