Demands are growing: FCK boss Hengen sets the direction
After the season is before the season – 1. FC Kaiserslautern aims to finish with a better result next year. To achieve this, those in charge must work on many aspects.
Ambitious goals: Thomas Hengen wants to get FCK back to the top of the table. IMAGO/Football News Saarland
The final impression remains. It's not a pleasant one for FCK and its supporters. The 4-0 defeat in Cologne once again clearly demonstrated what separates the team from a truly top-flight outfit and put the finishing touches to a season that's not quite so easy to categorize.
On the one hand, seventh place in the table is more than expected after the disastrous previous season. On the other hand, given the weakening competition, much more was possible. The team has shown clear progress in terms of playing skills – and yet they didn't finish the season with the coach who started it. Torsten Lieberknecht succeeded Markus Anfang, becoming the fifth coach in two seasons. After his decent debut with seven points from four games, his challenge in the coming season will be to live up to the expectations of the club's management, led by Managing Director Thomas Hengen .
And those ambitions haven't diminished. "We've now finished seventh. We don't want to stay below that; we want to improve. We want to be back in the top bracket," Hengen announced in the Cologne catacombs. Those in charge at the Betzenberg aren't so keen on using the word "promotion," but the bottom line is that their goal means nothing more than wanting to have a say in the allocation of the top three spots.
A lot has to happen for that to happen, as this season, FCK has only very rarely been able to pose significant problems to the top teams in direct duels. FCK has won none of its six duels against the top three, and only one of its ten against the top five. The main problem became apparent once again in Cologne. The defense, which has conceded a total of 55 goals, is not fit for promotion. But that's not the only challenge.
Hengen and sporting director Marcel Klos face complex tasks. The squad is facing upheaval. The contracts of Jean Zimmer , Philipp Klement , Almamy Toure and Aaron Opoku expire on June 30th. The same applies to loan players Daisuke Yokota , Maximilian Bauer , Tim Breithaupt and Grant-Leon Ranos . Players such as Tobias Raschl and Afeez Aremu have not played a role in the sporting plans for some time. In addition, there are impending departures of key players. Top scorer Ragnar Ache will most likely leave FCK. Luca Sirch has also aroused interest - and left his future open after the season finale .
The problem with the leading playersThe squad will therefore have a completely new look next season. Lieberknecht, however, sees the need for changes regardless of upcoming departures. "The squad is massive with 25 players. Of course, there was a reason why. You started with an idea, then changed the idea, and suddenly you had a playing system where many players no longer found the right position. And that's how this squad came about. There are issues we need to address," the 51-year-old announced.
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An important aspect: Lieberknecht misses leaders. "I believe that you can develop young players into that role. But the fact is: they're not there at the level I'm used to right now. It's a very quiet team on the pitch." Friedhelm Funkel made a similar complaint about a year ago.
The coach declined to commit to a specific goal for the upcoming season. "First, the squad has to be finalized. But I'm ambitious enough, without trumpeting a goal, to say: I want to win more games than I lose. Then the right result will inevitably follow."
