Augsburg

Yeni Haberler

FC Augsburg

Two FCA players hoping to reach EURO 2024

The semi-finals and finals of the play-offs will be played on Thursday, 21st March and Tuesday, 26th March (both at 20:45 CET). The winners of the three finals will qualify for this summer’s tournament. 12 teams are taking part in the play-offs, including Ermedin Demirović’s Bosnia and Herzegovina.

FC Augsburg

Jakić: “A clear indicator of our self-confidence”

Kristijan Jakić: “If we were just thinking about the first half, we wouldn’t have deserved the win. We were fortunate to have equalised just prior to the break. We upped our game after play resumed and delivered a strong performance, which allowed us to pick up all three points. We’re happy to have won our fourth game on the trot, as it’s a clear indicator of the self confidence we have as a team. After the international break, we’ll up it to five with a victory over Köln. Of course, I’m also thrilled to have scored two Bundesliga goals in one game for the first time in my career. That was the icing on the cake for me today.”

Arne Maier: “Firstly, I want to say well done to the whole team. Four wins in a row, that’s something that we should be proud of and continue to build on. Nevertheless, the win was certainly hard-fought, as we didn’t perform well before the break. The game was turned on its head they were given their red card and we equalised just before half time, which provided us with a new lease of life. We handled the numerical advantage well, and I’m obviously thrilled that my goal contributed towards the win. However, coming away with all three points as a team is obviously the highlight from today.”

FC Augsburg

FCA make it four wins in a row with 3-1 triumph in Wolfsburg!

Head coach Jess Thorup sent out the same starting line-up for the third game in a row against a Wolfsburg team that are on a 10-game wait for a win. Mads Pedersen was back in the squad after serving his red-card suspension, while Elvis Rexhbecaj and Tim Breithaupt both missed out due to illness. 

FCA arrived in Wolfsburg with plenty of confidence, having won each of their last three league matches on the bounce. However, the hosts were able to get off to a strong start and took the lead in the ninth minute through Patrick Wimmer. The Austrian was able to score on the turn following a corner. VfL remained in control in the minutes that followed, with Mathias Svanberg (10′), Maximilian Arnold (14′) and Ridle Baku (15′) each going close. 

Thorup’s side were able to find their way into the match as time went on, but were unable to create many chances. Shortly before the break, Wimmer fouled Kevin Mbabu on the edge of the box. Referee Timo Gerach reacted by showing Wimmer a red card for having denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Arne Maier stepped up to take the free kick, which took a deflection on its way into the back of the net to level the scores (45+3′).

FC Augsburg

Thorup: “Carry our confidence into the Wolfsburg game”

The 1-0 win against Heidenheim last time out was, in the eyes of head coach Jess Thorup, a typically competitive clash: “We defended very well, gave away almost no chances and scored from a set piece.” His side’s third win in a row moved them up to ninth in the table, but according to Thorup, that is no cause for complacency. “It’s a whole new game – anything could happen! We want to carry our confidence into the Wolfsburg game and come away with a positive result,” said the Dane.
Augsburg have only won four Bundesliga games on the bounce on one occasion, between November and December 2014. Thorup knows that “wins breed confidence. You can see that on the pitch and also in the dressing room.” The FCA head coach described his team’s upcoming opponents as “a highly-motivated team who know what it’s all about,” going on to say: “It will be a tight game, but we’re in a good rhythm and we want to make the most of that.”

FC Augsburg

FCA extend winning run with 1-0 triumph against Heidenheim

The head coach had the same squad on offer to face Heidenheim as in the 6-0 goalfest against Darmstadt last weekend. The hosts were without Mads Pedersen (suspended) and Patric Pfeiffer (thigh issue), as well as former FCH man Niklas Dorsch (foot). 

FCA needed just nine seconds to record their first chance of the afternoon, as Kevin Mbabu was able to get off a shot from inside the Heidenheim area. Finn Dahmen was then called up on parry a shot from Jan-Niklas Beste (10′), before the hosts would go on to take the lead. Arne Maier swung in a corner to the far post, where Jeffrey Gouweleeuw was there to meet it, netting his first goal of the season (23′). 

Augsburg had managed to score three set-piece goals in this season’s reverse fixture against Heidenheim, celebrating a 5-2 win in Thorup’s maiden game at the club. Dead balls are normally one of FCH’s strong suits as well, and travelled to Augsburg sitting in 11th place. The hosts were able to keep them quiet in the opening half, however, and took a 1-0 lead with them into the break. 

FC Augsburg

Maier: “Winning three straight games is a great feeling”

Ermedin Demirović: “Today’s game was very physical and a little bit ugly, which is why we’re extremely happy to have gotten our next three points. We’re enjoying ourselves at the minute and we’re on a good path. Every week, it’s clear to see that we’re playing as a team – everyone fights for each other and we’re able to defend well right until the end, like we did today. We’re a really strong team and we’re capable of beating any side we come up again, especially with the support of our fans. We need to take this euphoria with us, but also remain grounded and focused on the task at hand.” 

Arne Maier: “Winning three straight games is a great feeling, and it’s reflected in the dressing room right now. We knew that Heidenheim would be a tough opponent and were prepared to contest lots of challenges and defend lots of long balls, but we did well to withstand the pressure and managed to come out on top of a tough game thanks to a set-piece goal. The three points are staying in Augsburg, which is the most important thing – I’m extremely happy for the entire team. Next, we come up against Wolfsburg, which is what we’re fully focused on now. We want to keep picking up points.”

