The second day of the preliminary round in the Mülheim Indoor City Championship had a surprise in store, as A-League team SC Croatia Mülheim survived the “group of death.”

On the second day of the preliminary round of the Mülheim Indoor City Championship, the curtain rose on Group C, which had been dubbed the “group of death” in the run-up to the tournament. Led by regional league team VfB Speldorf, district league team 1. FC Mülheim-Styrum, and Mülheimer SV 07, there was little room for surprises on paper.

A-League club SC Croatia Mülheim and B-League club Sportfreunde Mülheim were hoping to cause an upset. Lo and behold, Croatia Mülheim actually managed to finish second in the group behind Speldorf. Coach Daniele Autieri’s team thus lived up to predictions that Croatia always has strong indoor soccer players in its ranks.

In the penultimate game of the day, Croatia prevailed in a direct duel against Mülheimer SV 07 to advance. Afterwards, there was great jubilation. Autieri remained modest: “I think we did quite well, but we still have a lot to improve on. We finished second in a tough group, and that as a Kreisliga A team. Not everyone expected that. I can only compliment the boys.”

As Autieri went on to explain, his boys took on the challenge of competing in what was probably the toughest group in the tournament. But there’s no need to be too modest, because Croatia showed in their four games that they have nothing to hide when it comes to soccer.

Christmas is over, now there’s nothing left to wish for. First you have to win the games. You can talk a lot beforehand, but what counts are the results.

Daniele Autieri

This is another reason why the A-League team can certainly expect to do well in the final round on January 3. Above all, because, according to the coach, some players were still missing who the club was unable to nominate due to vacation reasons.

The “minimum goal” of reaching the final round has already been achieved. If it were up to BW Mintard player Eren Güner, Mintard would face VfB Speldorf in the final. Autieri had clear words on this: “Christmas is over, now you can’t wish for anything anymore (laughs). You have to win the games first. You can talk a lot beforehand, but what counts are the results.”