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 Velbert sports and games association starts its race to catch up in the Regionalliga West at FC Gütersloh on Saturday (February 3, 2:00 p.m.), Massimo Mondello will no longer be there.
After almost 15 years, the 32-year-old is no longer a member of the regional league squad with immediate effect. The defender is moving to the SSVg Velbert’s district league reserve squad 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, 65 of which were 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 common ground, 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: “Saying goodbye to our team was incredibly difficult for me. With so many players, spending so many years together day in, day out, on and off the pitch, 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 to the team! You will continue to have my support so that we can achieve the 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 have improved over the winter. We now want to prove that in the league too and start 2024 with a positive competitive game,” emphasized Velbert coach Dimitrios Pappas.