Rot-Weiss Essen continue to play for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. Despite all the joy, there are also things that make planning more difficult.

There is a lot on offer at Hafenstrasse at the moment. Rot-Weiss Essen continue to be the best home team in the 3rd division – on Saturday there was a 4:3 spectacle against bottom team Freiburg II.

These 90 minutes were an impressive reflection of the Rot-Weiss Essen team’s season to date. The morale is first-class and the team seems to be in great shape, as it is always able to step up in the final minutes.

The fans and team have been a unit since the team was promoted in the summer of 2022. But you could also see why it always takes these thrillers to win the three-pointer.

Because RWE seems to be dependent on one axis. Jakob Golz in goal, Marvin Obuz, who feels like he is involved in every goal, Vinko Sapina in midfield and defensive boss Felix Götze.

If Götze and Sapina are missing here – as they were against Freiburg – then there is a certain lack of stability defensively. It seems that a José-Enrique Ríos Alonso will also reach a different level alongside Götze

We talk about this topic, the upcoming top match weeks and the difficulties of planning beyond the summer in our RWE talk “Vonne Hafenstraße” with presenter Kira Alex and the two RWE experts Rolf Hantel and Christian Brausch.

The topic of planning in particular will keep RWE busy in the coming weeks and months. Many contracts are coming to an end, including that of coach Christoph Dabrowski. Here you can see the problems that come with a successful run

Performers become more expensive, put themselves in the shop window at a higher level and RWE must look to find an economic framework here that makes it possible to reach the next level. Which would also mean being able to keep Götze, and not just in the event of promotion.

The crux of the matter is that players could sign for one league but not the other, meaning that RWE can only plan very late. There is also the threat of losing key player Obuz, who will probably be needed at 1. FC Köln due to the transfer ban.

Despite the upswing, many questions remain and the coming weeks will be exciting for RWE. We hope you enjoy the talk today