VfB Homberg is spending the winter break in seventh place in the table. If sports director Frank Hildebrandt has his way, the team will move up at least one place in the second half of the season. The Duisburg team’s goal is to finish in the top third.
With Fabio Ribeiro (35), who has played 133 regional league and 160 upper league games, a seasoned player is leaving coach Stefan Janßen’s team.
Frank Hildebrandt, how would you assess your team’s first half of the season?
We had a pretty mixed first half of the season. We are in seventh place, which isn’t too bad, but we would have liked to have picked up a few more points. If I were to give it a school grade, it would be a satisfactory (3) – mixed, in other words. What has been the highlight for you so far? The victory against KFC Uerdingen was definitely a highlight. It was a clear win in front of an impressive crowd. Another highlight was the Niederrhein Cup defeat against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. We also experienced a great atmosphere on the Rhine embankment and were unfortunately narrowly eliminated by RWO. And what was the most negative experience? That would have to be the negative streak of six games without a win. Fortunately, we were able to end that with the victory in the last game in Kleve. Fortunately, we managed to do that in 2025, so we don’t have to carry this streak into the new year.
Will there be any changes to the squad during the winter break?
As already announced, Fabio Ribeiro will be leaving us. This is for personal and professional reasons. He is changing jobs, which is further away, and he will therefore no longer be able to commit to Oberliga soccer. We will have to find a replacement for him in defensive midfield. We are currently in talks. What is your goal for the rest of the season? Our goals have not changed: we have always said that we want to be in the top third of this very balanced league. That goal remains the same, even though you always have to keep an eye on the rearview mirror in this league. However, I am convinced that with this team, we can advance to the positions we want to be in.
