For Jonas Hector, the door at 1. FC Köln remains open after the announcement of his retirement – and coach Steffen Baumgart is very cautiously dreaming of a sudden comeback.
“I still have hope that he will come in the summer and say: I’m bored at home, I’ll keep going,” said Baumgart on Tuesday on the sidelines of training about the ex-national player.
“I don’t think he’ll do that. But if he comes back after the holiday and feels like it, nobody would lock the door for him here. It’s always open,” said Baumgart, adding with a laugh: “I’m just me relatively certain that he will unfortunately stick to his decision.”
Cologne coach Baumgart on Hector: “Very, very good captain”
Hector announced his decision on Saturday after Cologne’s victory at TSG Hoffenheim (3-1), which meant the club would probably stay in the league.
The 32-year-old is “not a loud captain, but a very, very good captain,” said Baumgart: “The way he works every day, how he thinks about it, that’s something special, also for me as a coach. He’s in a great form and one of the best players in the Bundesliga.”
