Sportclub Verl is among the top teams in the third division. This is both a blessing and a curse for the club, because success is known to make you attractive. Competitors are courting SCV’s top performers.
17 games and 31 points – and even more: 42 goals scored is the best in the third division and 26 goals conceded is the eighth best: Sportclub Verl is undoubtedly one of the best teams in the third division and ranks third.
Unlike at many traditional clubs, the word “promotion” is not taboo at Poststraße. On the contrary: sporting director Zlatko Janjic recently emphasized on “Magenta Sport”: “The next step for this group would be promotion.” He added to RS: “We would certainly not resist promotion.” Janjic also knows what Tobias Strobl and his team are capable of: the experts agree that, alongside Hoffenheim II and Stuttgart II, Verl play the best soccer in the 3rd division.
On Saturday (December 13, 4:30 p.m.), Rot-Weiss Essen will visit the Sportclub Arena. “We want to respond to the disappointing 2-2 draw in Havelse and continue our streak of nine unbeaten games in a row,” Janjic said confidently.
The boys now also know that things could potentially move up in parallel – for SC Verl and for them personally. But, of course, if someone receives an immoral offer that is great for both the club and the player, then a reasonable solution must be found.
Zlatko Janjic
The fact that Essen coach Uwe Koschinat sent a challenge to Verl at the annual general meeting when his contract was extended does not affect the former RWE striker at all. Janjic: “Whether someone issues a challenge or not, I’m not interested. I like to emphasize this again and again: there are no limits for this group. When we get our horsepower on the pitch, we are very difficult to beat.”
The competition is also well aware of what a strong team coach Strobl, manager Janjic, and former sporting director Sebastian Lange, who is currently the sporting director at SC Paderborn, have put together. Top players such as Berkan Taz, Oualid Mhamdi, Timur Gayret, and Alessio Besio have long attracted the interest of higher-division clubs from Germany and abroad.
“We have a number of young players who have come to the fore. But they also benefit from the development of the whole team. It’s normal in this business for certain players to play their way into the spotlight individually. It’s part of the business that other clubs then get in touch. I’m prepared for that,” says Janjic.
The 39-year-old sporting director at Verler remains cool. He also knows that the sports club has always been a training club and has cemented this reputation even more clearly in recent years. “The good thing is that agencies approach us and offer us interesting players because they know that certain player profiles can develop very well with us. We’ve really built up an excellent reputation in this area,” says Janjic happily. Janjic will have a lot to do during the upcoming winter break. In the battle for promotion, the Verl official will have to work against attempts to poach players, while at the same time strengthening the squad for the future.
“These are all my plans for the coming weeks and months. But we are in a good position. The guys now know that things could potentially move up in parallel – for SC Verl and for them personally. But, of course, if someone receives an immoral offer that is great for both the club and the player, then a reasonable solution must be found. We did that in the past, for example with our captain Fabio Gruber when he went to Nuremberg in the winter of 2025,“ explains Janjic. Janjic is not a big fan of winter arrivals and departures – he says: ”I know the group very well, I’m a fan of not influencing group dynamics too much. But, of course, there will also be players who are dissatisfied. If we have to part ways with some of the guys, then maybe we could also make some preparations for the new season. We’ll see what happens in January 2026.”
