28.12.2020 06:48
A conciliatory end despite the crisis: 1. FC Köln in 2020
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From Philipp Hambloch
Cologne – The 1. FC Cologne was very changeable in 2020. Thanks to a high flight, they managed to stay in the league, but then came a long crisis with Corona. The sporting turnaround only succeeded in November.
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January: Good start after the winter break
After the winter break, FC were able to build on their three victories in the previous year and defeated VfL Wolfsburg 3-1. Thanks to a double pack from Jhon Cordoba, Cologne turned the game and thus connected to the middle of the table.
The series was then briefly interrupted by a clear 1: 5 in Dortmund. The billy goats simply had no chance against top teams this season.
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Cologne’s Jan Thielmann (from left to right), Jhon Cordoba, Jonas Hector and Sebastiaan Bornauw cheer for the goal to make it 3-0 against Wolfsburg. © Federico Gambarini / dpa
February: FC is closer to the European Cup than relegation
February was also very successful for 1. FC Köln. With three clear wins against Freiburg (4: 0), Hertha BSC (5: 0) and Schalke (3: 0) the team climbed to eleventh place. Suddenly the European Cup places were closer than the relegation ranks. However, the goal remained relegation.
Cologne was very successful in this phase with its switching game, and loan player Mark Uth had integrated well into the team.
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FC coach Markus Gidsol celebrates after the 3-0 win against FC Schalke 04 on February 29, 2020. © Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
March: A “ghost derby” before the Corona break
After a close 2: 1 at SC Paderborn, relegation with 32 points was within reach. But the Corona crisis followed and with it a sporting crisis for Cologne.
In the last game before the break of the season, Cologne lost 2-1 at the “Geister-Derby” Borussia Mönchengladbach. It should not continue until two months later in May.
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The derby between Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln on March 11, 2020 was the first corona-related ghost game in the Bundesliga. © Roland Weihrauch / dpa
May: The Corona crisis turns into an FC crisis
After the involuntary break, there were two trend-setting home games for Cologne in the relegation battle against Mainz and Düsseldorf. It was enough to draw 2-2 against both opponents. The offensive continued to hit, but defensively the team had become much more vulnerable.
Cologne stepped on the spot, but did not lose ground. Even after the defeats against Hoffenheim (1: 3) and Leipzig (2: 4), the lead over the relegation place was still seven points.
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Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn (r.) And Rafael Czichos are disappointed after the game against Leipzig. © Ina Fassbender / AFP / POOL / dpa
June: Relegation despite the debacle in Bremen
The last five games of the season were scheduled for June. It was a little tight for Cologne again because they simply didn’t want to win any more. After one point from three games, relegation was almost certain after the 32nd matchday. The 1-1 draw against Frankfurt then provided Cologne’s relief. The big goal was perfect, 1. FC Köln remained first class.
Despite statements to the contrary in the run-up, FC took the final game in Bremen lightly and lost 6-1 after a desperate performance. As a result, Düsseldorf was relegated directly and Bremen was able to save itself in the relegation. And the Cologne players went into the summer break.
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FC coach Markus Gisdol (51) was served after the 1: 6 in Bremen. © Carmen Jaspersen / dpa
August: Difficult management tasks for Manager Heldt
In the summer, Cologne’s sports director Horst Heldt (51) first had to reduce the inflated squad in order to create room for newcomers who should then strengthen the team. Therefore, initially many players like Simon Terodde left the club and Ron-Robert Zieler was the only newcomer to the Geißbockheim for a long time.
In preparation, FC won five out of six games – also against Union Berlin and VfL Bochum – and were only defeated by VfL Wolfsburg (0: 3).
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The summer transfer window was labor-intensive for Horst Heldt (51, right). © Marius Becker / dpa
September: Cologne false start into the new season
Cologne won their first competitive game against fourth division club VSG Altglienicke 6-0, but they also showed weaknesses. The late Cordoba sale finally resulted in new additions, but they also had to be integrated.
Against Hoffenheim, the team lost 3-2 after an early mistake and a late negligence, in the away game in Bielefeld goalkeeper Horn failed before the hosts scored the winner. And then Captain Jonas Hector was also out.
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1. FC Köln started the 2020/21 season with two defeats. © Friso Gentsch / dpa
October: Victoryless Cologne people hamster themselves to the relegation place
After all, FC scored their first season points in October. There was a 1-1 draw against Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Against Bayern Munich (1: 2) the team showed a decent performance against a struggling opponent.
After six match days, the balance was enough for 15th place, because Mainz and Schalke were even worse. The wait for the first win since March continued.
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Cologne’s Ismail Jakobs (left) and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich fight for the ball. © Marius Becker / dpa-Pool / dpa
November: Liberation in Dortmund
In Bremen (1: 1), Cologne was very close to their first win of the season, before another penalty screwed up the result. Then it even set a 1: 2 defeat in the home game against Union Berlin. Coach Markus Gisdol seemed counted.
But then the FC suddenly won again and completely unexpectedly in Dortmund 2-1 with two goals from Ellyes Skhiri after corner kicks. Finally, the team had once again shown good mileage and full commitment – even without a real striker.
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Ellyes Skhiri (2nd from right) celebrates the goal to 0-2 in Dortmund. © Martin Meissner / POOL AP / dpa
December: Conciliatory end of the year
Cologne was able to use the momentum of the first victory in a long time and also showed a very decent performance against the top team from Wolfsburg. In the end it was enough to make it 2-2. The result was gilded by the immensely important 1-0 away win in Mainz.
In the subsequent derby against Leverkusen (0: 4), the FC then clearly suffered, but did not let that dissuade them from the path. A point was won in Leipzig just three days later. And with one narrow 1-0 cup win against Osnabrück achieved a sense of achievement at the end of the year, which is also financially important for the association.
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In December, 1. FC Köln presented itself again as stable and as a real unit © Frederic Scheidemann / Getty Images Europe / Pool / dpa
Due to the late start of the season, 1. FC Köln expects an unusually long second half of the season with 21 games until the end of May. The next home game against FC Augsburg is scheduled for January 2nd.
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Table 1. Bundesliga
The table of the Bundesliga has the following meaning: Whoever is in first place at the end of the season is the German champion. Those who are in positions 17 and 18 are relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga. The third from last place (position 16) may play for relegation in the so-called relegation. The opponent is the third placed in the 2nd Bundesliga.
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Titelfoto: Frederic Scheidemann/Getty Images Europe/Pool/dpa
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