1. FC Bocholt spent the winter in first place in the Regionalliga West. The new year should continue successfully for FC 1.

1. FC Bocholt went into the winter break with 40 points after 19 matches.

The coach’s message – also in the direction of Aachen, Fortuna Köln, Köln II, Düren, Wuppertal and Oberhausen: Bocholt want to continue in 2024 – and win as many games as possible.

Dietmar Hirsch on…

… the first half of the season for 1. FC Bocholt: “Yes, the word sensational is the best way to describe the first half of the season. It was simply unbelievable. We signed 17 new players and they integrated quickly. We quickly became a team and performed well. It’s been a really great 19th matchday so far. We want to continue here in the new year.”

… the best moment of the past round? “The 3-0 win against Alemannia Aachen was very emotional. The result was too high in the end, but we didn’t care. We won a top match in front of a sold-out crowd with lots of visiting fans. That was a real highlight.”

… the worst moment of the half-season? “The 0:5 in Paderborn stays in my head. That was a subterranean performance. Fortunately, the only one so far this season. We immediately got back on track after that debacle and almost never left it.”

… the goals for 2024: “Our training session is scheduled to start on January 4. Of course, we want to prepare ourselves so that we can continue to play up there – as long as we can. It’s fun to annoy the big names in the league. We want to keep that up. I always say that we approach everything with a controlled euphoria and continue to look from game to game. We’ve done very well with that so far. There’s also the Lower Rhine Cup. The cup is a big goal for us. We want to bring it to Bocholt. If we beat Baumberg, which will be hard enough, we can look forward to a semi-final home game against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. And anything is possible at the Hünting, after all. “