This is an unexpected opportunity for 1. FC Köln and a sudden threat for Union Berlin. The rivals in the relegation final on matchday 33 have completely different requirements.
This final to stay in the league comes unexpectedly for both of them. At 1. FC Cologne, many had already resigned themselves to relegation after last weekend’s 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg; at Union Berlin, a few weeks ago, no one would have expected to be dragged so deeply into the relegation quagmire again.
The direct duel between the two on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) in Cologne is therefore an additional opportunity for FC and a sudden threat for Union. After the 26th matchday in mid-March, the Berliners were still nine points ahead of the relegation place.
The people of Cologne eloquently invoke unusual comparisons. “We nibble on the tree until the tree falls over,” said coach Timo Schultz, who took over the team from Union icon Steffen Baumgart after Cologne lost 2-0 in the first leg. And licensed game director Thomas Kessler is hoping for a special effect. “I’ve often experienced phases in football where the ball doesn’t want to cross the line,” he said: “And then maybe at some point it’s that ketchup bottle. We hit it until a lot comes out.” “It won’t be of any use to the club to throw ketchup bottles around. It will only benefit us to shoot the balls into the goal.”
Cologne’s advantage: From final to final to final
Despite slipping to 15th place and only one point ahead of the relegation place, Union still has a clearly better starting position, but Cologne’s advantage is that they have been aware of the situation throughout the season. His team feels like it’s moving “from final to final to final,” said Schultz: “It feels like there’s no alternative for weeks that we have to win. Now it’s de facto that we have to win in order to earn another final. That’s why there will only be one course for us, and that is forward.” The results of the competition “somehow work for us,” said the coach, especially with a view to Union’s 3:4 win against Bochum on Sunday: “We are still in the race. Now it’s up to us.”
The fact that Union changed the coach again – U19 coach Marco Grote replaced Nenad Bjelica – is irrelevant: “Two game days before the end with three training sessions, you no longer have a huge influence as a coach,” said Schultz: “If you If you come to the away game in Cologne on matchday 33 and everything is on the line, then I don’t know whether the coach plays the decisive role.”
Union interim coach Grote feels “very keen”
Grote demonstratively exuded a spirit of optimism on Friday. “You can’t imagine how excited I am, how incredibly happy I am. There’s a lot in me,” said the interim coach. Cologne has the pressure to win, his team wants to win.
In Berlin, people are of course hoping that the change will give them a boost – and prevent an inglorious record. Union would be the first German Champions League participant to be relegated at the end of the season in question. Only Nuremberg slipped into the second league as a participant in the national championship cup in 1969. “Of course we want to avoid relegation,” said Union President Zingler, even if “we have business people who say: “Let’s take the game and then we’ll win.” I’m not that crazy.” He hopes “that we will play four halves that will keep us in the league.”
Both coaches can recommend themselves by staying in the league
What both coaches have in common: They are also fighting for their future. Schultz’s contract will only be extended if he stays in the league. He indicated early on that he could imagine staying in the second division. But the chances of this seem slim. Karlsruhe’s Christian Eichner, a professional at FC from 2011 to 2013 and now coach of the best second division team in the second half of the season, is already the first possible successor.
As in the 1-1 draw against FC Augsburg in the first half of the season, Berlin’s U19 coach Grote took over as the professionals together with Marie-Louise Eta and Sebastian Bönig and could be recommended for the long term this time. But he didn’t let on whether he wanted to do that. “No casting,” he said in a decidedly casual manner: “That doesn’t interest me, I’m interested in 1. FC Köln. The task excites me. What, how, where is at some point, I’ll deal with that in no time at all.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
