Jess Thorup discusses Augsburg’s success and competition for positions

Augsburg head coach Jess Thorup was all smiles at Thursday’s press conference. Thorup’s Fuggerstädter – along with league sensations Mainz 05 – are the two elite Bundesliga clubs since the second half of the 2024/25 campaign started. Mainz and Augsburg have collected 16 points. Only league leaders Bayern Munich (19 points) have done better in the Rückrunde.

After last week’s upset over Borussia Dortmund, Augsburg enter the weekend league fixture against Wolfsburg unbeaten in their last nine league fixtures. FCA keeper Finn Dahmen continues to chase history. Captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Marius Wolf prepare to commemorate milestones. The surging skipper will celebrate his 250th Bundesliga appearance. If he plays, Wolf will crack the 200 mark.

Thorup both praised his team’s recent form and discussed the fact that – despite all the success – there would be two open positions in his potential XI. Whether or not Elvis Rexhbecaj or Kristijan Jakic will start in midfield alongside Frank Onyeka remains to be seen. Thorup’s attack could also use some tweaking. The Bavarian Swabians have only scored five goals in their last six league games.

Phillip Tietz and Samuel Essende are battling it out for the starting lead-striker role. After reflecting on the team’s “very nice Saturday in Dortmund” and “all the great experiences at the moment“, Thorup also discussed the personnel dilemmas he presently faces in great depth. 

“I’ve tried out a lot of formations in training and there’s a lot of competition,” Thorup said. “I haven’t yet decided which of the two [Jakic or Rexhbecaj] will play. Elvis played a very good hour against Dortmund for me, Jakić played the last 30 minutes well.

“It’s a similar situation in attack with Tietzi and Samuel,” Thorup continued. “Lots of experiments. I’ll let the team know tomorrow who plays.“

GGFN | Peter Weis