17 players left VfL Bochum in the summer. Not all of them have been happy so far. Frustration is directed at Moritz Broschinski. Moritz Broschinski raised his arm and was already celebrating, but the game between his FC Basel and FC Lugano continued. The referee did not consider the ball from the former VfL Bochum striker, for whom the club could receive up to €2.5 million, to have completely crossed the line.
Although individual images of this scene suggest otherwise. Unlike in the Bundesliga, however, there is no goal-line technology in the Swiss league, which is why Broschinski remains without a goal after nine games in the Super League.
The 25-year-old has been unable to shake off the goal curse that has plagued him in competitive games for years, even after his transfer in the summer. In addition, he is making life difficult for himself with technical shortcomings and poorly placed shots. As a result, he is already being criticized in the Swiss media. Blick recently ran the headline: “The league’s biggest transfer mistake.” Journalist Florian Raz asked in a podcast format for the newspaper: “Can he stop? Can he shoot? We don’t know.” His colleague Tobias Wedermann added: “Someone has to take responsibility for this.” Boom, harsh words against Broschinski, who has to endure even harsher criticism on social media.
At least last weekend was more enjoyable for Lukas Daschner, who, like Broschinski, moved from Bochum to Switzerland in the summer. However, he initially had to endure a difficult few months at FC St. Gallen. Right in his second training session, his kneecap popped out and he had to undergo surgery. On Sunday, he made his comeback in the 1-4 defeat against Young Boys Bern. For other summer departures from VfL Bochum, this season is not going as well as they had hoped. Center back Ivan Ordets has still not found a new club and has been working with a private trainer in Düsseldorf. On Tuesday, Arminia Bielefeld tested the 33-year-old center back in team training. “I would like to continue playing in the Bundesliga,” Ordets said in the summer, but he seems to have overestimated his chances. The Ukrainian would also have to take a pay cut in Bielefeld—one of the reasons why he did not join VfL in the second division at the time.
These departures from VfL Bochum are plagued by injuries. Mohammed Tolba is also still without a new club. A trial training session at Alemannia Aachen, including a test match against VfL in October, did not lead to a contract. Goalkeeper Paul Grave is suffering from a torn meniscus and has not yet played a game for 1. FC Bocholt. Agon Elezi had to take a break after a good first few weeks at FK Sarajevo due to a shoulder injury and has only just returned to full fitness. Patrick Drewes, on the other hand, seems to be quite happy with his role as third keeper at Borussia Dortmund. Dani de Wit, who came to Bochum with high expectations but was never able to live up to them, was injured for a long time this season. After his transfer to FC Utrecht on a free transfer, he scored twice in the league, but then suffered a foot injury that put him out of action for several weeks. He is now back and has fought his way back into the starting lineup. Bamba gains playing experience at Willem II Samuel Bamba also has such a role in the Dutch second division at Willem II. He was loaned out by VfL Bochum so that Bamba could gain playing experience. The plan is currently working, even though the speedy winger has only been able to contribute to one goal in the league so far. Nevertheless, the officials at both clubs seem to be quite satisfied with the loan at the moment.
Tim Oermann is also currently enjoying a successful loan spell at Sturm Graz – although VfL Bochum is no longer benefiting from it. Bayer Leverkusen signed the right-back in the summer for just under €1.8 million and immediately loaned him out to Austria. Sturm plays in the Europa League, so Oermann is supposed to get used to the increased workload in English weeks. “The English rhythm is new to me,” he said before the international break. “At some point, you realize that it becomes a bit difficult mentally to maintain such a high level of concentration.”
Things are going even better for Bernardo at TSG Hoffenheim, where he is a regular starter under Christian Ilzer and is also impressing with his performances. As usual, he defends rigorously and calmly and has played a key role in TSG’s good season so far. Center back Jakov Medic, who VfL Bochum had on loan from Ajax Amsterdam, has also made a big impact at his new club, at least in terms of performance. In the summer, he moved to Norwich City. However, even he has not been able to prevent his team from occupying second-to-last place in the English second division. The other pre-season loans from VfL Bochum, Myron Boadu and Georgios Masouras, have had mixed seasons so far. Masouras seems to be gaining momentum in Saudi Arabia, most recently scoring twice for Al-Khaleej. Boadu, on the other hand, is not playing at all for PSV Eindhoven. Tom Krauß, who joined Castroper Straße during the last winter break for the second half of the season, now plays for 1. FC Köln and at least gets regular playing time. Although he sat on the bench for 90 minutes during the derby defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach.