Things are going well at ETB Schwarz-Weiß. The Essen team is top of the table in the Oberliga Niederrhein. One striker is currently in top form.
Ten games, ten goals, first place with the team: For Noel Futkeu, the 2022/2023 season could not have started better.
After a disappointing time with the U21s of 1. FC Köln and an early contract termination – RevierSport reported – Noel Futkeu returned to Essen last summer. Not to Rot-Weiss, from where he moved to Cologne, but to Schwarz-Weiß, where he already played in youth before his move to RWE.
Damian Apfeld is certainly a decisive factor for our current success. He prepares himself and the team very meticulously for the upcoming opponent. He knows how to keep a team together and whip it forward and gives me a lot of confidence.
Noel Futkeu
“The fun of football is back with me. My coach Damian Apfeld trusts me 100 per cent and I’m usually on the pitch for the full distance. In the past few weeks, I’ve gained a lot of self-confidence. That, in turn, is also reflected positively in my performance on the pitch.”
In an interview with the DFB portal “fussball.de”, the 19-year-old talks about his current run and his goals for the future. That things are going so well for Futkeu might surprise some. After all, he is actually a trained winger. “That’s right. I was actually brought in as a wing player. Due to the injury of our regular centre forward Williams Clinton Emmanuel, I moved to the centre, was able to convince in this position and feel very comfortable in this position,” Futkeu explained to “fussball.de”. Ten goals in ten games prove him right, of course.
The fact that not only Futkeu but the entire Schwarz-Weiß Essen team is doing so well has a specific reason, or rather a specific person, as Futkeu emphasises: “Damian Apfeld is definitely a decisive factor for our current success. He prepares himself and the team very meticulously for the upcoming opponent. He knows how to keep a team together and whip it forward, and he gives me a lot of confidence.”
Futkeu leaves it open where ETB’s path will ultimately lead them. Despite leading the table, he is practising understatement and says: “We would do well to think only from game to game. We want to stay competitive week after week – even against top teams like KFC Uerdingen or SSVg Velbert. What will come out of it in the end, we will see.”
Whether with or without ETB: For Futkeu, who also began training as a fitness and sports merchant with his commitment at the Uhlenkrug, the aim is to return to professional football on the track. He has already had a taste of professional football in 23 regional league games (two goals) with Rot-Weiss Essen and 1. FC Köln. “That is and remains my goal. For that, I am also completely focused on football. I don’t see myself at the end of my development and my performance potential yet.