Stöger is still very popular in Cologne
According to information from the “Sport Bild” magazine, 1. FC Köln is concerned with Peter Stöger's return as a coach. Accordingly, there should be a meeting with those responsible for the club in the near future. Stöger worked in Cologne from 2013 to the end of 2017, leading the FC into the German Bundesliga. The sports director and coach had already announced last week that he was leaving Wiener Austria, which slipped into an existential crisis at the end of the season.
As penultimate in the table, Cologne are in acute danger of relegation four laps before the end. According to “Sport Bild” on Wednesday, Stöger has signaled his willingness to return to Cologne for both the first and the second division. After separating from Markus Gisdol a week and a half ago, the Cologne-based Friedhelm Funkel had been entrusted with the task of preventing relegation. The 67-year-old will definitely quit after the season.
After his engagements in Germany in Cologne and Dortmund in 2019, Stöger returned to Wiener Austria – initially as a sports director, and since the previous summer also as a coach, not least due to limited financial resources. The former ÖFB team player will definitely not extend his contract with the Violettes. The uncertainties surrounding the association, for which the deadline for the subsequent submission of license documents ended on Wednesday (today), seemed too great for him.
Despite the separation in 2017, Stöger still enjoys very high popularity ratings in Cologne. The Viennese not only led the club back to the Bundesliga in 2014, but also to the European Cup three years later for the first time in 25 years. According to “Sport Bild” information, Cologne's managing director Alexander Wehrle and sports director Horst Heldt reported on April 11 for Stöger's 55th birthday. Since then it has been about the coaching job.
