Last year, the district league coaches in the region could not really agree on a promotion favorite in our editorial team’s survey for the new season – TuRa Brüggen and Fortuna Dilkrath were equally popular with the coaches at the time. This year the opinion regarding the favorite is many times clearer. When asked about the level of the district league, the RP survey also resulted in a fairly unified opinion. In addition to these two aspects, the coaches should also comment on possible surprise teams and their own goals. Those are the answers.
Sportfreunde Neuwerk – the clear favorite for promotion
The Sportfreunde Neuwerk could almost have played the decisive game for promotion to the state league at Fortuna Dilkrath in the past season – but the Fortunes made the promotion perfect one game day before the direct duel against the eventual runner-up. “We were in a good mood and hoped that we would get a final in Dilkrath. That would have been a highlight,” said Neuwerk coach Dony Karaca at the time.
It’s no wonder that the sports fans are given the role of favorites by all coaches in the region before the season that starts now. “I think that after an impressive second half of the season, Neuwerk will definitely be one of the teams that can play for promotion,” says Marc Trostel from SC Waldniel, for example. Marat Surtebayev from promoted Red Stars Mönchengladbach also sees it this way: “My favorite for promotion are Sportfreunde Neuwerk. The team played very consistently last year, so I see them up front.”
TuRa Brüggen was also frequently mentioned, coming in third behind Neuwerk last year. Tim Schmitz (1. FC Mönchengladbach), Dony Karaca (Neuwerk), Dirk Horn (TuS Wickrath) and Marc Trostel (SC Waldniel) all indicated Brüggen – along with Neuwerk – as a candidate for promotion. Karaca in particular expects a close race at the top. “Like last year, Brüggen will play at the top, just like us – I hope. I also see Waldniel and Krefeld Fischeln above. These four teams will make it exciting,” said Karaca, who didn’t want to put his team under pressure.
How much can the climbers surprise?
When it comes to potential surprises in the coming season, the coaches think in particular of the teams that have been promoted from the district league A. Wickraths Horn believes OSV Meerbusch is capable of a lot, the Red Stars were praised by several trainers. “They play good football and could settle in the top third of the table – similar to TuS Wickrath as a promoted team last season,” says Dony Karaca. Red Stars coach Surtebayev also trusts his team to become the surprise team of the season and names another climber in Türkiyemspor. When they finished second in the last A-League season, you can also look at the climbers. “It would certainly be a surprise if all those promoted would secure themselves early – or even one marched through,” said the Türkiyemspor duo Ufuk Isik and Cafer Kapkara.
district league – besshe, more balanced, more exciting
Assessing the level of the league before the start of the season is not always that easy for the coaches: New, possibly unknown teams are added, up-and-coming players are leaving the league, while at the same time players who have already played in higher classes are added. All in all, however, the majority of the coaches surveyed determined that the quality of the league – at the top and across the board – has increased compared to the previous season. “The level of the league will be much more balanced and the quality has increased significantly across the board,” says Brüggen’s Jakob Scheller, for example. Dirk Horn also agrees. “The level is a bit higher than in the previous season, and the four promoted teams are the main reason for this,” says the Wickrath coach, who was able to take fourth place with TuS right away after promotion in the first year of the district league. Dony Karaca is also looking forward to a strong district league: “It will be exciting this year, with the Krefeld teams Tönisberg and Krefeld-Fischeln, Meerbusch, but also 1. FC Mönchengladbach as a traditional club. The level is high and I expected exciting decisions about promotion and relegation.”
Established players want to move up, newcomers want to stay in
Compared to the previous season, only four teams from the region remained in the district league – all were part of the top group: Neuwerk (2nd), Brüggen (3rd), Wickrath (4th) and Waldniel (6th). All four coaches would like to see this success confirmed and, if possible, surpassed. The high-profile teams from Neuwerk (Karaca: “We want to be in the top five and play attractive football”) and Brüggen (Scheller: “We want to be in the top five or six teams”) are all about expectations slow down a bit at first.
The motto of the league newcomers – 1. FC Mönchengladbach as relegated and Red Stars and Türkiyemspor as promoted – is different. You want to establish yourself. “We’re happy to take everything that has nothing to do with the relegation zone with us,” they say at Türkiyemspor. “We’ll see how strong the league is and whether we’re ready for it,” say the Red Stars. And in the West End? “I don’t want to make a prediction. We are a young team in development,” says coach Schmitz.
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