FC Augsburg will finish the Bundesliga season in the top half of the table after a strong second half of the campaign, most recently winning 3:1 (2:0) against Borussia Mönchengladbach. On the final matchday, the club still has a chance to secure European football, as seventh-placed SC Freiburg are just one point ahead of the Fuggerstädter. The key contributors to this impressive half-year have been striker Michael Gregoritsch and interim head coach Manuel Baum.
Gregoritsch, who previously played for FCA between 2017 and 2022, joined on loan from Brøndby IF in the winter transfer window. The Austrian was brought in to fill the gap up front and has delivered as expected. With six goals, he is Augsburg’s top scorer alongside Fabian Rieder and Anton Kade, and he has also added three assists. In the win against Gladbach, the 74-time Austrian international scored twice.
Augsburg CEO Michael Ströll confirmed to Sky that the club secured a purchase option for Gregoritsch. “We are waiting until the end of the season. Right now we have an option, a possibility to trigger it. That runs until the end of May or mid-June. After the season, we want to sit down with Gregerl calmly, discuss a few things, and then make a decision. But currently he has all the arguments on his side, and we are very satisfied with him,” said the 41-year-old. According to the Augsburger Allgemeine, the purchase option is set at €500,000.
Alongside Gregoritsch, Manuel Baum has also been a hero of Augsburg’s second half. The coach took over from Sandro Wagner at the beginning of December when FCA were 14th with 10 points from 12 games. Since his appointment, only six teams have collected more points. With an average of 1.57 points per match in 21 games, he is the club’s most successful coach since promotion-winning manager Jos Luhukay in 2012. Baum’s record: 9 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.
However, it remains unclear what the future holds for Baum, who is actually the club’s director of development. He has repeatedly stressed how much he enjoys working with the youth teams. “It’s important what both sides want,” Ströll told Sky. “It’s not a one-sided decision; we want to sit down, analyze what went well, and what each party wants. Since I brought him back to Augsburg in the summer, Manuel Baum has done a fantastic job in two roles. He fits perfectly with FC Augsburg – I knew that before – and he’s doing a phenomenal job right now. The question is: Is Manuel ready to continue? That’s the most important question. At the moment, there is no better coach for FC Augsburg than Manuel Baum. He truly embodies the club’s strategy and vision. After the season, much like we did in the winter, we will sit down, discuss things, and make the best decision for the club.”
