Cologne's Fate Reached the Final Chapter - Coach Funkel offers valuable guidance.
Could Cologne still pull off a soccer miracle?
It's now or never!
► A victory on Saturday (3.30 pm/Sky) against Union Berlin is the only thing that can save FC. If they win, they'd be within three points of Union before the last match-day and could also even level their goal difference, which is currently five goals worse. And if Mainz lose to Dortmund at the same time, they'd only be two points behind them. However, Mainz have a much better goal difference (+13), and they'd likely be through with a draw in Wolfsburg on the final match-day.
A man who knows how to save spots in high-pressure situations is former coach Friedhelm Funkel (70/now Kaiserslautern). He stopped FC from being relegated in the relegation play-off against Kiel in 2021.
Funkel says, "As a coach, you need the right balance in a situation like this. You have to stay calm, project calmness, but you also need to inject a certain amount of relaxation and enjoyment. It's not good to be overly determined. Because the tension will come on its own by kick-off. I'm betting on a 1-0 win for FC and hope that there's still a chance on the last match-day."
FYI: If Cologne doesn't win for the fifth game in a row, they'll be relegated for the seventh time in the club's history!
The club's future is on the line. Relegation would mean losing around 50 million euros in income. Many players (including Chabot, Selke, Schwäbe) might leave the club, and with a transfer ban in the summer, there's a chance they'll be totally relegated. The goal of direct promotion would be almost unreachable. And Schultz's (2 wins from 16 games) coach position is no longer sustainable. The future of the managers (board of directors, executive management), who don't seem to budge, is uncertain at best.
In order for Cologne to avoid catastrophe, Schultz has made clear that they'll be playing offensively against Union: "We will be attacking. We want to win. We haven't been successful enough recently. There will only be one gear for us - it's going forward."
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Source: symclub.org
