Opposition Check: 1. FC Köln

Final score in match 1 after Rose Monday: 1-0 for 1. FC Köln! Luca Waldschmidt scored the decisive winner for Köln in the 86th minute. Thanks to the three points, 1. FC Köln climbed from fifth to second place – back into a direct promotion spot.

On Saturday (March 15, 8:30pm), the FC faces SV Darmstadt 98. With a little help, the Cologne club could even take the lead in the table. In the first leg, Darmstadt celebrated a convincing 5-1 home victory, marking their first home win in 383 days. We take a closer look at Darmstadt’s upcoming opponent.

„Führen, Achisten, Leben“ (Lead, Perform, Live) by Fredmund Malik is Gerhard Struber’s favorite book, as he revealed in an interview with the Express newspaper. The book revolves around leadership and management – ​​a topic of central importance to the FC Köln coach. „The coaching job means leadership every day,“ emphasised the 48-year-old. His ability to successfully lead his team is reflected in the current league table: 1. FC Köln is in second place in the crowded 2. Bundesliga promotion battle. Struber thus lives up to the fans‘ high expectations. His vision for the future of „Effzeh“ is clear: „To become a stable Bundesliga team.“ Struber didn’t need much time to settle in Köln. „The open nature of the people made it very easy for me,“ he said of his first months in the cathedral city. His family also likes Köln. „It reminds us a bit of Vienna – the vibrancy, the diversity. There are cool restaurants and lots of things to do.“ Before joining FC, the Austrian from Kuchl had already gained extensive coaching experience. In his home country, he managed clubs including FC Liefering, Wolfsberger AC, and Salzburg. His resume also includes a year in England with FC Barnsley, as well as a three-year coaching stint in New York. But for him, one thing is clear: „There aren’t many clubs as cool as FC on this planet.“

Köln are more committed to forcing goals than any other club. They have by far the most shots in the second Bundesliga (401). In comparison, second-placed Magdeburg have only managed 376 shots so far. The Billy Goats are also very strong in the air. With a total of 493 aerial duels won, they rank fourth in this category – behind Münster (594), Regensburg (559), and Schalke (506). A look at the percentage of aerial duel wins changes the picture: The Lilies lead the statistics with 55.1 percent of aerial duels won, while Köln are right behind with 54.5 percent.

December 2024 – a sharp pain in his thigh immediately after celebrating a goal. A few days later, it’s clear: Tim Lemperle, FC Köln’s top scorer in the first half of the season, has to take a break due to a muscle injury. At the time, the Köln team still thought Lemperle wouldn’t miss too many games due to the injury. And that’s exactly what happened: After the winter break, Lemperle returned to the pitch at the end of January. However, not for long, because Lemperle’s appearance against SV Elversberg came too early and the injury flared up again.

Now the striker is about to make his second comeback. Lemperle has been back in team training with the Billy Goats since last week. Against SV 98, he could be enough for the first few minutes. With him, Köln gains considerable attacking power: The striker has scored an impressive eight goals and provided four assists in 16 second-division matches so far. The Lilies‘ defence could have its hands full here. „Tim has made great progress in his development. (…) In the current season, he is showing how important he is for our game,“ said Thomas Kessler, head of professional players at 1. FC Köln, in an interview with the Geissblog about the attacker’s importance.