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Cologne (dpa) - For once, Friedhelm Funkel has no problem with the fact that his successor is constantly being discussed in the media.

On the contrary.

The coach of the Bundesliga soccer team 1. FC Köln is at the side of sports director Horst Heldt in an advisory capacity and also expresses the opinion publicly that it could work with Peter Stöger as the new coach.

However, this constellation, unusual at first glance, is logical.

The 67-year-old sparkle was signed by the FC on April 12th as a savior from the pension.

And even if FC recently celebrated two wins, Funkel wants to end his coaching career for good this summer.

He definitely noticed the strain, he said these days.

And he doesn't want to do that to himself for a whole season.

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So Funkel powers everything into the remaining three, with relegation a maximum of five games.

And wants to hand over the FC, which he had already trained from 2002 to 2003 and to which he is attached to the Rhenish rival Fortuna Düsseldorf despite his emotional four years, as the first division.

And he doesn't care who.

"I exchanged ideas with Friedhelm intensively because his opinion is very, very important to me," said Heldt, who used the last 14-day break to hold talks with candidates.

“Of course the break helped.

Also, because of the new direction.

We used it accordingly. "

How the conversations with Stöger went - which took place virtually instead of in Vienna because of a positive corona test by the Austrian - the fans could read in detail in the media.

Stöger, who led FC to the Europa League in 2017 after 25 years of abstinence, would be interested in principle.

Private resentments after his departure in December 2017 have been dispelled.

There was always close contact with Heldt's colleague, Managing Director Alexander Wehrle.

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But Stöger is not the only candidate. Some media report a total of five candidates, others even seven. The former Bayern professional and HSV coach Thorsten Fink, who announced his resignation at Vissel Kobe in Japan in September, is sure to make the selection. The same applies to Steffen Baumgart, who leaves SC Paderborn at the end of the season, but is also courted by Hamburger SV and Hannover 96. There are also rumors about Edin Terzic (should be back from head coach to assistant in Dortmund in the summer), former FC striker Bruno Labbadia (most recently Hertha BSC) or André Breitenreiter (most recently Hanover).

The open league membership of the table penultimate before the third last game of the season on Sunday (1.30 p.m. / Sky) against SC Freiburg makes negotiations more difficult for both sides.

Nevertheless, Heldt wants to present a solution in the foreseeable future.

After all, the goal is to "plan the new season with the new head coach."

Whether the FC then plays in the 1st or 2nd division is up to Funkel.

And the veteran also has an important say in his successor.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210508-99-517296 / 2

FC's Twitter channel with statements from the PK