Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Köln officially confirmed Thomas Kessler’s promotion to club managing director earlier today. The question as to whether the former Köln professional would receive his new title had been festering for some weeks. Various sources provided conflicting information. In the end, the Kölner board opted to give the former “Kölscher Jung” the official role formerly held by current DFL official Christian Keller. 

GGFN Editorial: Kessler’s promotion is well deserved

In reviewing Köln’s summer transfer window and assessing the club’s January transfer prospects as part of our 18-club Transfer Primer Primer Project. Get German Football News wholeheartedly endorsed Kessler’s promotion. The 40-year-old has simply done an amazing job since deputizing for the sacked Keller late last season. The efficacy of Kessler’s coaching decisions and personnel calls speak for themselves. 

It almost seemed criminal that the man responsible for such things as hiring coach Friedhelm Funkel to secure promotion, ensuring that German phenom Said El Mala remained committed to the club, and re-tooled a team fit for the top flight that seems in little danger of slipping into the relegation race didn’t have a seat on the board. Kessler’s new title finally ensures that he does. 

Kessler’s promotion stalled for a time whilst the club leadership council debated matters such as whether Kessler’s promotion would prove too costly. Newly elected club President Jörn Stobbe and the rest of the board needed to decide whether to hire a sporting director to serve underneath Kessler, or possibly simply opt for a lower cost alternative to replace him later this summer. 

The three major local papers – the Kölner Express, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, and Kölnische Rundschau – all wrote editorials expressing concern that the board might sacrifice a significant portion of it’s identity in the interest of petty penny-pinching. Ditching Kessler would have not sat well with the fans. Moreover, there literally existed no one else prepared to step into the breach. 

With Kessler’s ultimate installment, Köln have put a highly volatile potential distraction behind them. In just one week, both the sporting and managerial situation at the club has improved significantly. Lukas Kwasniok’s team is finally back to winning ways. The discussion of front-office orientation has been settled. One can sound the “all clear” on the deck of the Effzeh ship. 

Under the stewardship of a local leader, the Kölner project can head in a linear direction again. Kessler himself, incidentally, handled his promotion with full humility and class. The Köln-native repeatedly downplayed his role in Köln’s revival at the confirmation event, insisting that club management was “not a one-man-show.“