Köllner before reunion with the lions: "erased" by the old love

Status: 18.09.2023, 16:09 p.m.

By: Uli Kellner

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A special kind of coach duel: Maurizio Jacobacci will meet his predecessor Michael Köllner at the Audi Sportpark. © Imago

After his expulsion in 1860, Michael Köllner is an opponent of his former club for the first time – with mixed feelings, because he remains a lion at heart.

So there they sat in the press rooms of their clubs, physically separated by 80 kilometers, for half an hour. Michael Köllner, coach of TSV 1860 until the end of January, was also a little earlier on Friday than Maurizio Jacobacci, his successor in office. Köllner had rejected all interview questions before the big reunion, but now he used the big stage with Munich reporters to fuel the emotional reunion on Saturday, possibly rather unintentionally – because in the end Köllner always remains himself and things make their way that he carries around with him.

Köllner is proud of his work at 1860

In any case, Jacobacci was astonished at Grünwalder Straße when Köllner cheekily classified his FC Ingolstadt as an "outsider". Other people in 1860 may have listened carefully when Köllner complained that he had felt "erased" by the circumstances surrounding his expulsion. On the other hand, he was friendly to the fans, whom he told to continue to feel connected to them. And, of course, Köllner also emphasized that he would not feel any desire for revenge when his former club showed up at the Audi Sportpark on Saturday afternoon. He said: "For me personally, there is no particular explosiveness in the game. I know that other scenarios are often decorated. In football, however, it is unfortunately the case that games against the former club are also part of it. I look back with pride on my time at sixty."

At least on this point, he agreed with Jacobacci: Yes, it's a special game, if only because of the Upper Bavaria aspect. But no – not because of the constellation that Köllner meets his successor for the first time. Jacobacci put it this way in the presence of the reporters: "Whether it's against the ex-coach of Sechzig Munich shouldn't really be the focus. We know who we're playing against. They have had a lot of revolution, a lot of new arrivals. Like us, they didn't start the championship in the best possible way." The only thought he had on his mind: How can he get a three-pointer again in 1860 after three games without a win? Köllner expressed it in a similar way, seeing his team badly weakened after recent absences (including vice-captain Simon Lorenz).

Personnel weakened Ingolstadt

But what about the things internal to 1860, which still weigh heavily on Köllner's soul six months later? Referring to his expulsion, he said: "It hurts that I am not given the opportunity to say goodbye by press release or in the next stadium booklet. You feel like you've been erased. Of course, I know where that comes from." With best regards, especially to ex-sporting director Günther Gorenzel, to whom he casually wrote the missed promotion dream in the family book. Köllner sees it this way: "My direct successor was not Jacobacci . . ." In a nutshell: "The managing director tried to let off steam as a coach – then you know that after these four games (with only two points) the season was over . . ."

While Jacobacci declared during the week that he would like to stay longer than Köllner, the "ex" emphasized that he had never left at the bottom of his heart. "Once a lion, always a lion" is "not a stupid saying", but a conviction: "I will always keep my fingers crossed for the lions!" As if to prove it, he once made a promise to himself, saying, "Here at 1860 . . ." Tomorrow, however, Köllner's love of lions is likely to be limited – for 90 minutes.