The German Football Weekly - FC Köln: The Preview
The Bundesliga season is just a matter of days away, so it’s time to preview every side ahead of another exciting campaign. Today Neel Shelat joins us to discuss FC Köln The Story of Last Season:Undoubtedly, the 2021/22 season was one of the best in FC Köln’s recent history. They accumulated their highest-ever points tally in the top-flight in the three points for a win era, and their seventh-placed finish was enough to secure European football for this season. That was quite a turnaround for a side that only avoided relegation in 2020/21 by beating Holstein Kiel in the play-off. New manager Steffen Baumgart certainly deserves a lot of credit for this, as he has instilled an energetic and fast-paced style of play that thoroughly entertained fans and neutrals alike... as did his flat caps. All is not rosy for the Billy Goats, though. While they have undeniably made some massive improvements from the previous few seasons, the underlying numbers suggest that a European spot was perhaps more than their performance merited. Their xGD (Expected Goal Difference – the difference between their Expected Goals accumulated and Expected Goals conceded) was negative, and they would finish in the bottom half of the table purely based on that. Nonetheless, it was a great season for Köln, and I doubt any of their fans will resist a European tour purely because they overperformed their xGD. The Star Player:For many of the other teams, it could be tough to pick out a single star player. For FC Köln, though, it is fairly easy – Anthony Modeste. The 34-year-old striker is a cult hero in Köln now, and was one of the main protagonists behind their Europa Conference League qualification. His achievements from the 2021/22 campaign include notching 20 Bundesliga goals - joining an elite list that includes Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland and Christopher Nkunku - and more importantly, snatching the flat cap off his manager’s head. Baumgart was not particularly humoured when that happened, but he surely would have enjoyed Modeste’s goals. The French striker’s statistics also highlight the caveat of xG overperformance, but he outperformed his tally of 17.3 by just 2.7, so there are no signs that suggest he will suffer any major drop-offs if he can stay fit. The fact that Modeste scored well over a third of his team’s league goals – more than both Lewandowski and Haaland in percentage terms – tells you all you need to know about his importance to this Köln side. The U23 One to Watch:...Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to The German Football Weekly to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
|
Key phrases
Older messages
Schalke 04: The Preview
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
The Bundesliga season is just a matter of days away, so it's time to preview every side ahead of another exciting campaign.
VFL Bochum: The Preview
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
The Bundesliga season is just a matter of days away, so it's time to preview every side ahead of another exciting campaign.
ONE YEAR LATER: A Special Message
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Exciting Notes on the Future of The German Football Weekly
The Transfer Review: Borussia Dortmund
Friday, July 22, 2022
With just a matter of days to go until the 2022/23 Bundesliga kicks off, it's time to look at where Borussia Dortmund stand heading into their 10th consecutive season without a Bundesliga title to
The Ultimate Zweite Bundesliga Preview
Friday, July 15, 2022
In mere hours, a brand new season of the Zweite Bundesliga will be upon us. Who will succeed, who will fail, and what other twists and turns the 49th season has in store is all explored today!
You Might Also Like
FC Augsburg: The Bundesliga's Unfancied Over-Achievers
Thursday, March 28, 2024
FC Augsburg have collected 35 points, & have won 4 consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time since 2014. What has allowed one of the league's relegation candidates to speed towards
Special Edition: Spring has sprung
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Optimism, renewed
This is what it sounds like when Dubs cry
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Back to reality for Draymond Green and the Warriors. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Play Ball ⚾️
Thursday, March 28, 2024
MLB Opening Day is Here. Sweet 16 Previews. Draymond Ejected. Audi Crooks Underdog & More...
Kick-Flip & A Betting Reckoning
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
NFL Changes Kickoff Format. The Sports Betting Reckoning, Lakers Rally From 19 Down & More...
Everything You Need to Know About the Premier League Title Race
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
OK, not everything. But I looked at every game Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal still have to play — and then I ranked them all, in order of difficulty: City's non-penalty xG differential at
Get ready to learn Jontay Porter, buddy
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Like clockwork, a betting scandal hits the NBA. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How Sweet It Is
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
More Caitlin Clark History. A Ridiculous NBA Rally. Sho & Tell. NFL's Hip-Drop Ban & More...
Sweet 16: The Revenge Tour?
Monday, March 25, 2024
Purdue, Duke & More on Madness Revenge Runs. Women's Sweet 16, USMNT's CNL Dub & More...
Why Is European Soccer Still So, Uh, I Don't Know, Dumb?
Friday, March 22, 2024
A couple weeks ago, I moderated a panel at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference with the following people: -Sarah Rudd, co-founder of src | ftbl, former head of analytics at Arsenal -Ian Graham,