Köln striker Ragnar Ache (27) answers critics after recording first career Bundesliga brace | OneFootball

Less than one week after looking like a bumbling and blundering coach incapable of managing his personnel selections, Köln’s Lukas Kwasniok is now being hailed as a tactical genius. Kwasniok’s Geißböcke snapped an eight-game league winless run on Saturday afternoon with a come-from-behind win over Mainz 05. There was much to celebrate after the victory. 

Kwasniok’s recent statements are forgotten

Germany’s cathedral city club now fully back their coach after all four of his relevant substitutions against Mainz helped turn the game around. Köln sporting director Thomas Kessler specifically referenced Kwasniok’s “very calming words” and “three very good substitutions” at the break as the keys to Köln’s ultimate 2-1 home victory when speaking to Sky Germany.

Kwasniok brought on Kristoffer Lund, Tom Krauß, and Ragnar Ache to begin the second 45. Ache ended up scoring both of Köln’s goals while the other two were highly influential. Luca Waldschmidt – whom Kwasniok recently suspended from the squad due to an acerbic interview in the Kölner Express – also came on in the 74th minute to make a huge difference. 

Kwasniok had been taking some heat for his decision to drop veterans like Waldschmidt and Florian Kainz due to their negative public statements, his decisions to tap unproven defenders for his starting XI, and more antagonistic quotes about German phenom Said El Mala’s shortcomings. Kwasniok recently stated, again, that El Mala “wasn’t good enough to start“.

Ragnar Ache and Alessio Castro-Montes enter the spotlight

Kwasniok has actually handed El Mala two consecutive starts. The 19-year-old has actually turned in a pair of subpar performances and effectively proved Kwasniok right. Meanwhile, other professionals take their turn in the spotlight. Alessio Castro-Montes – hitherto considered an absolute flop – has recorded three assists in his two starts since the return from the winter break, 

Former Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Kaiserslautern striker Ragar Ache never really qualified as a flop, but didn’t get many league starts and garnered a reputation for squandering easy scoring opportunities after he was introduced off the bench late in matches. Ache’s two goals served as his first Bundesliga tallies since Köln last won a Bundesliga match in early November. 

Praise for Ache from Kessler and Kwasniok

“Ragnar didn’t come to us in good shape in the summer,” Kessler told Sky. “I sought out another conversation with him during the winter training camp because I find it remarkable as he came here with such high expectations. He simply worked very, very intensively for two or three months with our athletic department, the coaching team, and also with his private trainer. He completed every session without complaint.“

“Ragnar [as the Köln star summer transfer] tends to get a little lost amid all the media attention showered on him,” Kwasniok added at the post match press conference. “But he has been working hard week in and week out. Now he’s scored a Bundesliga brace for the first time at the age of 27. Congratulations to him. It’s great to have both him and Marius Bülter on the pitch at the same time; something we haven’t always been able to do.“

Ache answers critics and praises Castro-Montes

“Strikers are measured by goals and one does begin to doubt oneself when the ball doesn’t go in,” Ache remarked in the mixed zone. “But now I’m feeling good. [Castro-Montes] delivers amazing crosses. Whenever he has the ball, I try to find a good position in the box. I hope to play alongside him more often. I’m really feeling good even after the busy week. Everything is working and nothing is faltering. Hopefully, [talk of fitness] is off the table now.“

GGFN | Peter Weis