The otherwise so emotional Steffen Baumgart showed no reaction at the final whistle. The derby zero number after the FIFA shock left everyone at 1. FC Köln at a loss at the end of a turbulent week.
“Of course we would have liked to get more, but it’s a point more than yesterday,” said coach Baumgart after the 0-0 draw in the 96th Bundesliga derby against archrival Borussia Mönchengladbach: “We live with the 0-0, we have to live. If you don’t score goals, you have to see that you at least play 0-0.”
The groundbreaking victory, it might have been the decisive one in the relegation battle and would have been quite possible given the Cologne team’s clear superiority. But in the end the game also showed something that Baumgart openly admitted: “We know what we can do. And we can’t do a lot. We’re good as a team, but we have deficits compared to other teams.” Which is why the six-point lead in 16th place with eight games left is not a cushion.
Cologne with a good reaction to the transfer ban
With a little distance, the Cologne team will mainly realize that the team has coped well with the shock of the FIFA transfer ban for a year because of the allegation of inciting a breach of contract with 17-year-old Jaka Cuber Potocnik. “We’re clear-headed. We know what we have to do,” said defender Jeff Chabot, who put in a good performance. “The team showed a good reaction,” said Thomas Kessler, head of the licensed players department: “Also for the game in Dortmund.” There the Cologne team had lost 6-1 before the international break.
And finally, Baumgart had no problem admitting that Gladbach could have received a penalty in the 15th minute after Timo Hübers fouled Florian Neuhaus in the penalty area. “It was already whistled,” he said: “We were lucky today that we lacked last time.”
0: 0 for Farke “a logical result”
The Gladbachers accepted the result in a similarly undecided manner. “The question is who can live with that better,” said sporting director Roland Virkus: “But away to zero is always good at first.” He didn’t want to hear the clearly audible whistles of the Borussia fans as the players walked into the curve. “It’s clear that the boys want to win a derby,” he said only: “But we lost both derbies last year – and we lost, this time we didn’t lose any, and that’s it.” Borussia won the first leg 5-2.
For Gladbach coach Daniel Farke, the 0-0 was “a logical result. Even if we should have gotten a clear penalty that probably would have changed the game. There are a few points that I’m really happy with. Zero to away Playing and getting a point is always positive. As for the quality of football, you have to say that today was not a prime piece.”
That’s why the Gladbachers are beyond good and evil. With nine points behind a Europa League place and ten points ahead of the relegation rank, there is hardly anything left to do in the rest of the season. “Maybe we don’t have the big goals anymore, that can be,” said head of sport Virkus: “But we have a lot of small goals and want to win every game. That’s how we approach the last games. You can’t say, now take a look .”
