Rot-Weiss Essen continues to play for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. Despite all the joy, this also brings with it things that make planning more difficult.

There is a lot going on at Hafenstraße at the moment. Rot-Weiss Essen continues to be the best home team in the 3rd division – on Saturday they played a 4-3 thriller against bottom-of-the-league Freiburg II.

These 90 minutes impressively reflected the team’s season so far. The morale is first-class, and the team also seems to be in top physical form, as they are always able to step up in the final minutes.

The backdrop has also pushed the team, and since the promotion in the summer of 2022, the fans and team have become one. However, it has also become clear why these thrillers are always needed to win the three-pointers.

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

If Götze and Sapina are missing here – as they were against Freiburg – then a certain stability is missing in defense. It seems that on the side of Götze, a José-Enrique Ríos Alonso also reaches a different level.

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

The issue of planning in particular will occupy RWE in the coming weeks and months. Many contracts are expiring, including that of coach Christoph Dabrowski. This is where you can see the problems that a run of success brings with it.

Top performers are becoming more expensive, putting themselves in the shop window in higher classes, and RWE has to find a framework that makes it possible to reach the next level. Which would also mean that you can hold an idol, not just in the event of a possible promotion.

The crux of the matter here is that players could sign for one league but not for the other, which means that RWE can only plan at a very late stage. In addition, there is the threat of the loss of key player Obuz, who will probably be needed at 1. FC Cologne due to the transfer ban.

Despite the high, many questions remain, and the coming weeks will also be exciting for RWE. For now, we hope you enjoy the talk.