Claus-Dieter “Pele” Wollitz has once again led Energie Cottbus to second place in the 3. Liga after the team finished in the relegation spot last year. Here’s what’s next.
Energie Cottbus and Claus-Dieter “Pele” Wollitz: It’s just a perfect fit. And as the “Lausitzer Rundschau” reports, that’s set to remain the case in the future. Ahead of the big match against Rot-Weiss Essen (November 23, 7:30 p.m., RS live ticker), President Sebastian Lemke set the record straight at the members’ meeting, according to the paper.
Just as with assistant coach Tobias Röder, head coach Wollitz’s contract has also been “adjusted and extended.” “They’re moving forward with us into the future.”
Wollitz began his coaching career in 2002 with KFC Uerdingen 05. His time at VfL Osnabrück was particularly successful, where he secured promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in 2007.
As head coach of FC Energie Cottbus, he repeated this success, leading the team to the DFB Cup semifinals and establishing himself as an experienced head coach. Other stops in his career included Viktoria Köln, 1. FC Magdeburg, and, once again, Energie Cottbus, where he secured promotion to the 3. Liga in the 2023–24 season.
On Saturday afternoon, November 15, Wollitz celebrated his first victory under his new contract. Regionalliga club SV Babelsberg gave FC Energie Cottbus a tough time in the Brandenburg State Cup. In the end, however, Cottbus secured a 4–2 victory. With this win, the Lusatians advance to the semifinals of the Brandenburg State Cup.
This result helps Energie regain confidence after two consecutive losses in the third division. Most recently, they had suffered a 0–1 defeat against VfL Osnabrück. After the game, Wollitz was asked why he had left his top scorer, Tolcay Cigerci, on the bench. He retorted sharply: “This is FC Energie Cottbus, not FC Cigerci. We should start treating it that way.”
Energie Cottbus will face Rot-Weiss Essen in what is certainly a stressful situation. And there really wasn’t any time to rest during the international break either. That’s because SV Babelsberg had already pushed Energie to their limits ahead of the RWE match.