Baumgart no longer coach at 1 FC Köln

Bundesliga - Baumgart no longer coach at 1 FC Köln

He was celebrated as a cult coach for a long time, but was unable to bring lasting peace to the club. The Steffen Baumgart era at 1. FC Köln has come to an end.

The soccer coach, who is popular with fans despite the club's ongoing sporting slump, and the club have agreed on an early end to their collaboration, which was originally due to run until summer 2025. After a sustained sporting downturn with just two wins in 16 games and a drop to second-last place in the table, the belief in a jointly initiated turnaround was apparently exhausted. Baumgart's involvement will now officially end at the end of the year.

"Everyone can imagine that the decision to leave FC was not an easy one for me. The club has become my home over the last two and a half years," commented Baumgart on his departure. "What we have achieved here together makes me proud. At the same time, however, that is also the reason why I now had the feeling that a change was needed. FC is above all else."

Cas confirms transfer ban against the FC

Cologne were dealt another hard blow by Lausanne: The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has confirmed the transfer ban of two transfer periods for FC Köln imposed by FIFA in the Potocnik case. In addition, the judges increased the penalty payment to Olimpija Ljubljana from around 52,000 euros to 60,000 euros. They had wanted and expected a different verdict, said managing director Christian Keller. He added: "We have always said that we have always considered the transfer ban scenario and will plan our squad accordingly until the end of the ban that has now been imposed."

The background to this is the signing of youth player Jaka Cuber Potocnik in January 2022, whose former club accused Cologne of instigating the transfer of the then 16-year-old Potocnik and appealed to FIFA. On February 1, 2023, the Dispute Resolution Chamber found 1. FC Köln guilty of unjustified breach of contract and incitement to breach of contract.

Meanwhile, according to information from the newspaper "Bild", Cologne's decision to part ways with Baumgart was already clear before Wednesday's 2-0 loss at 1. FC Union Berlin. A crisis meeting that night apparently confirmed both sides in their decision. "The path we have taken has demanded a great deal of strength and conviction from everyone involved, especially Steffen. After the unsatisfactory course of the season so far, we have had a very open, direct, objective and respectful discussion in recent days and weeks as to whether this strength and conviction are really still sufficiently present," FC managing director Christian Keller was quoted as saying in a statement from the club.

Successor still unclear

Baumgart was already skiing in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where he has been spending Christmas and New Year's Eve with his family for years, when the news of his departure became public. It is unclear who will succeed him. One candidate is said to be Cologne's U21 coach Evangelos Sbonias.

For all his affection for FC, the 51-year-old has recently had more and more doubts. However, the coach did not lack the support of his professionals. Davie Selke attested to the soccer coach's "clear messages" and a "great speech" immediately after the 2-0 defeat in Berlin. A separation would be counterproductive, according to the striker. Goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe was even clearer: "We are fully behind the coach and know what we have in him. It's not down to him."

In addition to the alarming sporting downturn, which was accelerated by the loss of key players such as Jonas Hector and Ellyes Skhiri, the increasingly strained relationship with Christian Keller is likely to have contributed to the separation. Baumgart recently publicly rebuked the sporting director's plans to sell regular player Dejan Ljubicic in order to finance new signings. "If there is no money, we have to find some," the coach demanded. "In this city and in this club, it must be possible to act differently than we are doing at the moment. It's not acceptable that we keep losing the best and most expensive players."

Baumgart "will always remain part of the FC family"

With his direct approach and shirt-sleeved demeanor, Baumgart quickly made himself popular with Cologne supporters after taking office in the summer of 2021. His trademark slider cap became a bestseller in the cathedral city. In a surprisingly strong first season under his leadership, FC made it into the Europa Conference League. However, after finishing seventh in 2021/2022 and eleventh in 2022/2023, the Rhinelanders are now in the midst of a relegation battle. However, with a gap of just three points, they are still within striking distance of safety.

Baumgart saw the disaster coming. "It must be clear to everyone that we have a very difficult year, that it will be a relegation battle right up to the last matchday," he said after the 6-0 defeat in Leipzig at the end of October. The Rostock native was proved right. Cologne's longing for more continuity in the coaching position has returned with the separation. "Steffen has done the FC good with his positive, emotional and rousing manner since he took office. He has led the way right from the start and has given a lot to the FC, the city and its fans, but also to us committees and the entire FC workforce. He will therefore always remain part of the FC family," said FC President Werner Wolf.

Read also:

Steffen Baumgart hails from North Rhine-Westphalia, just like 1. FC Cologne.The International Sports Court in Lausanne, Switzerland, confirmed the transfer ban against FC Köln imposed by FIFA.Cologne's U21 coach Evangelos Sbonias is rumored to be a potential successor for Steffen Baumgart.The "Bild" newspaper reported that the decision to part ways with Baumgart was made before the 2-0 loss at 1. FC Union Berlin.Christian Keller, the managing director of 1. FC Cologne, expressed his gratitude to Baumgart for his leadership and contribution to the club.Baumgart's departure from Cologne leaves the fans with a sense of loss, as he quickly became a favorite due to his direct approach and emotional leadership.Despite the challenging sporting season and the loss of key players, Baumgart managed to lead Cologne into the Europa Conference League in his first season.

Source: www.stern.de