Luca Waldschmidt was once considered a great promise for German football. After the last two unlucky years at VfL Wolfsburg, the 27-year-old wants to start again at 1. FC Köln.
Cologne is probably just the right place for someone like Luca Waldschmidt. After all, the 27-year-old hasn’t exactly been at the peak of his career for some time. The fact that Waldschmidt is now in the hands of FC coach Steffen Baumgart should be a smart move by the offensive player.
Because Baumgart recently even managed to make attacker Davie Selke socially acceptable and able to play again. Not every football expert would have believed the Cologne football teacher capable of that. Now Waldschmidt, who is in the best footballing age, should and wants to benefit from Baumgart’s attention.
Up to the national team
The Rhenish Bundesliga club is loaning Waldschmidt from VfL Wolfsburg for a year, as FC confirmed on Tuesday. According to media reports, there should then be a purchase option for the Cologne team, which includes a three-year contract for the professional. But that’s still in the future. After all, Waldschmidt has to get back into the form that led him to the national team (7 games) a good four years ago as a player at SC Freiburg and made him one of the big promises in German football. But the native of Siegen is currently a long way from so much attention.
Happy year in Lisbon
Most recently in Wolfsburg, Waldschmidt almost never got beyond a reserve role after two completely screwed up seasons. After all, he scored four goals in 18 Bundesliga appearances. In his first year in Wolfsburg he only had 17 appearances (14 Bundesliga, 3 Champions League, 1 goal, 2 assists) to his credit. “My career shouldn’t be a roller coaster ride. Or let’s say: my career was enough of a roller coaster ride. I want more consistency, i.e. more ascent, no more steep descents. I’m solely responsible for this consistency,” said Waldschmidt last April.
The offensive player certainly did not think that his career would go down so quickly. In August 2020, Waldschmidt moved to top European club Benfica Lisbon for around 15 million euros, played there in the Europa League, made 43 competitive appearances in his one year in the Portuguese capital, scored twelve goals and prepared four more goals. A remarkable record for a newcomer. But the flight ended abruptly.
Only substitute players in Wolfsburg
Waldschmidt wanted to get back to the Bundesliga quickly and desperately – and tried his luck with the Wolves under coach Nico Kovac – who paid a fee of around twelve million euros for him – in vain. “What he lacked a bit was the duel, the robustness. He’s absolutely internalized that now,” said Kovac before the penultimate day of the season just ended. Therefore he would be able to offer him playing time as a substitute. Not exactly satisfactory for Waldschmidt.
The newcomer now sees a much better perspective with the Cologne team, where he could show off his advantages behind the strikers, as a number ten, with his sophisticated technique and his speed.
Waldschmidt can and wants to make a fresh start. In the position right behind attacker Davie Selke, Waldschmidt’s also long-unfortunate predecessor, who can tell him in detail about the special powers of the extroverted Cologne coach.