Fortuna Cologne: head of sport about false start, trainer position and reinforcements
This is a start to the season to forget: one point and 1:7 goals, Fortuna Cologne started the 2022/2023 series with this record. No wonder those responsible are dissatisfied.
The past weekend had changed Fortune Cologne imagined very differently. After three games without a win, the Rhinelanders finally wanted to get the first three at SG Wattenscheid, who had previously lost 8-0 in Ahlen. But nothing came of this plan.
Because Fortuna was not able to redeem itself for the weak start to the season, but the Wattenscheider made the 0:8 swatter in Ahlen forgotten and defeated the Cologne team 3:0. At the latest after this game it was clear: Fortuna Cologne had messed up the start of the season.
No! The coach is not up for discussion at all. We are in a situation where we clearly analyze and declare that we are all in the same boat.
Matthew Mink
“It’s a false start. We don’t need to talk about it,” emphasizes Matthias Mink, Fortuna’s sports director, to RevierSport. He adds: “All the players, everyone on the staff, everyone in charge, the entire Fortuna environment are disappointed. Of course, we imagined it differently.”
The people of Cologne underwent a major upheaval in the summer. But regulars like Andre Weiß, Maik Kegel, Dominik Lanius, Jan-Luca Rumpf and Sascha Marquet have also stayed in the south of Cologne. “They are all established players. I don’t want to dig into the past, but the development isn’t what we had in mind,” says Mink.
The head of sports indicates that not everything was good at Fortuna at the end of the past season. As a reminder: In February and March, the people of Cologne were still dreaming of promotion to the third division. In the end they had to settle for fifth place.
But of course: Mink doesn’t want to make any excuses either and knows that the current team simply doesn’t deliver enough. The reasons for the false start? “There are many things that we deal with. But we discuss that internally and don’t communicate it externally. I can reveal this much: the elementary things in football are currently missing. It’s important that everyone reaches their performance limit. I demand in the next few games that the elementary things can be seen on the pitch,” replies the 55-year-old.
Even if the start of the season failed, coach Markus von Ahlen need not worry. Mink strengthens the Fortuna coach’s new back. “No! The coach is not up for discussion at all. We are in a situation where we are clearly analyzing and declaring that we are all on board,” emphasizes Mink, who still promises reinforcements to a coach: “We are watching the market and see who can help us.”