Second division team Preußen Münster played to a 1-1 draw against SV Elversberg last weekend. For one player, it was a very special game.
It’s done: Yassine Bouchama’s dream finally came true on Saturday. In the home game against SV Elversberg (1-1), the Preußen Münster midfielder made his long-awaited second division debut. After not playing in the first eight games and in some cases not even being in the squad, Bouchama started against Elversberg.
Until he was substituted in the 67th minute due to a yellow card, the 27-year-old justified his place in the starting line-up and was one of the Eagles’ most active players. He was awarded a rating of 2.5 by “kicker” magazine, the highest rating of any player on the pitch.
Bouchama had to wait a long time for this moment, but the Essen native is no stranger to that. In recent years, he fought his way up from the bottom with a lot of dedication and perseverance. The “street footballer” never attended a youth academy and played for his hometown club FC Kray in the regional league until 2019.
He has been under contract at Hammer Straße since 2022, followed by a sensational march from the Regionalliga West to the 2nd Bundesliga. Bouchama has played a total of 71 competitive games for Preußen, scoring eleven goals and setting up eleven more. Now he has been able to prove his skills in the German second division for the first time.
Yes, I’m proud of my debut in the 2nd Bundesliga, it’s something I’ve only dreamed of for a long time. Five years ago, I was still playing in the Landesliga.
Yassine Bouchama.
“Yes, I’m proud of my debut in the 2nd division, it’s something I’ve dreamed of for a long time. Five years ago, I was still playing in the regional league. I’ve always believed in myself over the past few weeks because I know what I’m capable of. I knew that if I gave my best in training every day, I would get my chance at some point,” the Essen native told Bild afterwards.
It will be exciting to see how many second division games will be added to the Preußen pro’s career. One thing is clear: Yassine Bouchama’s unconventional path is likely to encourage many amateur soccer players. After all, at the age of 22, he was still playing in the regional league in front of just under 100 spectators, and this season he could be playing in front of over 60,000 fans at the Veltins Arena.