Rot-Weiss Essen has a full roster, so not everyone will make the squad. It also remains to be seen who Uwe Koschinat will start at the No. 9 spot against the last-place team.
In the first half against MSV, Rot-Weiss Essen exuded incredible dominance. What was missing were the big chances. When it comes to creating scoring opportunities, RWE isn’t among the best teams in the league.
On Sunday (4:30 p.m.) against the last-place team, 1. FC Schweinfurt, we can expect a similar display of dominance from Essen in front of over 17,000 spectators at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße.
This raises the question of whether RWE might start with a true center forward, given that Ramien Safi has recently been starting in the center of the attack. With Jannik Mause, Jaca Cuber Potocnik, and Marek Janssen, the team has three central attackers waiting for their chance.
Koschinat acknowledged that this is a possibility. “Our goal must be to project a sense of danger in addition to visual dominance. So, of course, we’re also considering making a change up front.”
But that doesn’t necessarily have to happen. It’s more likely that Safi will start up front again. At the pre-game press conference, the coach explained: “Ramien Safi had a successful outing against MSV. He was rewarded for his very intense pressing. We have a lot of players coming off the bench who make their mark through goal-scoring opportunities and finishing plays. In that sense, it isn’t necessarily required to play that way from the start. But we’ll definitely factor it into our game preparation, because it also needs to be an option to make offensive adjustments as the game progresses and bring more presence into the penalty area.”
If Safi plays on the wing, he won’t face Ekin Celebi. The player on loan from RWE isn’t allowed to play against Essen—that’s stipulated in the loan agreement with Schweinfurt. Koschinat: “Those were purely matters between him and the host club; I wasn’t involved in any way. Nor was it necessary.”
If Celebi does travel to Essen, he could take a seat in the stands next to three teammates he’ll be reunited with this summer after his loan ends.
Since all of RWE’s field players are fit, as of Friday, three players will have to sit in the stands. Most recently, Jannik Mause and Luca Bazzoli—two new signings who were considered potential starters after their signings—were left out of the lineup for the derby.
The reaction to their exclusion from the squad in Duisburg was positive, as Koschinat explained: “Decisions like these always call for discussion. We handled it very openly and positively. Both players have really shown a good response in training. They’re also very well integrated into the team. When all players are fit, there will always be situations where players aren’t satisfied with their situation. That’s part of the day-to-day business. It’s something that I—that we, the coaching staff—have to reassess every week.”
But in the cases of Mause and Bazzoli, there’s no bad blood between me and the guys. Quite the opposite—we had positive conversations. There were clear guidelines on what needs to happen to improve the situation
Uwe Koschinat on Jannik Mause and Luca Bazzoli, who haven’t made the RWE squad recently
This means: Even before the 90 minutes against the team at the bottom of the standings, there will be a new evaluation, after which a trio will not be named to the roster. Koschinat, who has most of his roster mapped out in his head but also wants to wait for the final impressions from Saturday’s training session, reports: “There will again be players who, even though they’re fit to play, won’t make the roster. But as far as Mause and Bazzoli are concerned, there’s no bad blood between me and the guys. Quite the opposite—we had positive conversations. There were clear indications of what needs to happen to improve the situation. We’re in professional sports, and performance is the deciding factor.”