VfB Bottrop went into the winter break with 38 points from the first 16 games. But captain and top performer Kudret Kanoglu is not satisfied.
At the beginning of the season, VfB Bottrop rushed from victory to victory and more than a few people thought that promotion to the Landesliga would be a sure thing for coach Can Ucar’s team.
But the 2-0 derby defeat at Fortuna Bottrop on the 7th matchday was followed by a downturn in the team’s morale. They were then supposed to win five games in a row, but the atmosphere was somewhat poisoned. The consequence: Ucar left and Volker Hohmann came in as the new coach.
In the end, only two wins out of the last five matches before the winter break followed. 38 points from 16 games sound good, but not to captain Kudret Kanoglu.
Kudret Kanoglu on……
the first half of the season for VfB Bottrop: “We left far too much on the table with the quality we had. We should have got more points. We started well and things went very well – until the defeat at Fortuna. After that, nothing was the same as it was at the start of the season. But still, we drew the games. That was simply the result of the high quality in the squad. But in the end, we were very happy that the winter break came. There are teams that are in a flow and could play non-stop. And then there are teams that urgently need a break. That applies to us. We’re running on empty and need to refill our tanks.”…
the best moment of the first half of the season: ”For me personally, there were three great moments: first, the birth of my daughter during the summer break, then the friendly game against Rot-Weiss Essen, and finally the 4-2 derby win on match day 13 at SV Rhenania Bottrop.”
… the worst moment in the first half of the season: “Yes, there were two: first, the 2-0 loss at Fortuna Bottrop and the 2-2 against SuS 09 Dinslaken. We were leading 2-0, had everything under control and ended up drawing 2-2. Of course, that felt like a defeat.”
… the goals for 2024: “We want to recover, train well, get in shape and just bring our great quality to the pitch. If we manage that, we will also achieve the goal we have set ourselves. I’m happy that my brother Samet Kanoglu will be helping us with that from now on.”