Augsburg’s Sandro Wagner remains under serious pressure ahead of critical Heidenheim match

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With his back increasingly up against the wall following three straight losses, FC Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner remains on the defensive. Five days after delivering a rambling post-match press conference following his team’s humiliating home defeat against Mainz, it was time for the 37-year-old to look ahead to a crucial weekend Bundesliga fixture against last-placed Heidenheim. 

Heidenheim and Augsburg are the only two Bundesliga clubs to have suffered two defeats through four matchdays in the young 2025/26 campaign. Early as it may be, the match counts as a critical encounter in the relegation race. Wagner must find some way of shaking his team out of this form slide. The newly re-branded “Roman Fuggerstädter“ won’t get a better opportunity to snatch three vital points. 

Wagner conducted his regular club press conference on Thursday, yet also made time to talk to Sky Germany. The popular former player and Julian Nagelsmann DFB assistant made clear that he knew full well that all German eyes were on him. No top flight head coach presently finds himself under greater pressure. 

“I’ve been in the public eye for a few years now, but it’s a different ballgame as a Bundesliga coach,” Wagner – as quoted by transfermarkt.de – told Sky. “I feel a lot of pressure, but I’ve felt that since Day One. Since I knew that beforehand, it really doesn’t bother me. I can handle it well. It’s a totally cool and amazing job. Doing my job well is the only thing that drives me.“

“I know it sounds silly,” Wagner added at the Thursday press conference. “but I really enjoyed [reviewing the Mainz game] this week. I learned a lot as a coach. We’re coming off the best training week we’ve had [since I arrived here]. Many of the veteran players here have told me, it’s nothing special to have lost three matches here at Augsburg. We’ve been on stretches during which we’ve lost five or six matches.

“For me personally, it comes down to either winning or learning,” Wagner continued. “I don’t like losing. I take it hard, but one can spin it a different way. My personal resumé is [Wagner made a hand gesture indicating that it contained a small sample size]. I’ve only had two coaching appointments. I’ve learned a lot from defeats at SpVgg Unterhaching and at the German national team from defeats. 

“Basically,” Wagner concluded. “The first thing my resumé needs is to be a resumé in the first place.“

Wagner took a lot of heat in the German press after last weekend’s defeat. On Germany’s famed Sunday “Doppelpass” footballing roundtable program, there was a huge debate as to whether Wagner should have been placed in charge of a Bundesliga club. In a Kicker Editorial published on Thursday legendary German football head coach Friedhelm Funkel expressed serious doubts that the situation would improve. 

For Funkel, Wagner’s downfall began on the second matchday. Augsburg dropped a seemingly close match to record champions Bayern Munich 2-3, yet weren’t really on the Bayern level. Funkel felt that Wagner was too aggressive and prideful in his post-match comments. The subsequent losses to St. Pauli and Mainz have now lead to a predictable downward spiral. Funkel also topped a Heidenheim win this weekend. 

“What I’ve seen from FC Augsburg so far makes me doubt the team,” Funkel wrote. “Conceding goals to a shorthanded opponent and losing heavily does something to a team; it makes them doubt themselves. Augsburg does not have the chance to climb up the table. I thought what Sandro did [after the Bayern Munich match that kicked off the losing streak] was dangerous.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like Sandro,” Funkel continued. “He’s done well in previous coaching jobs, but that bears no relation to a Bundesliga appointment. Augsburg were not on par with Bayern and they were lucky the German record champions didn’t seal the deal earlier. He needs to learn that be boastful is dangerous. Spreading optimism is part of the job, but one should always add a generous dose of humility.“

For his part, Wagner did try to convey some humility at the press conference. It nevertheless came out via an off-centre tone. Wagner’s speeches continue to be circuitous, long-winded, and full of odd attempts at self-deprecation mixed with bursts of confidence. When Wagner attempted to express respect for long-serving Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt, for example, Wagner struggled for coherence. 

“He’s a legend and a coach I look up to,” Wagner said of Schmidt. “He’s been doing this for a long time and I already have dark circles under my eyes after four Bundesliga matches. I’m looking forward to going to Heidenheim. It’s small, cool, and fierce. I’m just looking forward to it.”

GGFN | Peter Weis