The jubilation of FC Augsburg could not have been greater after the 2-0 (0-0) victory over SV Werder Bremen on the 33rd matchday of the Bundesliga. The team around coach Markus Weinzierl was dancing in each other’s arms after the final whistle. The eleventh year of the Bundesliga is ahead of the Swabians.
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Markus Weinzierl came back to FC Augsburg two weeks ago. Home, as the coach called it when he took office. Weinzierl had already managed to keep the underdog in the Bundesliga four times in the past before looking for new challenges at Schalke and VfB Stuttgart. So if anyone knows how to approach this task, it is the 46-year-old soccer coach who needed a game to play last week in order to successfully complete the mission to stay up on matchday 33 early on.
The ingredients of his recipe: trust and willpower. “I feel great confidence in myself and I have this confidence in our team,” wrote Weinzierl in a letter to the fans before the game. This was evident in the line-up: The coach sent the same team into the race that had lost against VfB Stuttgart the previous day. But: “We ran a lot, always switched quickly, had a train to the goal and created numerous good chances. I am therefore optimistic that the team will do that again against Bremen and also use the chances to win Win the game “, Weinzierl saw a lot of good things on the pitch.
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And he was right. Mainly because his team showed incredible commitment on the pitch against Werder Bremen. After just 13 minutes, attacker Ruben Vargas was thrown off the pitch for assault, and the FCA was consequently outnumbered. “I almost started crying,” explained Florian Niederlechner on the ARD radio microphone. But Augsburg turned this setback into excess energy. “You’re outnumbered, but we’re fighting. When you see what we’ve achieved, then I really have to take my hat off to the team,” the attacker said.
“I’m happy about the three points and the relegation, I’m happy how the boys implemented it. What we showed in the minority was worth all honors,” Weinzierl also praised his protégés after the success. “We knew we had to go to Bayern next week. It was a big final for us, and to make it a success is a huge relief,” said the coach. After all: In the second half, the balance of power on the pitch was balanced again. After a yellow-red card for Bremen’s Christian Groß, there were only ten of the guests on the pitch.
Ruben Vargas has to leave the pitch after just 13 minutes – Bernd Feil / MiS / Pool / imago images
The main character in this relegation thriller was Rani Khedira. After four years in Augsburg, he switched to Union Berlin in the summer, but before that he got his team on course to keep their class. Ironically, the 27-year-old midfielder brought his team to victory after just under an hour – Khedira could not have made a nicer gift for the FCA, to which he owes a lot in his career. “I’m happy for him and for the whole team,” said Weinzierl after the game, for whom Khedira was also an important player in the last two games. “He was a fixed point on my axis on the pitch. He returned the trust and crowned it with a goal today.”
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Daniel Caligiuri, who scored the 2-0 with a penalty shortly before the final whistle, made relegation at the end fixed. Then all dams broke at the FCA. Tears of desperation at the beginning of the game were followed by tears of joy at Weinzierl and Co., because one matchday before the end is certain: FC Augsburg will play in the Bundesliga for the eleventh year in a row. A huge success for a team like FCA. “A lot of burden” falls from him, emphasized Weinzierl after the rescue. “This is an absolute dream for us,” says manager Stefan Reuter happily. And Augsburg and those involved are looking forward to another season in the Bundesliga.
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