Manuel Baum

Our Monday Hot Takeaway show last week, I featured them.

Now I think people are starting to catch on that whatever Manuel Baum is doing there, it is working, and it has been working.

It's just a vibe there with that team that they do not get shaken.

And against Leverkusen, they showed that once again.

They had a very successful season, all things considered, because it was a complete train wreck at the start under Sandro Wagner.

Manuel Baum did manage over the summer to kinda keep all of the positives that were going on [laughs], and I think now they're building off of them.

A- and I think what we're seeing here is a squad that looks ready for this kind of challenge.

Now, I think even though Augsburg is the early surprise package in the Bundesliga, this is going to be one of those games where they won't be such a shocker to their opponent.

Eintracht Frankfurt won Augsburg 4. um okay Frankfurt 1-0 up of a half-time break through a goal for Jonathan Burkhart the second half not exactly the same as the first a unbelievable performance from Augsburg and as a result Augsburg are top of the Bundesliga I don't care that we have only played two matches That is absolutely wild.

Unbelievable job done by Manuel Baum's side.

So many great entertaining matches from the Bundesliga this weekend.

And yet, like nearly everyone else, I feel compelled to start with the only match that finished 0-0 Schalke against Bayern.

But for FC Augsburg, it really might be happening.

Now, I'm going to give all the credit in the world to the coach, Manuel Baum, because He has absolutely done something sensational with this group, and they built on some really strong success at the end of last season.

The beginning of the year, they were a train wreck.

They couldn't get it together.

We avoided the celebrations in all of the Augsburg stuff that he has.

He's been an Augsburger since way back, since Manuel Baum's first stint.

So he's been an early adopter, liked them before they were famous, and now they're top of the world.

Stefan knew I don't know how he knew but he knew and uh that's a great story honestly like it's one of those things that I don't know we're moving out of the initial welcome phase into the more serious part of the podcast but

We are aware it's the second round.

The team that's replaced them on top is their Bavarian neighbors, Augsburg.

And just the quote, I have it up here that Manuel Baum gave to reporters afterwards.

You know, you might be tempted to say, oh, you know, this and Eure Halbstadt, you're bowing.

By the way, so the Muslic comment was at the press conference before this match.

He was in Augsburg and ran into Manuel Baum's son.

And Manuel Baum's son had just watched a Bayern game.

And Muslic told his son, I told him, Ich bin ein 60er Fan.

looking for and then Schalke Todal writes he he said he set the stage for the Bayern game although the match against Bayern will be a lot less funny I guess that didn't turn out the way they thought yeah you talk about Bayern you know in our subscriber chat the point was made that the The rotation was a big issue that Kane didn't start, that Diaz wasn't as good.

Uh, just the way they, how impressively they played in, in opening weekend.

Um, how, yeah, how well drilled they are as a team under Baum.

Um, [lips smack] some of the players that they now have at their disposal, the young talents, uh, players in form, great confidence, um, and know what they're doing.

Um, players that have gone out have really been replaced as well, um, as, as we kinda mentioned about Giannoulis being replaced by Behrens really well.

Yeah.

I mean th- as you say it's hard to look beyond them in a lotta games at the minute because obviously the form the entire 2026 has just been superb really.

Obviously the second half the last s- since Manuel Baum has come into the reigns he, he has done an stellar job, and as you say the, the confidence I'm not sure I've ever seen an FCR team as confident, and they will absolutely believe they can go to Frankfurt and win this game.

Uh, but having said that, um, and obviously another point we gotta mention about them, they kept Matz Sima as well despite a couple of Premier League, late Premier League bids as well which I was a little worried when I saw that 'cause for me Matz Sima is still probably overall the best, uh, the highest level FCR player out of all.

that he was unable to work with that squad, but something just didn't click between the coach and the roster, and it was something that was irreparable, right? They couldn't figure out a way to make that relationship work, but since then, it has really...

Been an incredible run under Manuel Baum.

I mean, Augsburg, I didn't have any hopes of them this season being able to maintain the strong finish that they had.

But man, last season, as much as I kept expecting them to fold and to fade, they just didn't.

I would have never thought I'd be saying this.

I have kind of ridiculed Augsburg for a few years because they just seem to make bad moves and could never get it together.

But whatever they're doing under Manuel Baum at the moment and how they are operating and how they are playing together as one has put them right on my radar as a team that you just can't discount right now.

And I look at their roster and I go up and down and I see some familiar names and Fabian Veeder, a reader there.

They'll go on a six month run where you think, okay, this is a team they could maybe get Europa League as they've done once before.

What a great side Manuel Baum is putting together a really good team.

And then they'll bottom out and end up finishing 14th or something.

That's the life of Augsburg, Augsburg fans.

I mean, I did the preview for Augsburg, our big club-by-club preview on the newsletter, and When I dug into the stats and, you know, their signings and the players that they've had to move on, which has been very few, actually.

And she kind of, you know, a lot of the interviews with Manuel Ball, sorry, I was going to say Baum in there.

Manuel Baum is...

He was very relaxed going into the new season.