SG Wattenscheid 09 has been the team to beat in the Oberliga Westfalen so far. However, the league leaders are taking a modest view of the rest of the season.
If those responsible at Lohrheide could have predicted the first half of the season, it would probably have looked like it does at the winter break. SG Wattenscheid 09, under coach Christopher Pache, leads the Oberliga Westfalen undefeated.
Despite the outstanding results, however, the SGW coach is modest about the rest of the season and prefers to emphasize the virtues that have made Wattenscheid so strong so far.
Christopher Pache, how do you assess the first half of the season?
The numbers speak for themselves. We have played a very, very successful first half of the season. This also has to do with the fact that we have grown very strong as a team and have developed an absolute team spirit on the pitch. We are now top of the Oberliga table, which looks very good from the outside. Everyone knows our goal, where we wanted to be. We are now a little bit above that. We can’t complain and are of course very happy that we have played such a good first half of the season.
What has been the highlight for you so far?
There have been a few highlight moments. It’s always nice when I see that the team is ready to face any challenge. As a coach, that’s always the best feeling. You see a lot of teams that go 0-1 down and then lose confidence in themselves and completely collapse. The highlight for me was feeling that the team has an answer to everything. The best example is the game at Arminia Bielefeld II: we were 0-1 down at half-time, playing on a deep pitch where it’s difficult to get back into the game. To score two more goals and turn the game around, also through sheer willpower, is an example that shows: you can’t easily break the team. And what was the most negative experience? For me as a coach, negative experiences are always when I feel that the team is lacking something to be ready to bring the necessary energy to the pitch. I can’t say that about any particular opponent. Of course, it hurts when you concede a 2-2 equalizer in the 96th minute at SV Lippstadt and you already felt like the winner. But it was a fair result based on how the game went. However, if you weren’t ready for this game, for whatever reason, and that’s noticeable, I tend to come away with a negative feeling. But I can’t really name any specific game. Will there be any changes to the squad during the winter break? That’s not planned at the moment. Something would have to come up that was perfect. We’re not going in there and saying: We absolutely have to do something. Winter transfers are never without risk. I never rule anything out. You never know what will happen on the market and internally. We have complete confidence in the current team and want to continue with them. What is your goal for the rest of the season? My goal is always to be as good as we were in the first half of the season. That’s a tall order, of course. As athletes, we always strive for the highest goals. That’s how we lived in the first half of the year. I expect and demand that we do the same in the second half of the season. We have to maintain this spirit and approach it with a great deal of humility and gratitude. That is my goal. And if we continue to carry this within us, we have a very good chance of seeing more good games for Wattenscheid 09.