1. FC Cologne’s first win of the season came without regular player Eric Martel. The defender is nevertheless set to return to the starting line-up against Braunschweig. He draws positives from Cologne’s shaky start.
Cologne midfielder Eric Martel IMAGO/Football News Saarland
Eric Martel (22) has remained loyal to 1. FC Cologne – like many other players. But despite the team’s apparent team-building, the machine at FC has yet to really get going after relegation from the Bundesliga. Martel and his teammates only managed one point from the first two league games against Hamburger SV (1:2) and SV Elversberg (2:2). And in the first round of the DFB Cup, Cologne fans also had to worry for a long time about whether they would progress.
The defender almost missed Olesen’s winning goal against Sandhausen
But it wasn’t just the fans who were nervous. “I almost put it out in the 95th minute,” admits Martel, who had to watch the 3:2 after extra time at SV Sandhausen on TV because of a suspension from the previous season. The TV stayed on, lucky for Martel. Otherwise the midfielder might have missed Cologne’s first win of the season so far. Mathias Olesen (23) redeemed the Billy Goats late on. The Luxembourger headed in for Cologne in the 116th minute.
Martel is not interested in the fact that FC had previously given up a lead, as they did against Elversberg. Instead, he emphasizes his team’s comeback qualities. “It’s difficult to come back in situations like this,” explains the young leader, and he puts his team first: “It shows strength.”
Return to the starting eleven or a place on the bench? “Competition spurs on”
Martel could embody this strength on the field again next Saturday against Eintracht Braunschweig. If it weren’t for Olesen, who just helped the FC to advance to the next round of the cup as Martel’s cup representative. No problem for the former Leipzig player. “Competition is motivating,” says Martel, who is likely to be back in the starting eleven this weekend despite his teammate’s good performance. His value to the team is too high and the club officials are too appreciative, who were able to convince the talented man to stay at Effzeh despite presumably other options.
