FC Augsburg: Defeat before and after the re-start

FCA now sit just four points above Fortuna Düsseldorf and, therefore, the relegation zone. This is largely down to the team’s disappointing performances in the Rückrunde, having only won just one game in the second half of the season so far, coming in a 2-1 home win over Werder Bremen. Augsburg have picked up just four points from their last eleven Bundesliga matches, including a run of four consecutive defeats.

Back at the start of March, a day after their 2-0 defeat against Bayern Munich, Martin Schmidt was relieved of his duties as head coach. Just 72 hours later Heiko Herrlich was announced as his replacement. Herrlich was originally planning to take charge of his first game against VfL Wolfsburg back in mid-March, however this fixture, along with the rest of the Bundesliga, was suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Herrlich fails to adhere to hygiene regulations

Herrlich was absent from the dugout in Augsburg’s restart of the Bundesliga season against Wolfsburg last weekend. The former professional had broken the DFL hygiene rules by leaving quarantine in the team hotel to purchase hygiene products. Herrlich had spoken about his unauthorised trip nonchalantly in his press conference, unaware of the consequences of his actions. Herrlich later apologised for his behaviour, which he had taken lots of criticism for. “I was naïve, silly, foolish, whatever you want to call it,” the 48-year-old told the German newspaper “Bild.”

Tobias Zellner, former S04 assistant coach to Markus Weinzierl, therefore took control of the side for their game against the Wolves. Despite the long break in play, Augsburg’s luck hadn’t changed. At 1-1, FCA had a goal disallowed for offside to prevent them from taking the lead, before Wolfsburg’s Daniel Ginczek netted a last-minute winner to earn his side all three points (2-1).