Cologne survive another grueling Bundesliga season

It all started with four goals scored inside the opening 15 minutes. When the dust settled on a 5-1 win in one of the most memorable play-off ties in Bundesliga history though, it was Cologne left standing at the end of a bruising season. 

While there was precedent for the Billy Goats’ troubles on the pitch during the 2020/21 campaign, the challenges faced off it during a coronavirus-hit season have been the same unprecedented ones faced by clubs the world over. 

It was imperative to retain top-flight status and avoid the same fate suffered by Schalke and Werder Bremen, who have a combined 110 Bundesliga seasons to their name. Cologne had to dig deep to do it.

Cologne flip the script

Coming into the second leg, history beckoned for opponents Kiel who were aiming to become the 57th different team to feature in the Bundesliga era. A chance to become the latest team to continue a growing trend that has seen fresh faces replace traditional powerhouse in Germany’s top-flight since the turn of the century. 

With a 1-0 lead to defend and fans in attendance for the second leg on home soil, the deck seemed stacked in Kiel’s favor. The 2,334 supporters at the Holstein-Stadion, however, witnessed their side's hopes crumble as Cologne produced a royal flush of a first half.

Captain Jonas Hector carved out a dream start only for Jae-Sung Lee to level the scores, all with less than four minutes on the clock. Galvanized in the face of another setback the rate of scoring didn’t stop as Sebastian Andersson added a brace of his own by the 13-minute mark. 

Before half-time Rafael Czichos, who was part of the Kiel side that lost the relegation play-off against Wolfsburg in 2017/18, produced a strike that was vicious in more ways than one. It left his former in need of scoring three goals that never looked likely to come.

"Season has been hard for us mentally"

Cologne are no strangers to capitulation, but this wasn’t one of those games as they produced arguably their most complete performance of the season.

Kiel’s goalkeeper Ioannis Gelios kept the score line as respectable as possible with a string of fine saves in the second half, but couldn’t prevent the Billy Goats, who had only scored 34 goals in 34 games during the season, from adding a fifth through Ellyes Skhiri. 

It was the final tug back from the edge of an abyss that nullified fears of a record-equalling seventh relegation in the Bundesliga era for a side that lifted the title in the inaugural campaign in 1963. 

"This season has been so hard for us mentally, so this is a very nice feeling," said Andersson of a campaign that has included COVID-19 outbreaks, winless streaks and a late change in head coach. "It’s mostly relief right now. The last few weeks have been a lot of stress, but the whole season has been hard for us. Now we are done and we have to forget this season."

New coach, fresh Cologne?

Head coach Friedhelm Funkel’s rescue act was redemption for a failed attempt in 2002 and, at the age of 67, could be the curtain closer on a storied career. His successor Stefan Baumgart brings with him the promise of a fresh approach, fresh passion and a fresh start. Fortunately, for the former Paderborn boss, and crucially for Cologne his era begins in the Bundesliga.

The club are currently dealing with projected losses of over €63 million ($76.5 million) on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and retaining access to the top-flight’s rights packages was crucial in maintaining the sustainability of the club both on and off the pitch. Seasons like this one can no longer be afforded.

Cologne managed to ride another stormy campaign, but as has been the case since the early 1990s the question remains: when will calm return to the Cathedral City?