1. FC Köln presents itself at Union Berlin – Is Kruse making a comeback?
Author: Herbert Bucco
1. FC Köln is back on the training ground. On Sunday, Steffen Baumgart’s team welcomes Union Berlin to the Rhein-Energie-Stadion.
Cologne. The next home game week is underway. After two days off, 1. FC Köln will start preparing for Union Berlin (Sunday, 5.30 p.m., DAZN) on Tuesday afternoon (November 2, 2021).
Mathias Olesen trains with professionals from 1. FC Köln
Coach Steffen Baumgart (49) welcomes Mathias Olesen (20), a U21 player, on the pitch. The midfielder is a regular in Mark Zimmermann’s (47) regional league team and scored a hat trick against Rot Weiss Ahlen (6: 2) two weeks ago.
For Ellyes Skhiri (26, fracture of the fibula head), on the other hand, only rehab is still the order of the day, the Tunisian comeback is not yet in sight. Central defender Timo Hübers (25) is only training individually at the start, Jens Castrop (18) and Niklas Hauptmann (25) are also absent injured or ill.
Full playing time for Jonas Hector and Salih Özcan
The two days of regeneration after the English week should have been good for two Cologne residents in particular: Captain Jonas Hector (31) and Sechser Salih Özcan (23). The two were the only FC professionals against Bayer Leverkusen (2: 2), VfB Stuttgart (2: 0) and Borussia Dortmund (0: 2) over the full distance – more than 270 minutes in six days.
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The next English week awaits opponents Union Berlin (sixth place in the Bundesliga) thanks to the Conference League: The bottom of Group E (three points from three games) will receive on Thursday evening (November 4th, 9 p.m.) in the Olympic Stadium in Feyenoord Rotterdam. The first leg went 3-1 to the Dutch.
Union hopes for the return of Max Kruse (33). The ex-national player recently missed the cup at Waldhof Mannheim (3: 1 after extra time) and in the league against Bayern (2: 5) due to foot and thigh problems. On Tuesday, Kruse was back on the training ground, completing an individual unit with athletics coach Christopher Busse (31).