Rot-Weiss Essen welcomes SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Sunday evening. RWE is delivering, but there is still criticism of Uwe Koschinat. Rot-Weiss Essen has lost only three of 21 games this season and, with 41 goals scored, RWE ranks fourth in this statistic behind TSG Hoffenheim II (42), Energie Cottbus (45), and SC Verl (50). Rot-Weiss Essen is in fifth place in the overall table, just two points behind leaders MSV Duisburg. And yet, even after the 4-1 win against Havelse, criticism arose once again. On social media, many RWE fans dislike the style of play preferred by Uwe Koschinat. The fact that he has an average of over 2.0 points per game as RWE coach and has transformed RWE from a relegation candidate to a promotion contender is sometimes forgotten.

Before Sunday’s game against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, Koschinat was asked how he deals with the criticism.

The 54-year-old soccer coach replied: “The great thing about this sport is that you can have different approaches and opinions. That’s absolutely legitimate. Last season, factors emerged that gave the team confidence. We have managed to maintain that. For me, further development is not defined solely by ball possession structures. We have the ability to be stable and dangerous – we strike an excellent balance between the two. For a long time, the criticism was that such a good position in the table was not possible with the high number of goals conceded. We are proving the opposite.“

Time and again, the RWE coaches use the term ”Hafenstraße soccer“ – even during the presentation. Koschinat has little desire to discuss the interpretation of this term. He replies dryly: ”Hafenstraße soccer is when we win 9 out of 10 games.”

The fans will therefore be hoping for a seventh home win in twelve games at the Hafenstraße stadium on Sunday evening. This would see RWE draw level with the leading teams, FC Energie Cottbus and MSV Duisburg, in the home table. Another argument in favor of Koschinat’s style of play.