Cologne: Modeste – uncertain future despite resurrection
Cologne/Munich – Derby time in the Bundesliga!
1. FC Köln take on Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday afternoon (from 3:30 p.m. in the live ticker). While Bayer wants to underpin its Champions League ambitions, Cologne can still dream of international business with 36 points in eighth place.
Coach Steffen Baumgart’s team is five points behind in sixth place at the moment. Pleasing: The relegation should no longer be an issue in the cathedral city at this point. The view tends to be upwards. One of the reasons for this is the resurrection of Anthony Modeste.
This season, the Frenchman is continuing long-forgotten days in FC dress. 18 goals in 27 games is his impressive record, which probably would not have given him so many credits before the season. But Baumgart rebuilt the attacker and got him back in top form.
Modeste with special ties to Baumgart
In addition to the daily training work, Baumgart repeatedly gave his protégé confidence and courage in one-to-one talks. The reward: Modeste meets eleven alone in the first half of the Bundesliga season. In the meantime, the 33-year-old was responsible for over 47 percent of all FC goals. Accordingly, he drew a clear conclusion after the last party of 2021: “Almost the same squad, but everything has changed with a great coach.”
Baumgart also paid tribute to his striker, in his own way: “Tony does, Tony does, Tony works. But he can’t do it alone. He crowns what we all work together.” In addition to all sporting qualities, Modeste also caused a few laughs after his goals.
On one occasion he splashed water on his coach’s face and on another occasion he took his manager’s cap and placed it on his head. The Internet celebrated both actions, which some months ago seemed unthinkable, after all, Modeste would probably not have been put in the way last summer if an offer to Geißbockheim had fluttered here.
Did Baumgart prevent Modeste’s departure?
But the 33-year-old stayed, also because coach Baumgart spoke out against a sale. The reward is a striker’s tally of goals not seen since the 2016/17 season. Back then, Modeste scored 25 goals for FC. But then his fall began with the move to China, which brought him a princely salary and FC a lavish sum of around 30 million euros.
But the feel-good factor from the Cologne days was missing, and there were millions of less time disputes regarding the reported annual salary of eleven euros. In the end, this even led to a legal dispute.
In 2018 he returned to Cologne, which had to be tried again in court. From a purely sporting point of view, Modeste could not tie in with the time before he moved to China – until Baumgart gave him new impetus. But it is possible that the 33-year-old will soon be turning his back on the cathedral city, because his contract expires in 2023 and those responsible for FC do not want to lose him on a free transfer. The motto in summer is also extend or say goodbye.
Modeste: farewell or extension in the summer
According to reports, a high-value offer from Saudi Arabia was already on the table in winter, but Modeste and the club rejected it after joint consideration. Recently, the 33-year-old got a little restless. He of “Bild”: “I need a bit of security. If nothing comes from FC, then I have to look somehow.”
However, his advisor is said to be in town and to discuss Modeste’s future with the FC officials. It is unclear to what extent the club would like to pay for the goals and charisma of Modeste, who has long enjoyed cult status among fans, in the future.
If another high-value offer comes from abroad in the summer, both sides could probably part ways a second time. But until then, Modeste will probably just keep scoring goals, even against rivals Leverkusen. Because goals are the best arguments for all possible future options.
Markus Bosch
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