Steffen Baumgart extends in Cologne with a handshake until 2025

Steffen Baumgart will stay with 1. FC Köln. As the club announced on Wednesday, the coach extended his contract by a year until 2025 with a handshake.

“We made a clear agreement last year: if it suits everyone, we’ll extend the contract for another year. That’s out of the question for me,” said Baumgart.

Baumgart took over FC for the 2021/22 season as the successor to Friedhelm Funkel and immediately led to seventh place and thus to the Conference League. Cologne is currently in eleventh place. “I just really enjoy working for FC and with my team. You see that every day,” said the 51-year-old: “We can still achieve a lot here.”

Most recently, both sides had already emphasized that they were very interested in continuing the cooperation. The Cologne football coach is now considered an icon among the supporters of the Rhinelanders and enjoys great popularity.

A formal signature is no longer necessary, Baumgart emphasized in January. “We made a very clear statement: We are no longer negotiating,” Baumgart told the Express: “If the club wants me to stay, it will go on for another year. I will not say no.” You don’t have to talk about money either.

The FC was completely convinced of Baumgart. “The overall development speaks for itself. Steffen and his team of coaches work with our team consistently and systematically along a clear game idea. Numerous players have seen positive personal performance development as a result,” said managing director Christian Keller: “It is therefore only logical that we, like agreed last summer to shake hands.”