Manuel Baum: "It's still a dream job"

With the full-time whistle on Matchday 34, the Bundesliga season came to an end, and the FCA boys took off on their holiday. For Manuel Baum, on the other hand, there’s no talk of summer holidays yet – for Manuel Baum, it’s time to analyse the entire season. With almost two weeks gone since the end of the season, Manuel Baum spoke to us about the following...    ... Progress over the course of the season: "This was a sort of fresh start, because we lost a lot of experienced players and acquired players with little or no Bundesliga experience. One the one hand, I think we’ve shown great character and togetherness – as we could see in the first half of the season with our relatively large squad. All in all, the decisions we made in the interest of the football being played on the pitch were very good. The way we developed reflects what the club stands for. I also think we’ve become unpredictable for the opposition and have clearly become more flexible." ... The changes during the season: "I always got the impression from the team that they wanted to give everything – even at training: we had extremely high and consistent intensity at training. Due to a few injuries, such as Finnbogason’s, which forced a positional change for Gregoritsch, we underwent several changes. I always compare it to a business: in the first half of the year, someone is say in marketing, then for the next six months he’s in sales. It takes a while to understand all the procedures in the new department, but the experiences gained from this are long-term benefits." ... First new signing: "A look at the statistics will tell you that we had a lot of big chances. Our conversion rate really needs to improve, and in Julian Schieber we have a player with a certain match intelligence and physique. In Julian Schieber, we’re also getting someone with great character. He’s got a lot of Bundesliga experience, but also fits nicely into the way we play football." ... His first full Bundesliga season: "It’s still my dream job, for a number of reasons: being a manager in the Bundesliga is one thing, and the surroundings here at FC Augsburg make it easy. Fortunately, we weren’t involved in a relegation battle this season, but it’s still an intense job with a lot of pressure. Maybe you put this pressure on yourself, which has brought out a grey hair or two according to my wife. Personally, I get the feeling I’ve been able to make progress."