Bilbao, Belgrade, Alkmaar and the legendary Anfield Road in Liverpool – in the 2015/2016 season, FC Augsburg was among Europe’s top teams. After the 2-0 win against Union Berlin, the Swabians can now dream of Europe again.
FC Augsburg fans are already singing about Europe. Coaches and players weren’t quite that far along after the tough 2-0 (0-0) draw on Friday evening in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Union Berlin. But Augsburg’s desire for an international starting place is clear, and it is also realistic five match days before the end of the season.
“We will look forward to what is possible now,” said Danish coach Jess Thorup after the game. After he took office in October, when he took over the team as the successor to Enrico Maaßen in 15th place, he was laughed at when he certified the team’s great potential and indicated that he wanted to aim for higher goals in the medium term than just staying in the league play.
Seventh place could be enough for Europe
Six months later – much earlier than expected – his words seem to be confirmed. FCA is playing a very solid season and much more consistently than under Maaßen. Seventh place – which is what Augsburg currently holds – would entitle them to take part in the Europa Conference League play-offs if Bayer Leverkusen, who are heavy favorites in the final against second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern, win the DFB Cup.
And despite a difficult remaining program, even the Europa League is still possible. The gap to Eintracht Frankfurt, sixth in the table, has narrowed further. Only 1899 Hoffenheim and SC Freiburg, both of which have a significantly worse goal difference than FCA, are currently still in the race for seventh place.
The remaining program of FC Augsburg
Important duel in Frankfurt ahead
“This is now a positive pressure for the players. You can win a lot, win a lot. I don’t know how many points that will lead to,” said sports director Marinko Jurendic. The team can now “play freely”. You can see how free it is next Friday. Then the Augsburg team will be visiting Frankfurt and can keep the pressure on the Hessians high. And they could continue to dream of trips to Spain, the Netherlands or England.
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Source: Blickpunkt Sport April 14, 2024 – 9:45 p.m