Cologne fires coach and brings back Friedhelm Funkel in battle for Bundesliga promotion

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Cologne is turning to promotion specialist Friedhelm Funkel to lead the team back to the Bundesliga.

Cologne, which is second in Germany’s second division, fired Gerhard Struber as coach on Monday and appointed the 71-year-old Funkel for the last two games of the season.

It’s Funkel’s third stint in charge at Cologne and his first job since leading Kaiserslautern to the German Cup final last season. Over his long coaching career, Funkel has led six teams to Bundesliga promotion – more than any other.

Cologne was leading the second division with four matches remaining, then lost at Hannover before drawing at home with relegated Jahn Regensburg, which allowed Hamburger SV move top on Saturday. The top two are promoted to the Bundesliga.

Cologne has a three-point lead over third-place Elversberg before it plays Nuremberg and Kaiserslautern for its final two games.

“Given the big remaining chance of a direct return we have to do everything to take this chance,” Cologne president Werner Wolf said. “We can’t rely on our rivals’ results.”

Funkel was relegated from the Bundesliga with Cologne in 2003 during his first stint, then clinched survival in 2021 during his second.

His third will be his 14th coaching appointment after jobs at Neuss, Uerdingen, Duisburg, Rostock, Cologne, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin, Bochum, Aachen, 1860 Munich, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Cologne again, and Kaiserslautern.

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