With Christian Stiefelhagen’s election victory, all doors are now open for a completely new start at MSV Duisburg. Ingo Wald commented on his defeat.

Christian Stiefelhagen could not really describe his emotional state after winning the board election at the end of the extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday evening shortly after 10 pm. “I’m still totally shaken up and haven’t come to terms with it yet. The joy outweighs the fact that the work of the last eight weeks has led to the hoped-for result. You could feel that the fans simply wanted a fresh start,” were the first words of the newly elected new president of MSV Duisburg.

After the first round of voting, the team led by the advertising and marketing professional, who was favored in the run-up to the election, had already won over a quarter of the almost 1,300 members present in the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena. The candidates from Thomas Maaßen’s circle were initially close on the heels of the new CEO, who was later elected, with just under two percent fewer votes.

However, Maaßen withdrew his candidacy before the second round of voting, as did Ingo Wald. “A great gesture,” Stiefelhagen felt. “We would probably have done it as a third party, if only to avoid having a chewing gum election night. We are happy to be entering this office with a broad majority.”

While the previous general meetings of MSV Duisburg were attended by just under half of the eligible voters at most, the interest in the future of the club was particularly high on Tuesday evening, as never before.

“The amount of people surprised us. We realized that we weren’t doing so badly in the polls and had to adjust our 15-minute presentation a bit as the only team of five. We assumed that the members had been watching our election campaign, but many probably just came to vote and decided what their heart beats for,” explained Stiefelhagen.

The new MSV boss also thanked his predecessor Ingo Wald, whose ten-year era finally came to an end with a meagre 15 percent after his withdrawal following the first round of voting. “Ingo lived the club 24/7 and gave so much for it. He left behind a foundation that cannot be ignored and on which we can build solidly. The fact that the last few years were no longer crowned with success is one thing, the result as a receipt is another. But I would rather talk about the new beginning than about old things. “

Of course we hoped for more, but that’s democracy

Ingo Wald

Wald, on the other hand, was “somewhat disappointed”, but the 66-year-old still showed greatness at his farewell and even received a standing ovation from the members. “Of course we had hoped for more, but that’s democracy. I don’t really regret taking over because we had great young people in the team who could provide new impetus. The window of opportunity was short. I struggled with myself for a long time, but in the end I decided to do it because I think the transition might have been a bit easier with an experienced person.”

Either way, Wald confirmed that he would continue to support the new team in whatever way he could with certain matters. However, Stiefelhagen’s election victory means that nothing stands in the way of a completely new start.