Who would select Augsburg when Dortmund, Leverkusen, or Leipzig come knocking? Who would go to the embodiment of grey Bundesliga mediocrity? Sandro Wagner selected FCA, which, with its new head coach, lastly desires to turn into horny. Collectively, they’re going all in and taking massive dangers.
Jess Thorup and Marinko Jurendic felt this new self-image lower than a 12 months later. Regardless of a worry-free season, the coach and sporting director needed to go away final Could. The brand new supervisor matches the specified picture higher: a passionate Porsche driver and most just lately assistant coach of the German nationwide group.
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The dismissals of Thorup and Jurendic additionally present that, opposite to fashionable perception, Wagner didn’t select a simple activity to start out his head teaching profession within the Bundesliga. Augsburg made it clear in Could {that a} snug twelfth-place end is not sufficient.
So Wagner cannot simply ease his approach in, see how the Bundesliga works, and, if mandatory, depend on the supposed un-relegatability of the Fuggerstadt membership. He has to ship. And he has to ship what none of his predecessors might: engaging attacking soccer.
So, was it a hasty determination? Wagner’s contract with the DFB ran till after the 2026 World Cup. If Julian Nagelsmann had been to even come near fulfilling his World Cup promise, Sandro Wagner’s status would have risen as effectively. Success is horny.
The perfect proof of that is Hansi Flick. In 2014, he gained the World Cup as Jogi Löw’s assistant. His subsequent head teaching job was at FC Bayern, the place he gained the treble. Wagner, nevertheless, is leaving the consolation zone of the DFB and risking his at the moment superb status at Augsburg.
📸 Matthias Hangst – 2018 Getty Pictures
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If he has forgotten how shortly you possibly can go from hero to zero within the Bundesliga, Nuri Şahin can absolutely remind him. Additionally thought-about an distinctive teaching expertise, the 36-year-old needed to go away BVB after simply half a season final 12 months. There have been no new gives from high golf equipment since then. His teaching profession has stalled. Wagner is just a 12 months older.
A self-confident individual like him might rightly counter that the world belongs to the courageous. That’s what connects him with the brand new FC Augsburg. Solely the literal interaction isn’t fairly working but.
Wagner has declared lively soccer as his DNA. That’s an enormous change for the Bavarian Swabians, who beforehand typically performed reactively. This grew to become particularly obvious within the double pleasant towards Rot-Weiß Essen. FCA misplaced the primary match 1-2. Each objectives conceded got here from counterattacks after the Bundesliga facet misplaced the ball whereas pushing ahead.
Within the second match of the day, nevertheless, the brand new taking part in type labored completely. By way of continued intense play with and with out the ball, FCA compelled a 4-1 victory. The importance of friendlies is actually restricted. Nonetheless, it means that the boring soccer in Augsburg is over, a method or one other. In any case, the coach desires to see a method of soccer that takes as many dangers as he has in his personal profession planning. And as Wagner himself famous after the Essen matches, they “nonetheless have a whole lot of work” forward of them.
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This work then started on the coaching camp. Whether or not it was profitable shall be seen in just below two weeks in the beginning of the season within the DFB-Pokal after which within the Bundesliga. However the eyes of the soccer world are already on Augsburg. A primary, small milestone on the best way to an FCAura has already been reached.
This text was translated into English by Synthetic Intelligence.
📸 Christian Kaspar-Bartke – 2025 Getty Pictures