BUNDESLIGA - Ferencvaros boss Stöger: "Turning Köln down was the right call"

Asked about the chance for him to join Bundesliga and his home country back, Hungarian giants boss Peter Stöger stated: “I won't accept anything just to be back in the German Bundesliga,” said the Austrian, who will be competing with Ferencvárosi TC in the Europa League at Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday (6.45pm), told the German Press Agency: “I have that was exciting, that was nice, I had two mega clubs. So it can happen again at some point. But I don't have that on my to-do list".

Stöger coached 1. FC Köln from summer 2013 to December 2017 and then Borussia Dortmund for six months, played on the sidelines in 135 games and scored an average of 1.24 points per game. A brief return to Cologne was planned in the spring. "I only had a conversation with the then sports director Horst Heldt and with managing director Alex Wehrle," said Stöger, "but it quickly became clear to everyone involved that it was not right at the time".

In a “Bild” interview, the trainer continued: “The fact that I didn't come back to 1. FC Köln was the right decision for everyone. I am at peace with FC, I still have private contact with one or two people from the club. I am very happy about the great start to the season - also for my colleague Steffen Baumgart that on the one hand he got off to such a good start in terms of points (2.0 points on average; d. Ed.). But I also like the demeanor of his team. The FC plays refreshingly and is always active. The team shouldn't have anything to do with the relegation".