The SSVg Velbert will start the 2024 competitive season with an away game at FC Gütersloh. A club legend will not be on the team bus.

When the Sport- und Spielvereinigung Velbert start their race to catch up in the Regionalliga West at FC Gütersloh on Saturday (February 3, 2 p.m.), Massimo Mondello will no longer be there.

After almost 15 years, the 32-year-old is no longer a member of the Regionalliga team. The defender is moving to the SSVg Velbert’s Bezirksliga reserve team at his own request.

“The time has come. An outstanding time is coming to an end! Having been part of the first team for 15 years at a club where I started playing football is something extraordinary,” Mondello said a few days ago when saying goodbye to his teammates and fans.

The German-Italian looks back on a whopping 297 appearances (12 goals, 17 assists) for SSVg Velbert, including 65 games in the Regionalliga West. In his career, he played for no other club than the Sport- und Spielvereinigung – a rarity in today’s amateur and professional football.

It was incredibly difficult for me to say goodbye to our team. Spending time together day in and day out on and off the pitch with so many players for so many years, sharing similarities, fighting out disputes and, at the end of the day, sticking together to stand up for one thing: the success of the club!

Massimo Mondello

Mondello: “It was incredibly difficult for me to say goodbye to our team. Spending time together day in, day out, on and off the pitch, with so many players, for so many years, sharing similarities, fighting out arguments and, at the end of the day, sticking together to stand up for one thing: the success of the club! Thank you team! I will continue to support you so that we can achieve our big goal at the end of the season – avoiding relegation!

SSVg are currently eight points from safety. A win in Gütersloh should reduce that gap. “We’ve had a good dress rehearsal. The 1-1 draw against Wuppertal showed that we’ve improved over the winter. We now want to prove that in the league too and start the 2024 competitive season in positive fashion,” emphasized Velbert coach Dimitrios Pappas.