Ratingen 04/19 go into the Lower Rhine Cup semi-final against Rot-Weiss Essen as clear underdogs. Former coach Peter Radojewski believes a surprise is possible.

Peter Radojewski coached Ratingen 04/19 for around two and a half years. Around seven months after taking up his post in March 2014, he took Ratingen to the round of 16 of the Lower Rhine Cup. Their opponents at the time: Rot-Weiss Essen.

It was the last duel between the two teams to date. He can no longer remember it, said Radojewski. His Ratingen team even took the lead against the regional league team from Essen through Lukas Fedler. However, Richard Weber, Marwin Studtrucker and Marcel Platzek turned the game into a 3:1 victory for Rot-Weiss Essen.

The campaign was to be successful and RWE won the Lower Rhine Cup. Now, almost ten years later, the two teams face each other again. This time at Hafenstrasse – Wednesday, April 10, 7.30 pm, live ticker – and in a clash between the third division team and the top division team. Radojewski, who currently coaches Bezirksliga club Germania Wuppertal, says he is still following Germania Ratingen’s progress.

“I still have good contact with club president Jens Stieghorst. He puts so much heart and soul into it, the club would be lucky,” said Radojewski, when asked about a possible coup for Ratingen at the stadium on Hafenstrasse.

If Ratingen can keep the score at 0-0 for a long time, then of course more will be possible towards the end. I can imagine that they can annoy RWE

Peter Radojewski

At the same time, the 55-year-old emphasized that the underdogs will naturally have a tough time. “They’re playing a good season and are right up there at the top. But RWE are also playing a great round. You just have to say that.”

How could the surprise still work out? “If Ratingen can keep the score at 0-0 for a long time, then of course more is possible towards the end. I can imagine that they could upset RWE. “

He himself will not be on site at Hafenstraße, said Radojewski, who is currently in the middle of the table in the Niederrhein 2 district league with Germania Wuppertal. “With more training participation, we could certainly do better than ninth place. But in the Bezirksliga, you also have to come to terms with the fact that some players have more important commitments.”

In November 2021, Radojewski resigned as coach at SC Velbert for personal reasons and then took up the role in Wuppertal in the summer of 2022. “I’m very happy here. But if the right club comes along, I can of course also imagine coaching at a higher level again. “