Baumgart discusses state of Köln tactics ahead of Augsburg

FC Köln trainer Steffen Baumgart went into great detail about his potential tactics against Augsburg this weekend at his Thursday presser. 

If there was one thing Steffen Baumgart was satisfied with following last week’s 0-0 draw with Gladbach, it was Florian Kainz’s ability to spark the offense from a ten-slot position. The Köln gaffer repeatedly stated in several pressers this week that the novel tactical move was “not a one off”. Kainz himself stated that he enjoyed playing in the position and hoped to do so again.

Despite this, Baumgart remained noncommittal about retaining the 4-2-3-1 system this weekend against Augsburg. Anticipating FCA trainer Enrico Maaßen’s 4-4-2, the Effzeh trainer noted that he may “attempt to mirror the opponent”. Baumgart said he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d play with a ten or perhaps rotating eights.

When it came to questions about personnel, Baumgart ended up (as is sometimes the case with him) revealing quite a lot. An excellent offensive performance on the right eight slant from Kingsley Schindler probably won’t be enough not to see Schindler displaced by Dejan Ljubicic. Baumgart emphasized that “it’s important for ‘Ljubi’ to come in now.”

It doesn’t appear as if Schindler will be moving back to take the place of Benno Schmitz at the right fullback position either. Baumgart said that the the back-four (Schmitz, Timo Hübers, Julian Chabot, and Jonas Hector) would remain in place. The same applied to the double-six setup of Ellyes Skhiri and Eric Martel.

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