The red pants are the clear favorite in the home game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. The personnel carousel is already turning at the third division bottom.
Photo: foto2press / Frank Scheuring
It is clear which club the Würzburger Kickers are against on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. FC Carl Zeiss Jena, the bottom of the table in the third division, will be a guest at Dallenberg. But who will be the opponents of the red pants is questionable. Because the team of team boss René Klingbeil can hardly make the relegation anymore, plans are already planned for the coming season in Thuringia – then probably one floor below, in the Regionalliga Nordost. The first step: Five players were eliminated from the squad with immediate effect.
Carl Zeiss Jena sorts out five players
Jena’s captain Dominic Volkmer (20 games of the season), Kilian Pagliuca (21), Marian Sarr (6), Julian Günther-Schmidt (26) and Hoffenheim loan Meris Skenderovic (20) will no longer appear for the FCC in the remaining eight games. That reports the East Thuringian newspaper. In addition, those responsible brought six players from the second team to the professionals. The suspended regulars Pagliuca and Günther-Schmidt scored ten of the 29 goals for Jena this season (five each). “Players with whom we cannot plan or plan beyond the end of the season will instead be replaced by young talents from our own offspring,” said Tobias Werner, who played as a professional with FC Augsburg and 1. FC Nürnberg, among others, and has been sports director at the FCC for four weeks. “You should have the chance to show yourself.”
Only Pfeiffer and Müller not ready for action
New conditions for red pants coach Michael Schiele, who in turn only has to do without two of his players: goalkeeper Vincent Müller (broken jaw) and Luca Pfeiffer (thigh injury) will probably have to pass against Jena. Luke Hemmerich is back in the team training, the trio around Jonas David, Saliou Sané and Dominik Meisel is in advanced training. Albion Vrenezi, who had to pause at TSV 1860 Munich (2-1) due to a yellow card suspension, is also allowed to participate again.
The roles are clearly distributed before the duel on Wednesday evening. The FWK, with 47 points only four points behind leaders MSV Duisburg, is the favorite in the game against bottom of the table Jena (18 points). “It would be presumptuous to say that we do not have the favorite role,” said Daniel Hägele before the game. “We will accept them and knock everything in.” The vice-captain was allowed to play for the Munich Lions last Saturday for the first time after a three-month injury break, alternating between central defense and defensive midfield. “It was a really nice feeling.”
Hägele expects “completely different game”
Hägele expects a “completely different game than last Saturday in Munich” against the bottom of the table. His prognosis: “We will have the ball much more often. Then we have to use our chances ice cold.” Will Schiele therefore bet on a 4-4-2 again, i.e. call up two nominal strikers? If so, the space next to the well-placed workhorse Dominic Baumann would be vacant. Most recently Luca Pfeiffer was allowed to run in this position, but he is stricken. Maximilian Breunig or Saliou Sané would be conceivable options.
No matter who starts for the red pants and which team the Kickers face, the motto for Hägele is clear: arrogance is prohibited. “It is a clear matter for outsiders, but not for us. We know exactly what to expect. They are under no pressure and we will do a hell of a lot to underestimate the boys.” The recent appearances of the FCC show that the table position does not quite reflect the performance. In the first ghost game between Jena and Chemnitz FC in Würzburg (0: 1) and FC Kaiserslautern (1: 2), the Klingbeil team went away empty-handed, but was by no means without chance. The leaders from MSV Duisburg, opponents of the Kickers next Saturday, even scored one point (1-1).
Kickers don’t feel any particular pressure
The red pants want to follow up on the important points in Munich, but according to Hägele feel “no particular pressure”. However, if the Schiele team wants to continue to compete at the top, a home win against the bottom is almost mandatory. With which staff and in which formation is of secondary importance for the vice-captain. “Now it’s no longer about playing the most beautiful football. Now it’s about getting the points.”
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Wurzburg
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Felix Mock
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1. FC Kaiserslautern
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1. FC Nürnberg
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Carl Zeiss Group
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Carl Zeiss Jena
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FC Augsburg
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FC Carl Zeiss Jena
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FC Wuerzburger Kickers
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Günther Schmidt
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MSV Duisburg
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TSV 1860 Munich
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