In the 17th minute of the second division game between 1. FC Köln and 1. FC Nürnberg, something happened that illustrated the current competition or the normal arbitrariness of the second Bundesliga in a typical way: Florian Kainz’s penalty goal made the score 2-0 Cologne made a huge leap from sixth to first place in the virtual lightning table.
The relegated team from the upper house was now ranked where the experts in the matter and the representatives of the competing clubs had placed it before the season. However, the Cologne team had successfully distanced themselves from their reputation as league favorites until a few weeks ago. After the tenth matchday, FC were in twelfth place with an embarrassing twelve points, and the trend was clearly pointing downwards. Almost every hour, the citizens of the city expected the news that coach Gerhard Struber and manager Christian Keller had been fired.
On Sunday, however, the Austrian coach Struber was still standing at the edge of the pitch and saw a game that he liked. With rapid attacking football, Cologne took a 3-0 lead in the first half hour, which Nuremberg was unable to equalize despite valiant efforts and numerous dangerous advances. The club only managed a consolation goal; the 3-1 win is FC’s eighth game without defeat – including two cup games.
This must also have pleased the sports director Keller, who was watching from his regular standing spot, who in the meantime was not fired as everyone expected, but was given a contract extension. But the second league wouldn’t be the second league if it hadn’t delivered another punchline at the end of this extravagant matchday: The celebrities from Cologne had to give up first place late in the second half – to the non-celebrities from Elversberg, who moved to the top thanks to the 2-0 win at Eintracht Braunschweig thanks to a better goal difference.
With all due respect and without any disdain, it can be said that this second division currently has the league leader who suits it perfectly. SV Elversberg and the second division are the dream team par excellence at this event, in which it is simply everyday life that the big Hamburger SV escapes with a 1-1 draw at newly promoted SSV Ulm, while Hertha BSC plays the home game against the penultimate Preußen Münster 1 :2 loses. And don’t forget Hannover 96, who could have taken the lead all by themselves – and then lost 1-0 in Fürth with a goal in the 83rd minute. In this highly balanced race, Cologne coach Struber noted on Sunday that the jump to second place in the table should be seen as a “nice moment” – “but nothing more”.
However, the football that the 50,000 spectators saw in the sold-out stadium in Müngersdorf was more than just nice. He was attractive, entertaining and well developed in terms of play. This was also explicitly due to the losers from Franconia, although in Miroslav Klose’s opinion they delivered an ambivalent performance. “Unfortunately, my team showed two faces,” complained the Nuremberg coach, “they weren’t there for the first 30 or 35 minutes, and then you’re 3-0 behind in no time.” Typical of this was the 0-1 result Young Cologne striker Damion Downs scored, taking advantage of defender Oliver Villadsen’s sleepiness and benefiting from goalkeeper Jan Reichert’s positional error.
Klose endured his team’s mistakes largely stoically and silently, standing in front of the bench with no apparent emotion and letting the events go by. It was all the more astonishing that Klose gave an almost passionate lecture after the game about how FC attacker Downs had deliberately and shamelessly tricked in order to provoke the penalty whistle before the score was 2-0. “Questionable penalty,” he said, “but Cologne supposedly checked it” – meaning the video arbitration board in Cologne-Deutz. There was nothing legally objectionable about Cologne’s third goal, a combination between Kainz, Downs and the goalscorer Denis Huseinbasic, which was worthy of a league leader.
At least that’s certain: the people of Cologne have turned the corner. They are much more confident on defense, can rely on their own goals and have learned to play efficient football that results. Last but not least, this also has to do with the goalkeeper change. The highly traded young man Jonas Urbig, who has already been associated with top clubs, hadn’t made many mistakes in his appearances, but since his experienced predecessor Marvin Schwäbe, who always has a resting heart rate, has been back in goal, FC’s defense has been noticeably more stable. On Sunday, Schwäbe, typical of the second division, didn’t look good when Jens Castrop conceded a goal.
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