MSV Duisburg faces SV Waldhof Mannheim on Friday evening. The league leader has gone five games without a win.
MSV Duisburg has gone five games—four draws and one loss—without a win.
And yet, after 13 games in the 3. Liga, the newly promoted team sits in first place.
“That’s something we can be proud of, and of course it’s something special. Recently, Alexander Hahn said that looking at the standings doesn’t make much sense right now. I spoke with ‘Ali’ about it and know what he meant and what he was trying to achieve: he wanted to take the pressure off the team. But we can all be proud that, as a newly promoted team, we’re in first place after 13 games,” Dietmar Hirsch made clear ahead of Friday night’s match against SV Waldhof Mannheim.
After all, even the experienced Hirsch knows that MSV—especially at this stage, with five consecutive games without a win (a streak that could certainly be described as a “results slump”)—shouldn’t downplay the Zebras’ achievements. After all, the Meiderich-based team started the season with eight consecutive games without a loss, setting a new third-division record. Clearly, the MSV pros can be proud of this record.
We don’t have to—and we shouldn’t—win. But we want to win! We just have to be fired up for soccer and let the atmosphere completely carry us away. We want to outplay our opponent, battle them—and then we’ll see what comes of it. It’s going to be another awesome atmosphere, under the floodlights and in front of over 20,000 fans.
Dietmar Hirsch
If Hirsch has his way, the team will turn things around on Friday against Mannheim in front of around 22,000 fans. The 53-year-old said: “We want to play boldly and work compactly against the ball. The opponent has a lot of agility and pace. They like to go after the second balls. Still, I believe we can play a high line against opponents like this. We did that against Rot-Weiss Essen and players as fast as Ramien Safi. But, of course: you always have to be alert and highly focused.”
Hirsch also emphasized: “We don’t have to—and we shouldn’t—win. But we want to win! We just have to be eager to play soccer and let the atmosphere completely inspire us. We want to outplay our opponents, battle them—and then we’ll see what comes of it. It’s going to be another awesome atmosphere, under the floodlights and in front of over 20,000 fans.”
