SG Wattenscheid 09 has been the team to beat in the Oberliga Westfalen so far. However, the league leaders are approaching the remainder of the season with humility.

If the decision-makers at Lohrheide could have envisioned the first half of the season, it would likely have looked exactly as it did at the winter break. SG Wattenscheid 09, under coach Christopher Pache, leads the Oberliga Westfalen undefeated.

Despite the outstanding results, however, the SGW coach remains humble about the rest of the season and much prefers to emphasize the qualities 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’ve had a very, very successful first half of the season. That also has to do with the fact that we’ve grown very close as a team and bring an absolute team spirit onto the field. We’re now at the top of the Oberliga table, which looks very good from the outside. Everyone knows the goal we set for ourselves. We’re now a bit above that. We can’t complain and are, of course, very happy that we’ve 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 notice that the team is ready to face any challenge. As a coach, that’s always the best feeling. You see many teams that go down 0-1 and then lose confidence in themselves and completely fall apart. The highlight for me was feeling that the team has an answer for everything. The best example is the game against Arminia Bielefeld II: We were down 0-1 at halftime, playing on a heavy pitch where it’s also hard to get back into the game. To score two more goals and turn the game around—in part through sheer willpower—that’s an example that shows: You can’t break this team down that easily.

And what was the biggest negative experience?

For me as a coach, negative experiences are always when I sense that the team is currently missing something needed to bring the necessary energy onto the field. I can’t really pinpoint that specifically to one opponent. Of course, it hurts when you concede the 2-2 equalizer in the 96th minute at SV Lippstadt and you actually felt like the winner. But given how the game unfolded, it was a fair result. But if you weren’t ready for that game, for whatever reason, and it’s noticeable, I tend to walk away with a negative feeling. But I really can’t name any specific game.

Will there be changes to the squad during the winter break?

That’s not planned so far. Something would have to come along that’s just perfect. We’re not going in there saying: We absolutely have to do something. Winter transfers are never without their risks. I never rule anything out. You never know what’s happening on the market or internally. We have full 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 just as good as we were in the first half of the season. That’s obviously a tall order. We athletes always strive for the highest goals. That’s exactly how we lived in the first six months. I expect and demand that we live by that same standard 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 that within us, we’ll have a very good chance of seeing more great games for Wattenscheid 09.