TSV 1860: Köllner ennobles Morgalla and warns at the same time - "Then you have to separate"

Created: 04/07/2022, 07:52

By: Uli Kellner

Intrepid and enthusiastic: young lion Leandro Morgalla in a verbal infight with Saarbrücken's captain Manuel Zeitz.

© imago

In the end it wasn't enough to win, but with their passionate performance against Saarbrücken, the 1860 professionals scored a lot of plus points with the audience.

Munich

– Two snappy young lions stood out in particular: Fabian Greilinger, 21, who was celebrated for his 70-meter rescue sprint against Sebastian Jacob.

But Leandro Morgalla, 17, sometimes caused appreciative whispers.

In the middle of the first half, when he fizzled out Dominik Ernst with resolute effort.

And ten minutes before the end, when Morgalla first shook off Jänicke with his stork legs and then clashed with FCS captain Zeitz after he had knocked his socks off while sprinting through midfield.

A bad foul for which the Saarbrücken player saw yellow, but that wasn't enough.

Morgalla didn't even think about being intimidated, built up in front of the 14-year-old roughneck and looked for the verbal infight.

TSV 1860: Morgalla takes over Salger's legacy

This is how professionals with years of experience in higher leagues perform.

It's rare to see young professionals playing their seventh third-division game, their second from the start, with such a fearless demeanor.

Someone doesn't seem afraid of big animals - and also not afraid of big tasks.

Morgalla had already replaced central defender Semi Belkahia in Mannheim.

On Saturday he replaced defense chief Stephan Salger, who was sitting on the bench slightly injured and was shown a bit of a future there with the best view.

Greilinger, Morgalla, Belkahia and Lang, who came on late – this is what the Löwen back four could look like next season.

One thing is clear: Salger, 31, will leave 1860 and go back to Cologne – it has been clear since Saturday who the lions will entrust their inheritance to.

TSV 1860: Morgalla back in the starting XI against Freiburg?

In any case, Michael Köllner was extremely satisfied with how Morgalla justified the trust placed in him.

"What we know about Leo, he showed that one-to-one today," said the coach about the appearance of the U18 national player, who immediately earned him a place in the "kicker" eleven of the match day.

"He's a really good boy," said Köllner in a fatherly manner: "The way we wanted to play today - powerful from behind, defending extremely high up front - he did an excellent job.

The situation in which Zeitz coldly cleared him away because he didn't know what else to do was symptomatic.

I've seen red cards before - they weren't much different."

In the BR that broadcast the game, Morgalla has already been ennobled as a "super talent".

And how does Koellner see it?

What does the coach believe the former Unterhachinger (until 2014) is capable of?

"That can lead to anything," he said: "I've trained talents like David Raum, who now play in the Bundesliga," he said: "In the end, the decisive thing is always: how long do the players listen to you?

If someone starts to convey the feeling: I know better than the coach – then you have to separate.

According to Köllner, there is currently no evidence that Morgalla could get overwhelmed by all the praise.

"I don't have a sleepless night when I know that Leo will play the next day - like last Friday." The coach left the question open as to whether Morgalla would be in the starting XI again on Sunday, even if Salger opted for the game in Freiburg reports fit.

"Time will tell," he said.

In principle, however, it is “always good when players draw attention to themselves”.

(Uli Kellner)