“We tried everything, but the goal was missing,” said Faride Alidou, who missed the game’s biggest chance in the 71st minute, on Sky: “It hurts extremely because we really need the goals. We are at full throttle given, but without goals we can’t win games.”
In the final phase, goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe even went forward – but it didn’t help. “It’s extremely sad that we couldn’t give the fans what they deserve,” said the goalkeeper: “That wasn’t enough.”
The people of Cologne now have to look powerless ahead of the Sunday games in Heidenheim and Berlin. Should FSV Mainz 05 win at 1. FC Heidenheim and Union Berlin and VfL Bochum also draw, Cologne would certainly be relegated. Christian Keller was visibly trying not to use the bad word “relegation”. “Of course we’re not naive and we know what can happen tomorrow. We know that we’ll be on the sofa tomorrow…” said the sports director of 1. FC Köln and paused: “… that it’s going to happen can move in the wrong direction.”
By the “wrong direction” Keller means the seventh relegation in the club’s history to the 2nd Bundesliga, which he shortly afterwards described as “the bad scenario”. And Keller knows that, not just after the missed three-pointer against SC Freiburg, “this is also a real scenario. But we also know that we have to play tomorrow first and that we might get a mini chance,” Keller continued.
“We still hope,” said Alidou. If, in addition to a Mainz victory, there is also a winner at the Alte Försterei, there would be at least a minimal remaining chance if there was a six point deficit with two games remaining.
Even Freiburg’s captain Christian Günter suffered after the final whistle. “As a footballer, everyone’s heart bleeds. They still have a little chance left, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them. The fans, the city and the stadium deserve to be in the first league,” said Günter, whose team is in seventh place in the European Cup jumped.