FC Augsburg

In July, FC Augsburg signed their first new player under Enrico Maaßen. The 24-year-old striker Ermedin Demirović joined from SC Freiburg, boosting the Red-Green-Whites up front. At the same time, Michael Gregoritsch went the other way and headed for Breisgau. 

Augsburg welcomed Freiburg to the WWK ARENA for the first game of the 2022/23 season, which ended in a bitter 4-0 defeat. Ermedin Demirović, who made the move from Freiburg to FCA that summer, featured from the start, as did Michael Gregoritsch, who moved in the opposite direction. The Austrian was given a warm welcome ahead of the game.

After the game away at TSG Hoffenheim, FC Augsburg had their third home game of the season. There were emotional scenes before the match, as the club said goodbye to long-serving player Jan Morávek. FCA would have to wait further for a first home win of the season though, falling to a 2-0 defeat against Hertha.

Following the international break, Augsburg travelled to Gelsenkirchen to face strugglers Schalke 04 and the sides served up a five goal thriller at the VELTINS-Arena. Despite the fact that Mergim Berisha was sent from the field for a second yellow card, an Ermedin Demirović brace and an André Hahn header gave FCA a 3-2 win and their third league victory on the bounce. 

November began with a busy week with multiple matchdays, with FC Augsburg hosting Eintracht Frankfurt at the WWK ARENA. Despite a lightning fast start, with Mergim Berisha rifling the ball into the Eintracht net after exactly 35 seconds, FCA ultimately were condemned to a narrow 2-1 defeat.

This year’s December was a unique one. The Bundesliga had been in its mid-season break since mi November and while some FCA players enjoyed a holiday, the World Cup was in full swing.

This season, the 19-year-old has made 15 appearances (two goals, six assists) in the Challenger Pro League and five appearances (two assists) in the UEFA Youth League. After completing his medical, Engels signed a four-and-a-half-year contract until 30 June 2027 on Tuesday. The Belgian will travel to the training camp in Algorfa, Spain, and will be joining the Augsburg squad as early as Wednesday.

The team had barely got themselves unpacked at the hotel before the first training session kicked off. Among the squad was Frederik Winther, the team singing “Happy Birthday” for him on his 22nd birthday. Youth stars Marcel Lubik, Daniel Katic, Mert Kömür, Franjo Ivanovic, Josue Mbila, Mahmut Kücüksahin and Davide Dell’Erba, who have been able to hone there skills with the first team on many previous occasions, also made the journey to Spain. FCA have visited the country before; the Costa Blanca hosted one of the club’s 2019 training camps.

After a quick warm-up in the gym, the FCA first team stepped out onto the freshly watered pitch. Head coach Enrico Maaßen set up a drill over one half of the field, for the attackers to regain their shooting boots. Sergio Córdova and Ruben Vargas definitely showed that they know where the goal is, finding the corner many a time in the drill.

“For me, it was a huge career highlight to take part in the World Cup. Especially because I got a lot of minutes,” says Vargas, who has also already been part of the 2021 European Championship squad. At the World Cup, Switzerland qualified for the last 16 after wins against Cameroon (1-0) and Serbia (3-2) and a narrow defeat against Brazil (0-1). However, the side suffered a bitter 6-1 defeat against Portugal.