KFC Uerdingen is taking it easy this week. There is no training. Why? Coach Julian Stöhr explains.
KFC Uerdingen started its preparations for the 2025/2026 season on June 19. No other Oberliga team started earlier. The Krefeld team is now taking a five-day break from training. “Our preparation is very long and lasts seven weeks. We agreed with the guys from the start that there would be five days off in mid-July, and that’s now the case. We also have a few players with minor injuries. They can recover and then we’ll be back in full swing in a few days,“ explains Julian Stöhr. The KFC Uerdingen coach is completely satisfied with the preparations so far. ”There are no problems whatsoever,“ emphasizes Stöhr, explaining: ”We have settled in at SC Krefeld and are training here. Everything is always prepared, all the equipment is there, and the guys have received their kits. Michael Nagorny and Benjamin Skalnik are doing a fantastic job, so that we as the coaching team and the team have everything we need. We can concentrate fully on the sport.”
Stöhr is very satisfied with the team, which is complete except for one midfielder. The former head coach of SV Westfalia Rhynern and ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen can also draw a comparison with his previous teams and says: “We have a very, very strong team. The only disadvantage is that we had to start from scratch and the competition already had a framework in place. But we want to reduce this disadvantage during the long preparation period.”
When I see the fans, I can’t help but be amazed. It’s crazy how much people love their KFC and are loyal to the club. The coaching team, the players, and everyone in charge are all well aware of the responsibility we have to these fantastic fans. Julian Stöhr
300, 400 or 500: those are the attendance figures for the start of training or the test matches involving KFC. Stöhr, who is a teacher by profession and father of twins (nine months old), sometimes still has to pinch himself when it comes to the KFC fans.
“When I see the fans, I can’t help but be amazed. It’s crazy how much people love their KFC and are loyal to the club. The coaching team, the players, and the club officials all know exactly what responsibility we have toward these fantastic fans. But I must also say that the fans have a really good feel for the team. They know that the team is new and needs time to find its feet. I don’t feel that there is any unnecessary pressure, but rather that everything is being approached in a very realistic manner,” says Stöhr.
