Bundesliga - Coach search over: Pauli icon Schultz succeeds Baumgart
With his rain jacket in his arms and a friendly "Looks good here", Timo Schultz marched onto the training pitch at 1. FC Köln. The Bundesliga club had only just announced the appointment of the St. Pauli idol as its new head coach, exactly two weeks after parting ways with his predecessor Steffen Baumgart. And Schultz got straight to work, leading the first session at the Geißbockheim on Thursday morning. The mission is clear: to prevent Cologne's seventh Bundesliga relegation.
"We will work hard and intensively over the next few weeks to achieve the necessary results," said the 46-year-old. "FC belongs in the Bundesliga. We will manage to avoid relegation, I am 100 percent convinced of that."
Schultz is a crowd favorite at FC St. Pauli. He played for the Hamburg club from 2005 to 2012. He was their head coach from 2020 to December 2022. The fact that he replaced the popular Schultz with his assistant Fabian Hürzeler earned St. Pauli's sporting director Andreas Bornemann a lot of criticism a year ago. It was only the sporting success under Hürzeler that calmed this angry situation.
"He has the personality and expertise to raise the performance potential of our team," said Cologne's sporting director Christian Keller about the new FC coach. The fact that Schultz had previously been released by Swiss first division club FC Basel after less than three months did not deter the Cologne team.
However, Schultz's new task is also likely to be a very difficult mission: In sporting terms, things have not gone well at all for Cologne so far this season. After just two wins in 16 games, the club is in a direct relegation spot and is three points off 15th place in the table.
In addition, the club is not allowed to sign any new players during the winter break or next summer following a transfer ban imposed by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas. Schultz will therefore have to work with the existing squad until January 2025. And the legacy of his predecessor Baumgart, who is still popular with FC fans, makes his task in Cologne even more difficult.
Baumgart and Cologne prematurely ended their collaboration, which had actually been agreed until 2025, shortly before Christmas, one day after the 2-0 defeat at Union Berlin. However, the FC bosses immediately emphasized that the new coach's playing philosophy should still be similar to that of the old coach. That means continuing to play attacking soccer, but with fewer goals conceded. In addition, more young players are to be integrated into the professional squad.
Schultz will sit on the bench for the first time in a Cologne match on Saturday (2 p.m.), in a test match at third-division club Rot-Weiß Essen. Cologne's first Bundesliga match with the new coach will be against 1. FC Heidenheim on January 13 (3.30 pm/Sky).
Announcement from the club
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- Fans of FC St. Pauli were critical of the decision to replace Timo Schultz with Fabian Hürzeler as head coach last year, citing Schultz's expertise and personality.
- Despite a transfer ban preventing any new signings, Timo Schultz is optimistic about avoiding relegation with 1. FC Cologne, having taken over from Steffen Baumgart who ended his collaboration prematurely.
- The new Bundesliga coach, Timo Schultz, previously faced challenges at FC Basel, a Swiss first division club, where he was released after less than three months in charge.
- During his time at FC St. Pauli, Timo Schultz served as both a player (2005-2012) and head coach (2020-2022), and he is heavilysupported by the club's faithful fanbase.
- To further complicate his task, Timo Schultz must navigate the legacy left by outgoing coach Steffen Baumgart, who remains popular among FC Cologne's supporters and is known for his attacking soccer style.
- Cologne sporting director Christian Keller expressed faith in Timo Schultz's abilities to elevate the team's performance and achieve the desired results, despite the team's current relegation struggle and transfer ban.
Source: www.stern.de
