Baumgart's 'shock therapy' setting Cologne up for future

Cologne 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt, Müngersdorfer Stadion 
(Modeste 84')

"Good luck to all FC fans getting off here!" announced the driver on the number 1 tram as it arrived in the suburb of Müngersdorf, home of 1. FC Köln. "Let's hope for three points so we can play in Europe next year!" 

There may only have been 10,000 fans present for the Bundesliga home game against Eintracht Frankfurt but, even after two years of restricted capacities due to the pandemic, the locals' enthusiasm for their "FC" remains as unconditional as ever. 

And against Frankfurt, they took another small step towards Europe, top scorer Anthony Modeste coming off the bench to latch on to a loose pass from the visitors and score a late winner to send Köln sixth overnight.  

Back in the squad after an infection, it was the Frenchman's 15th Bundesliga goal of the season and his seventh in seven games. No wonder teammate Marvin Schwäbe called him Cologne's "life insurance" this week. 

But as important as Modeste undoubtedly is to Köln – and his absence was keenly felt in the first half when two good chances went begging – the Billy Goats' success is very much a team effort. 

"We're not a team which can rely on individuals or which can afford to take its foot off the pedal from time to time and still pick up points," former goalkeeper and current head of professional football Thomas Kessler told Kicker TV recently.  

"No, it only works when the whole team is committed. That suits us as a club because we're a very emotional club. Our current style of play suits us." 

Baumgart's 'shock therapy' 

Chief architect of that style of play this season is charismatic head coach Steffen Baumgart – he of t-shirt, gilet and flat-cap fame who recently went viral after being filmed watching his team from home while in quarantine.

Baumgart in the living room is no different to Baumgart on the touchline – with the exception that, rather than the dog trying to calm him down with a paw on the shoulder, it's his coaching staff whispering analysis in his ear. Otherwise, the 45-year-old uses his bench as little as his sofa, constantly pacing up and down the touchline to the extent that he might as well be an auxiliary full-back. 

"Geht drauf!" he bellows – "press!" – when he feels the time is right for his forwards to put pressure on Frankfurt's defenders, sinking into his pressing pose, knees bent, head forward, arm outstretched. 

But Baumgart is more than just a one-trick pressing pony demanding all-out-attack; there is also heartfelt applause encouragement for his team's attempts to play out from the back and be creative in possession. 

"In recent years, we parked the bus a lot, but those thoughts are no longer in our heads," defender Timo Hübers told Kicker ahead of the visit of Frankfurt.  

"We want to defend 20-30 meters higher up the pitch. Of course, that entails risk, but it's fun to play actively, not reactively. It's a sort of shock therapy after playing differently here for so long." 

Cologne more than just screaming  

The main beneficiaries of Baumgart's methods are midfielders Salih Özcan and Ellyes Skhiri, the former's robustness complimenting the latter's eye for a pass, as one three-minute period in the second half demonstrated. 

First, Özcan was wide awake to double-up on Filip Kostic, ensuring that the Frankfurt dangerman had no chance of bursting forward with Cologne potentially exposed. 

Two minutes later, it was Skhiri who turned defense into attack with a neat turn to spin away from Daichi Kamada in the center circle. From there, he found Mark Uth, dropping deep to pick up possession and link play. Uth found Modeste, who laid the ball off to the advancing Dejan Ljubicic. 

The Austrian's shot went over, but it was Cologne's best move of the game – and evidence that Baumgart football is more than just screaming and fashion accessories. 

"Salih and Ellyes have the job of binding our team together," Baumgart told DW post-match. "Salih in particular is in excellent form, he hardly loses a single tackle and gives the team stability." 

"Steffen Baumgart very quickly got the team on side," said Kessler. "He convinced them of his philosophy and his belief that there was substantially more in this squad than a playoff place like last season."

No longer a yo-yo club? 

Some might say it's typical Cologne to be in a relegation playoff one season and then pushing for Europe the next. After all, this is a club which has been relegated from the Bundesliga six times since 1998. Just think about that; that requires six promotions, too. 

In 2017, they famously qualified for Europe for the first time in 25 years, taking 20,000 fans away to Arsenal in the Europa League and even taking the lead through a lob from the halfway line. By the end of that season, they were back in Bundesliga 2. 

So, could Cologne's days as the archetypal yo-yo club finally be at an end?  

"I'm just happy to be here and I'm happy that the lads are all on board," said Baumgart, refusing to get carried away. "We won today, but I would have been just as happy with the performance if we'd ended up losing. 

"I am absolutely satisfied with everything at the moment. That's not just down to me, it's down to the whole team. It's nice that we're seeing some development." 

Such positivity, harmony and stability are not things which can be taken for granted at Cologne, a club prone to emotional extremes more than perhaps any other. 

But that won't stop the tram driver and his passengers on the number 1 to Müngersdorf dreaming of travelling even further afield next season to watch their "FC."

Edit by: Michael Da Silva