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: “It’s an incredible feeling because it’s a rare thing for us to win three straight games. I think that it wasn’t an amazing game, based on the quality of the football on show, as we didn’t have many chances and neither did Heidenheim. We gave up a little bit of our control over the game in the second half, but are still able to draw a lot of confidence from this win, while keeping our feet firmly planted in reality. I’m very happy that I was able to score the winning goal today, but at the same time, I’m also extremely happy for Finn and the rest of the team that we managed to keep back-to-back clean sheets.” 

Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg head coach): “Today was our third win in a row, which is proof of the development that the team has undergone in the last weeks and months. From my point of view, we were in control for the entire first half and were able to take the lead despite not creating many chances. The game was very physical and it came down to who won the second balls, while we also defended well and deservedly won in the end. Playing at home in front of our fans and a sell-out crowd is always a great feeling.” 

Frank Schmidt (1. FC Heidenheim head coach): “Congratulations to Jess and his team. Overall, it wasn’t the best Bundesliga game today, but as expected, it was very physical. We shouldn’t have allowed Augsburg to take the lead from a set piece – we weren’t alert enough and it’s tough to then come back against a team brimming with confidence. Both sides defended well in the middle of the park, but we lacked precision and power in our attack today. Of course we’re frustrated about the defeat, because it was a close game, but we will put it behind us and now have another opportunity to do better at home next week.” 

FC Augsburg

Thorup: “We want to get our third consecutive win”

It is also a special clash for Jess Thorup as the 54-year-old Dane’s first game as FCA head coach came in the return fixture. “It was a great start for the team and me,” recalled Thorup, looking back at the 5-2 away win in which the Fuggerstädter were able to come back from 2-0 down. “We’ve developed really well in the last 17 games, both out of possession, as well as with the ball,” FCA’s head coach explained, displaying his satisfaction. 

FC Augsburg

A historic 6-0 win in Darmstadt!

Head coach Jess Thorup made two changes to his starting line-up, following last weekend’s 2-1 win against SC Freiburg. Arne Maier began on the left side of midfield, while Jeffrey Gouweleeuw returned at centre-back after serving his yellow-card suspension. 

FCA put on a spectacular attacking display for the more than 1,500 travelling fans that accompanied them to Darmstadt in the opening half of Saturday’s game at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor. Phillip Tietz scored just two minutes in after capitalising on a major defensive error from the hosts, before Fredrik Jensen added a second after a pass from Ruben Vargas (13’). Ermedin Demirović then beat goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen with a well-struck shot, putting FCA 3-0 up after just 20 minutes. 

The visitors continued to add to their account, with Vargas smashing their fourth of the afternoon in under the bar (25’). Demirović notched his second goal of the game four minutes later, his 14th of the season overall. In doing so, he set a new club record, beating the previous best set by Michael Gregoritsch and Florian Niederlechner (both 13). It was a historic goal for FCA in many ways: never before had the Függestädter managed to net five times in a single half. 

FC Augsburg

Tietz: “An incredible performance and statement win”

Finn Dahmen: “I’ve never experienced anything like that before in the Bundesliga. We did an extremely good job, were clinical in front of goal and were enjoying ourselves on the pitch. Darmstadt were unlucky, also because we forced them into making errors in their build-up play. That played right into our hands. All of a sudden, it was 5-0 and we had just one goal for the second half: to keep a clean sheet. Thank God we managed to achieve that too, and overall it was a great performance.” 

Phillip Tietz: “I only have good memories from my time at Darmstadt, so I was feeling emotional even before kick off. I owe the club a lot, which is why it wouldn’t have been right to celebrate after my goals. I’m extremely happy about the three points and our incredible performance, in a statement win for us. It’s good for us to take it week by week – we’ll celebrate this win today and enjoy tomorrow as well, but then we’ll direct our focus to Heidenheim. We want to give our fans reason to celebrate once again.” 

Ermedin Demirović: “It was an extremely good performance from us. We started well into the match, pressed hard and were clinical enough to score many goals in the first half. I’ve been asked a lot about the goalscoring record – I just feel really good at the moment and that makes it possible to achieve something like this. We wanted to prove that Augsburg can play good football and that we’re an attractive club to watch. Augsburg can do better than just finish in 15th.” 

Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg head coach): “After a strong performance against Freiburg, we really wanted to make it back-to-back wins. We put our opponents under pressure right from the start, played great football and scored some nice goals. Our biggest away win in our Bundesliga history, Demi’s goalscoring record and Finn’s first clean sheet – I’m very happy about all of that. At half time we spoke about wanting to continue to attack and to come out on top in the second half as well. Congratulations to the team on this fully-deserved win.” 

Torsten Lieberknecht (SV Darmstadt 98 head coach): “Everyone saw the course this game took. The first minutes proved that mistakes lead to goals. It’s telling that we had a chance to make it 1-1 but couldn’t capitalise on it. I’m the first to take the blame and take up responsibility, that’s always been my way as a coach. I will take the time to draw the right conclusions from this game – the important thing was that we ended the second half with the right mindset and that we didn’t let ourselves break down even more than we already had.” 

FC Augsburg

Thorup: “We want to take the next step”

“We need to show that we’re ready to take the next step,” said Thorup. After beating SC Freiburg 2-1 last time out, the coach is aiming for a second successive win, something FCA last managed in October 2023 (5-2 in Heidenheim, 3-2 against Wolfsburg). While Augsburg are currently in 11th place with 26 points, Darmstadt are bottom of the league after winning promotion last season. Torsten Lieberknecht’s side did pick up a deserved point away to in-form Werder Bremen last weekend though (1-1).