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Koln parted ways with head coach Steffen Baumgart following a string of poor results.
Kenyan winger Linton Maina and his FC Koln team-mates will have to begin preparations for the second half of the season without a replacement for head coach Steffen Baumgart, who left the club by mutual agreement in December.
The Bundesliga club confirmed on Sunday that interim coach Andre Pawlak will take charge of the first training session of the new calendar year on Tuesday.
Eleven days later, the Billy Goats will play a crucial home match against 1. FC Heidenheim.
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Baumgart left his position as head coach after 17th-placed Köln lost 2-0 to Union Berlin in their final game of 2023.
To make matters worse, the club will not be allowed to sign any new players in the next two transfer windows.
On December 21, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed the transfer ban imposed by FIFA earlier this year.
Baumgart took over at the RheinEnergieStadion in summer 2021 after a successful four-year spell at Paderborn, guiding a team that had only survived relegation the previous season via the play-offs up to seventh and into the UEFA Europa Conference League with a style of play built on attacking whenever possible.
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The 51-year-old’s second season at the helm saw an 11th-place finish in the Bundesliga, while the European journey ended in the group stage.
"Everyone can imagine that the decision to leave FC Koln was not an easy one for me. The club has become my home over the last two and a half years. What we have achieved here together with the team, my coaching team and the entire club makes me proud," Baumgart said in his official statement.
"At the same time, this is also the reason why I now feel that a change is needed. FC Koln is above everything else - and although we have invested a lot in the last few weeks and months, the results are lacking.
"It probably needs a new impetus after all. It hurts to leave, but I am grateful for my time here and would like to thank everyone at FC Koln with whom I have worked here with a lot of heart and closeness, especially the people in charge, my coaching team, my team and the fans."
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17:28 - 29.12.2023
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Maina has scored just one goal and registered another assist in the Bundesliga this season.
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