1. FC Cologne is in a real crisis. Within two years the club had fallen from European competition to the depths of the second division. That must have consequences.
Exactly two years ago to the day, 1. FC Köln visited 1. FC Slovacko. The billy goats played in the group phase of the Europa Conference League, had a coach in Steffen Baumgart who identified with the club and its people like no other and was probably one of the most exciting clubs in German football.
Two years later there is nothing left of it. 1. FC Köln is on the ground, Baumgart and his successor Timo Schultz are long gone. The rebuilding in the second league with Gerhard Struber as coach failed. That much is already clear after ten match days.
When the Austrian was entrusted with this task by Christian Keller in the summer, the sports director took a risk. After all, Struber had no experience in Germany, not even in the second division. In addition, the 47-year-old was provided with an equally inexperienced coaching team.
With his approach to football, Struber fits in with Christian Keller. Both people in charge are analysts and meticulous workers. What both lack, however, is the ability to inspire and get people excited about their projects. However, this is essential for a talented but also insecure team.
At the start of the season there was still great confidence at Geißbockheim. Keller managed to keep a large number of top performers despite the relegation and thus put together a supposedly powerful team for the 2nd division despite the transfer ban.
Meanwhile, Gerhard Struber managed to give the players new courage with his idea of football. With every single setback, however, the uncertainty grew again – which at the same time made Keller’s failures in squad planning in previous years visible again.
It’s not just that many of the players signed by Keller for the Bundesliga are of no help even one league lower. The team still has a structural problem: there is a lack of visible leadership players because their characters don’t support it. Controversial players like Davie Selke were given up. Even Gerhard Struber couldn’t solve this problem. Presumably because he hasn’t yet found access to some players on a human level.
It has been clear since the summer: Struber’s future also depends on that of managing director Christian Keller. Both can only fail together. In view of the Fifa ruling, the sports director only had the opportunity to influence the team in the coaching position. If, after Timo Schultz, Keller is also wrong with Gerhard Struber, the 45-year-old will no longer have any arguments. The trust that Keller would then make the right personnel decisions would be gone.
If 1. FC Köln wants to turn things around with its current line-up, Gerhard Struber must first show that he can do more than just tactics and analysis. He has to prove that he is able to draw the right conclusions and influence the team. If that doesn’t work, the sports director would no longer be able to be retained.
