Baumgart on European qualification via loss: "I'm grinning on the inside."
FC Köln trainer Steffen Baumgärtner obviously wasn't in the most celebratory of moods following his side's 0-1 loss to Wolfsburg.
The fact that Hoffenheim's loss still guaranteed his team a spot in Europe nevertheless left the Effzeh head-coach with something to celebrate.
Hoffenheim's loss to Leverkusen meant that it didn't matter in 1. FC Köln didn't come out winners at home on Saturday against Wolfsburg. At the very least, the seventh-placed will at least get a chance to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs. Not bad for a team that only avoided relegation last season via the playoffs.
The fact that Hoffenheim's loss still guaranteed his team a spot in Europe nevertheless left the Effzeh head-coach with something to celebrate.
"I'm not in a celebratory mood just yet," head-coach Steffen Baumgart remarked afterwards, "but when I look at the table and think of the whole season, I'm grinning inside. I congratulated my team. The guys put forth everything into a successful season."
"It's a little hard for me to experience euphoria about seventh place now," he continued, "I'm happy that we're at least playing in an international qualifier, but I'm still angry about the loss."
Baumgasrt did go on to note that, regarding the loss, his team "didn't do too much wrong".
Lead striker Anthony Modeste also noted that he found it strange to receive congratulations after losing during his post match interview. The team's leading goalscorer then took a look ahead at next week's season finale at Stuttgart.
"We still have a chance to get into the Europa League," Modeste noted, "the season isn't over yet."
Köln can technically still rise as high as fifth-place before the season is out. Qualification for the Champions' League--due to goal differential--appears to be out of reach.