FC Augsburg against Heidenheim: Noahkai Banks is in Flow

Noahkai Banks quickly came to his home in the Allgäu when it came to his starting debut at FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga. The central defender, who had only become 18 in December, was found out on Friday from coach Jess Thorup. And now, after his first use from the beginning, Banks quickly thought of TSV Dietmannsried. “With me in the village they built a canvas, looked at it together,” he said. The people from the surrounding villages always meet there to follow the games of the FCA. And then, said Banks, “we drink beer together”.

That was an expression of a sense of belonging, although Banks is no longer a spectator at Augsburg’s professional games, but almost their integral part. In his debut against Stuttgart on January 12th and then at Union Berlin and Bremen, he had been substituted. In his fourth assignment in a row on Saturday against 1. FC Heidenheim, he experienced the kick -off for the first time on the square. It fits his remarkable performance that they coincide with Augsburg’s current winning streak.

Through the 2: 1 (1-0) against Heidenheim, Thorup’s team won three times in a row after the 2-0 victories in Berlin and Bremen and, thanks to the eleven points ahead of the FCH and on relegation place 16, has already decidedly decided out of the relegation battle . After the last nine points and 6: 1 goals, there are several beautiful narrative strands from the FCA’s point of view. Whether to goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, who was promoted to number one in 2025 and also contributed to success against Heidenheim with parades. Whether to central defender Chrislain Matsima, 22, who scored his first Bundesligator in the added time of the first half after the Augsburgers had borrowed from Monaco in the summer and will be committed to him shortly. Or to central defender Keven Schlotterbeck, who was substituted for Banks after his injury break in the middle of the second half and scored the winning goal in the last second of the stoppage time – after a corner kick of the other youngster Mert Kömür, 19.

But even if all of these little stories came together for the big story, as they are experiencing a flow at the FCA, there was always talk of their youngest. His competitors in central defense are also very impressed by “Noki”, as they call it. Banks is “such a good boy” and made “very, very good games”, said Schlotterbeck, “without wanting to praise too much so that he stays with his things: but against Stuttgart he was the best man on the pitch for me , when he came in for the first time. ”Captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, as the central of the three central defenders of the defense chief, attested banks“ great potential ”. And Thorup was full of praise that Banks had “played outstandingly”, and the performance was “top” even before after his three things. The only one who pointed out the necessary learning process was Banks himself, which has already been told a lot about him. He was “relatively satisfied,” he said, “I think I did it quite well. But of course there are one or two things that can be improved. “

Banks has been kicking at the FCA since the U10 and is the U20 national player in the United States

Banks was born in Hawaii in Honolulu and grew up in the Allgäu. He has been kicking at the FCA since the U10 and is the U20 international in the United States in which his father lives. Banks stands next to Kömür for Augsburg’s project, increasing their own offspring to the professionals. Seldom succeeds as well as with Banks, who received a professional contract in July by 2027, but still lives in the FCA boarding school. Despite his stronger right foot, he plays as a left -back. This also works well because the 1.92 meter tall bank has its nervousness under control, at least during the games. “I’ve had better nights,” said the Schlaks. But at the latest at the kick -off, Banks manages to convert the excitement into a focus that allows him to play surprisingly calm and sovereign.

He contributes to the competition among the six operational central defenders. In his position alone, he competes with Schlotterbeck and the recently borrowed from Wolfsburg. Banks has made it to “offer a good option for the trainer in the future”. They will follow in Dietmannsried whether his flow and that of the FCA will continue near St. Pauli on Saturday – and maybe even in Honolulu.