Alemannia Essen can still call itself a possible contender for promotion to the Kreisliga A. In third place with only seven points behind, the season is completely open.

For Alemannia Essen, the season is far from over. Behind the top two, Fatihspor Essen and SC Frintrop 05/21, Alemannia is still in a lurking position in the Essen Kreisliga A. With only seven points separating them, the Essen club can still hope to be promoted. However, that does not seem to be their top priority.

Alemannia coach Mevlüt Caliskan on…

The first half of the season in the league: “I’m quite happy with the first half of the season and the football year in general. I took over a very young and inexperienced team here at Alemannia, but they’re really good in terms of running and fighting. We still have some deficits in terms of tactics, but we’re working on that. That’s why it’s very positive that we’re still at the top.”

What was your best moment?: “There have been many. It’s hard to pick out the best. I would probably say the way the team welcomed me. It was harmonious right from the start and I didn’t have to change. Even when I had to get loud, the team took it that way and didn’t take it badly. Of course, I’m happy about that.”

What was your worst moment?: “That would have to be the defeat against SC Frintrop. We were superior throughout the game and still lost. The refereeing, which wasn’t the best either, naturally added to our frustration. That upset me the most.”

Alemannia’s goals in the 2024 football year: “I have to say that I’m a coach who always sets his goals higher than before. Of course, my dream would be for us to have a say in the race for promotion. Realistically, however, Fatihspor will do that. They have too much financial resources for us to keep up. So our priority is to build the team. The average age of our team is 21.5 years. We want to bring more experience into the thin squad. If we don’t make it into the league this year, we want to attack again next season.