1. FC Monheim has made use of the services of fellow relegated team MSV Düsseldorf and signed an experienced man for the central defence.
After relegation to the Landesliga, 1. FC Monheim has made a real top transfer. Assani Lukimya, a former Bundesliga professional, has signed with FCM.
The 37-year-old played a total of 86 times in the Bundesliga for Hansa Rostock and SV Werder Bremen. He also made 69 appearances in the 2nd division (Rostock and Fortuna Düsseldorf) and 114 games in the 3rd division (FC Carl Zeiss Jena, KFC Uerdingen). In the meantime, Lukimya also played in China and played 69 more games for Liaoning FC.
Already after his time in Uerdingen, he joined MSV Düsseldorf in the Landesliga in January 2022. In eleven appearances in the second half of the season, the trained centre-back scored 13 times and set up three more goals, helping the Düsseldorf side to promotion to the Oberliga Niederrhein. There, too, Lukimya was a natural choice in the past season, but with seven goals and five assists in 39 games, he was unable to stave off relegation.
Lukimya should become “an anchor
Now his path leads him to a fellow relegated team. Monheim’s general manager Karim El Fahmi stressed in a press release: “Luki brings to us not only his huge wealth of experience but also enormous humanity.”
Negotiations with the ex-professional were “characterised by mutual appreciation right from the start”. “Even at 37, he is in top shape, still has a great deal of ambition and knows how to contribute his sporting qualities both defensively and offensively. It’s not for nothing that he didn’t miss a single minute except for one game in the past mammoth season and always took on a supporting role.”
Lukimya is also expected to lead the team in Monheim. “Luki will be an anchor for our young lads on and off the pitch with his experience. At the same time, he is to lead the way together with our other leading players and fill what has been set with life,” El Fahmi expressed his conviction.
Lukimya will start with the FCM in the Landesliga Group 1. There, the experienced man will also meet fellow relegated side and former club MSV Düsseldorf.