1. FC Köln: How Baumgart got Modeste back into shape

The old song, with which the supporters of 1. FC Köln pay homage to their striker Anthony Modeste, now looks a little out of place. Ikke Hüftgold's Schlager comes from the spring of 2017, when the world looked different. When 1. FC Köln was a different club and Modeste was a different person. The line "Who gives Donald Trump the rest - Anthony Modeste" today seems as dusty as "Who bites on the counter – Anthony Modeste".

Trump has been voted out, Modeste has become a very serious footballer, and 1. FC Köln, well: is not a European Cup participant like 2017, but a club from which no one can say exactly where it will develop. But the hopes are high, so the Cologne supporters sang the Modeste song after the 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen, after all, the 33-year-old attacker had turned the afternoon into a small spectacle with two goals.

Modeste has matured, and with the coach Steffen Baumgart he has obviously found a very harmonious connection. Again and again, the coach and the best Cologne shooter tell of their open approach. In a conversation before the season, both decided to work together with full energy and to trust each other.

Since then, they regularly exchange more or less hidden flattery or tease each other. On Sunday, Modeste reported that interjections like the one before the 2:2, which Sebastian Andersson had forwarded to his head, are "worked out in training". So he left part of the glory to the coach. Especially since Modeste had also made a serious mistake when he had favored Patrik Schicks 0:1 with an overambitious miss. 0:2 it was then, but the Cologne managed the turn of the game, the equaliser.

"That's our strength this season," said Modeste, who is apparently particularly receptive to Baumgart's messages. "I just asked my players to have courage during the break. That worked. "Our topic is passion," said sporting Director Jörg Jakobs. This inspires the fans and apparently also touches Modeste.