1. FC Köln have completed the coaching staff for the upcoming Bundesliga season. Hannes Dold, Assistant Coach Analysis, will remain within new Head Coach, Lukas Kwasniok’s staff and be joined by Frank Kaspari and René Wagner, who had previously worked at Geißbockheim. All three have signed deals until 30th June 2028.
FC Sporting Director, Thomas Kessler said: “With René Wagner, Frank Kaspari and Hannes Dold, we have extended our coaching staff with three personalities who are an excellent fit for us both professionally and personally. They have different strengths and already know 1. FC Köln and the city very well – be it through previous positions at the club or through their previous role in the existing coaching team. We see this mixture of expertise, identification and familiarity with the environment of great value. The three, with the way they work, fit really well to our Head Coach, Lukas Kwasniok. We are looking forward to the new season and are convinced that we are ideally positioned in the current constellation to tackle the upcoming challenges in the Bundesliga with confidence.”
FC Head Coach, Lukas Kwasniok said: “I am really looking forward to working with René Wagner, Frank Kaspari and Hannes Dold. As we brought together the coaching staff, it was important to have a high level of expertise as well as a strong connection to 1. FC Köln. Each of the three bring different strengths to the table as well as their own past at FC. That means a short acclimatisation and a strong connection from day one.”
Hannes Dold has been working in the analysis team for almost 12 years and will take on more tasks relating to the team and work on the pitch in the future. For René Wagner, it is a return to Köln and FC. The 36-year-old was Assistant Coach to Steffen Baumgart from July 2021 to December 2023 and then followed Baumgart to Hamburger SV and 1. FC Union Berlin. Frank Kaspari already knows both FC and Lukas Kwasniok very well. From November 2019 to April 2021, he acted as Assistant Coach to Markus Gisdol and was subsequently responsible for looking after players out on loan. He has assisted Lukas Kwasniok at SC Paderborn for the past three years and is now following him to Köln.
As part of the decisions surrounding the new coaching staff, it has been decided that Thomas Hickersberger will leave 1. FC Köln after one season. "We would like to sincerely thank Thomas Hickersberger for his dedicated commitment over the past season. We would particularly like to emphasise his willingness to help within Friedhelm Funkel's team to achieve our goal of promotion in the decisive last two matches. We wish him all the best for his personal and professional future," says Thomas Kessler.