FC Augsburg wants to be in the Bundesliga's top 10 permanently
Under the impression of the recent upward trend, FC Augsburg wants to play more than always against relegation from the Bundesliga in the long term. "We are ambitious. We want to achieve more than in recent years and believe that the entire club is capable of more," managing director Michael Ströll told "Kicker" (Monday). "I am convinced that we can establish FC Augsburg in the top 10 of the Bundesliga in the long term."
The Swabians have been playing in the first division since 2011. In 2014 (8th) and 2015 (5th), the outsiders surprised everyone by finishing in the top half of the table and even participating in the European Cup. Most recently, however, FCA always had to worry about staying in the league.
After a disastrous start to the season and the departure of head coach Enrico Maaßen, Augsburg recently managed to turn things around under new coach Jess Thorup with two wins and two draws in four games. In tenth place, the team is six points clear of the relegation places. "The yield so far is absolutely satisfactory, you can't imagine that beforehand," said sporting director Marinko Jurendic in the joint interview. "We knew what the team was capable of."
Personnel measures in winter
The club's management will now discuss further personnel measures for the short and medium-term future. "During the international break, we will take stock of the squad with Jess Thorup," Jurendic announced. The FCA currently has 32 players in its lavish professional squad. "Squad planning is a rolling process, we can continue to optimize in the winter. I'm not going to commit myself and say we'll have four players less," said the manager.
The sporting director attaches great importance to a balanced squad. Regarding the promotion of young talent, he said: "We don't have to have five young players on the pitch at the same time in order to position them. It is more effective to develop fewer young players, but in a targeted manner, and to be able to generate good revenue later on."
FC Augsburg's ambitious goal, as stated by managing director Michael Ströll, is to consistently be in the top 10 of the Bundesliga. Recently, under new coach Jess Thorup, the team has shown improvement, currently sitting in tenth place, six points above the relegation zone.
Source: www.dpa.com
