FC Augsburg

After the fortnight-long international break, FC Augsburg faced VfL Wolfsburg. FCA lead for long periods in the club’s 400th Bundesliga match and led 2-0 at half time, thanks to an own goal and Berisha’s ninth goal of the season. However, Augsburg could not hold onto their lead and Wolfsburg managed to find an equaliser in stoppage time.

Another year is coming to an end: 365 days of both highs and lows, but above all a host of memorable moments for FC Augsburg. It’s time once more to reflect on the past twelve months. In part three of FCA’s review of the year, we look back on March.

As 2023 comes to an end, FC Augsburg can look back on an exciting year. Particularly since Jess Thorup’s tenure as head coach began, FCA fans have been able to enjoy attractive and successful football. Eleven of the last 14 games at the WWK ARENA have had a sold-out home section, while the club has picked up an impressive 30 points on home soil, only suffering three defeats. We want to thank you all for your loyal support over the past twelve months, and look forward to sharing more memorable moments with you in the new year!

Even though the winter transfer window closed on 31st January in a lot of countries, FC Augsburg still made a number of changes to their squad in February. Carlos Gruezo (San Jose Earthquakes) and Sergio Córdova (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) moved from the Bundesliga to the MLS. Meanwhile, Germany youth international and homegrown player Mert Kömür signed his first professional deal with FCA.

Back in the Bundesliga, FC Augsburg faced Bayer 04 Leverkusen on home turf. After the Fuggerstädter had won the away game against B04, FCA repeated the feat under the floodlights and beat Xabi Alonso’s side once more. It was our second home win in a row, with Mergim Berisha netting the only goal once again.

Homegrown talent Aaron Zehnter had something in particular to celebrate about this result. The then-18-year-old came on as a substitute to make his Bundesliga debut in the final phases.

Following an unusually long Christmas break due to the winter World Cup in Qatar, FC Augsburg kicked off the new year with a training camp in sunny Spain. The whole team travelled to Algorfa in Alicante at the beginning of January to lay the foundations for a successful start to the second half of the season. The club played three friendlies during this time, losing 1-0 and 4-1 to Union Berlin and then 2-0 to Ferencváros.

The only game to be played on a Sunday during this run is against SC Freiburg at the WWK Arena (25th February, 19:30 CET). Prior to that match, the Fuggerstädter are away at VfL Bochum (Saturday, 3rd February, 15:30 CET) and 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Saturday, 17th February, 15:30 CEST), as well as at home to RB Leipzig (Saturday, 10th February, 15:30 CET). The other two games for Jess Thorup’s men are at SV Darmstadt 98 (Saturday, 2nd March, 15:30 CET) and at VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday, 16th March, 15:30 CET).

FCA head coach Jess Thorup sent out an unchanged team following last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund, as the Függestädter travelled to face this season’s undisputed surprise package. 

After a cagey start, it was VfB who quickly found their rhythm. Serhou Guirassy forced Finn Dahmen into an early save (8′), before the woodwork came to the rescue for FCA (13′). Five minutes later, Denis Undav put the hosts ahead following a corner (18′). Stuttgart continued to press hard, with Augsburg’s backline forced to remain on high alert. Dahmen came up big with a strong save from a Leweling shot (34′). 

Thorup’s side had to wait until the 45th minute for their first shot of the night, as Arne Engels sent an effort into Alexander Nübel’s arms. At the other end, Guirassy’s shot sailed just wide of the target (45′). The striker then netted his 16th goal of the season just seconds later, as he converted shortly before the break after going one-on-one with Dahmen (45’+1). 

Ermedin Demirović: “Stuttgart dominated the game for the full 90 minutes and didn’t afford us any chances. We didn’t manage to press the way we wanted to and weren’t able to play our game when we did have the ball. We wanted to end the year on a high, but tonight, we didn’t have what it takes to do that. To be honest, I’ve never been outplayed like that before in my career. We will need to analyse the game and work hard in the new year in order to be able to deliver better performances again.” 

Niklas Dorsch: “I think we had a lot of highs and lows in the first half of the season. We didn’t get off to a great start this season, but then managed to turn things around and deliver some strong performances. It’s disappointing to then head into the winter break on a result like this. We fully deserved to lose because Stuttgart were at least twice as a good as we were tonight. They played with confidence – in contrast, we barely had a chance.” 

Mads Pedersen: “Stuttgart were clearly the better team, and we didn’t manage to showcase our quality on the pitch tonight. The chances that we did manage to create, we then failed to convert. The first half of the season was a rollercoaster for us, but despite a poor performance tonight, we’re still heading in the right direction.” 

Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg head coach): “I’m disappointed that we didn’t deliver a better performance tonight. Stuttgart deservedly won the game, because they played with confidence. We should have been able to do the same after last weekend’s result against Dortmund, but there was nothing to be seen from then on the pitch tonight. We were okay out of possession, but failed to create anything when we did have the ball. It’s definitely not the way we wanted to end the year and it will take a few days to process it.” 

Sebastian Hoeneß (VfB Stuttgart head coach): “We’re extremely happy with our performance tonight. My team delivered a great performance from start to finish. Augsburg tried to contain us with a high press in the first half, so we needed to be extremely alert. We scored our goals at the right moments tonight, so that the result is fully deserved in my opinion. We knew we couldn’t take our foot off the gas after the break, because 2-0 is a dangerous lead to have. We managed to see it through and I’m happy that we played the way we did in our final game of the year.” 

This season’s Christmas break is short; FCA will host current league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, 13th January (15:30 CET). FCA will return to training on Tuesday, 2nd January in order to start preparing for a successful second half to the season. 

“Against Dortmund, the team showed that we can hold our own against a top opponent,” said Thorup, who immediately after the game shifted his focus onto the short preparation time for the upcoming encounter. FCA will take around 2,500 fans with them to Stuttgart on Wednesday and will look to create a good atmosphere in the away end. VfB currently sit fourth in the table, but suffered a 3-0 defeat in Munich last time out. Despite this, the Swabian side are “one of the big surprises so far. They’ve had a good first half of the season and are particularly strong in possession,” said Thorup with regard to our next opponents.