Coach Manuel Baum’s quiet personality and stark soccer philosophy, has turned the fortunes of the team within a timeframe of four months. Baum stopped the embarrassing losses under ex-coach Sandro Wagner. And the good news is: Augsburg will play in the Bundesliga next season after a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt at home last weekend.
Baum is not prone to hyperbole or grandstanding while chatting with journalists. He states his goals in concise and meaningful ways. Baum originally was the head of development and innovation at FC Augsburg. He took the reins of the team on an ad hoc basis, but it appears it could be a permanent solution soon.
Augsburg and Baum to decide the next steps
The CEO of Augsburg, Michael Stroell, appeared on Bayerische Rundfunk program Blickpunkt Sport and gave some insights about the next step: “We agreed that we want to put our full focus on the season. It makes sense to have those discussions after the season. We want to take things one step at a time. First, the conversation with Manuel—then a decision will be made. “
FC Augsburg players want Baum to stay on the sidelines next season. Midfield player Fabian Rieder said after the match on Saturday, “It’s always a change when there’s a new coach. We’ve settled in now. You can see how we’ve developed and how he has stabilized us. He’s done a great job. “
Baum currently concentrates on finishing the season strongly. “For the club, it’s always important to think about how we want to achieve our goals and who is the best fit for that. I have a job to do, and that is to make the last three games of the second half of the season as successful as possible.”
The beauty of football lies in so many hypotheses on how to win a game. But Baum has worked his Midas touch on the team, and good enough for next season.
