"More manpower": Pacarada calls for support with the boxing problem

A fine line: Imad Rondic was committed, but was unlucky in his first start. picture alliance / BEAUTIFUL SPORTS

When Imad Rondic left the pitch at the Müngersdorf Stadium after 56 minutes, his record was rather poor. The 1. FC Cologne striker had two shots on goal and one assist in his first start in the starting eleven, the 1:1 draw in the Rhine duel against Fortuna Düsseldorf . "It wasn't easy for Imad," said Florian Kainz, who played in midfield behind Rondic, about the Bosnian's performance and summed up: "He tried to put in a lot of effort, but didn't have that many actions."

When the 26-year-old had the ball, things got dangerous straight away: Dejan Ljubicic set up a good shot opportunity for Rondic in the 23rd minute, but the striker only failed to head a cross from Leart Pacarada thanks to the committed intervention of the F95 defense (32nd). And then defender Jamil Siebert also blocked a shot attempt (55th), shortly before Damion Downs replaced the starting eleven debutant.

"We can see that he still has a way to go to get into our game," said FC coach Gerhard Struber. "Nevertheless, I think he had some good moments. His positioning in the box is good, so we have to try to get him into the game better. It was a first lead that we want to stick with."

In fact, Rondic (kicker rating 4.5) had anything but an easy job. As the only striker, the attacker, who was signed from Lodz in January for a transfer fee of around 1.5 million euros, was torn apart by the Fortuna defense, while the nimble Linton Maina, as a free radical, mostly picked up speed on the left side. A plan that worked time and again. Also because Rondic was ineffective offensively, but still won 67 percent of his aerial duels.

Captain Timo Hübers found Rondic's first appearance from the start "very committed", after he had previously been substituted twice in the league and once in the cup. "I think he also secured a few balls well," said Hübers, but also assessed: "It's clear that the final blind understanding is not yet fully there." This was also due to the fact that Cologne "only played with one clear striker". Perhaps, according to Hübers' theory, Rondic "would have been better served with a second boxing partner who would open up even more space and give more options in the box".

Pacarada, who is the FC's cross specialist, agreed. The left-wing player fired twelve crosses into the penalty area against Düsseldorf. No one in the league crosses more often than the left-footer, and he has kicked the ball into the penalty area 127 times. "Some days they all get there, other days none at all," explains Pacarada, and with a view to his target player Rondic, he makes it clear: "It's just as difficult for him as it is for me. I have to find him, he has to guess where I'm going to pass the ball. It's not all that easy."

Pacarada also thought that a strike partner with a similar profile might have helped Rondic. "We basically have to try to get more manpower into the box." The 1.73 meter tall Maina, however, is not the solution to this, and the eights Kainz and Ljubicic usually aren't either. The right wing player Jusuf Gazibegovic was noticeably often moved right up front, but he isn't a fundamental solution to the box problem either.

By substituting Rondic for Damion Downs, Struber decided against a variant with two powerful strikers - and was rewarded. The opening goal was set up by wall player Downs, who sent the quick Maina on his way - a blueprint of how it can work in the front row.