SC Croatia Mülheim is on the right track in the Kreisliga A. We talked to the sporting director, Efe Özkan, about the Mülheim club’s future plans.
It’s the winter break in the Kreisliga A. This is an opportunity to get an overview of how the season has gone so far. For example, SC Croatia Mülheim is doing really well. In third place with 31 points, Croatia is only three points behind the leaders, FC Taxi Duisburg. As is well known, only one team from the Kreisliga A makes it into the Bezirksliga, but with the current standings, it would certainly be negligent not to consider the possibility of promotion.
The sporting director of Croatia Mülheim, Efe Özkan, who also plays in the club’s goal, takes a calm approach to the topic: “Of course we want to get promoted, but we don’t have to. We have the quality and, above all, the team spirit to achieve this goal. It’s really remarkable how many people turn up for training. It’s really great and makes me proud.”
The season is still long and especially in the tight Kreisliga A, no one can be too sure too soon. Looking at the table, six teams stand out that could be competing for first place. Only six points separate them. This promises to be a hot race for promotion.
If we do our homework, it could look really good for us at the end of the season.
Efe Özkan
Özkan also knows: “The league is really incredibly balanced. For example, we haven’t been able to get a really clear win or anything like that either. This also shows the balance, whether at the top or bottom. In any case, we have everything in our own hands. If we do our homework, it can look really good for us at the end of the season.”
Now the winter break is just around the corner. Özkan hopes that the team will improve, but is also a little annoyed about the timing: “It’s a bit stupid. We were doing really well in the race and reduced the gap from eight to three points to first place. But now the break is standing in the way. Of course we want to use it as well as possible. For us, it’s the city championships in January, so we’re not out of the game for that long,” explained the goalkeeper.
In addition to the city championships and the subsequent tight training schedule at Croatia Mülheim, the transfer phase is of course also coming up. For the time being, there is only something happening on the outgoing side at Croatia: “Our top scorer Giovanni D Amico, who unfortunately didn’t perform to his usual standard this season, left at the beginning of the winter break. He was not satisfied with his playing time and so we parted ways by mutual agreement. Otherwise, we’ll see what else happens. We are very satisfied with our squad and are not forced to take action,” Özkan summed up.