Rot-Weiß Oberhausen has one of the best goalkeepers in the league. The defense is solid. And yet the gap to the top is quite large.
With only 14 goals conceded in 15 appearances, Robin Benz is statistically the second-best goalkeeper in the Regionalliga West behind Fortuna Cologne’s keeper and captain Andre Weis (14 games, 12 goals conceded).
While Fortuna is in second place, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, with Benz in goal, is only seventh. They are ten points behind the target of first place in the table. Defensively strong teams are usually found at the top of the table. But not RWO.
“Yes, it’s a shame. We’re really stable. Unfortunately, we’ve had some unlucky games this season. We’ve also had a lot of games where we just didn’t have any luck in front of goal. That’s also part of the truth,” muses the 28-year-old.
He adds about his strong personal statistics: ”I don’t attach much importance to statistics. I just want to help the team. But, of course, every goalkeeper is happy when he concedes few goals. At the end of the day, though, it’s about the team, and we’re not entirely satisfied with that.”
This is the best squad I’ve ever played in. When we have everyone on board, I’m not worried. We have a lot of quality.
Robin Benz
But Benz, who is in his fourth year at RWO, is far from giving up. Ahead of Saturday’s home game, the Bochum-born player, who has long since made Oberhausen his home, emphasized: “We have to win the games against Paderborn, Wiedenbrück, and in Velbert. Then we could celebrate Christmas with ten wins under our belt and go on the attack again in the new year.”
By attack, he naturally means the attack on first place. Because Benz also knows that the RWO squad was put together by manager Patrick Bauder and Jörn Nowak with the aim of celebrating something big in May 2024. “This is the best squad I’ve ever played in. But it must also be said that at times we had ten guys missing from training due to injury and illness. When we have everyone on board, I’m not worried. We have a lot of quality.”
The former goalkeeper for Bonner SC and KFC Uerdingen also focuses on quality outside of sports. He is studying social sciences at Ruhr University Bochum. The academic path is very important to Benz. ”I’m now in my fifth semester. We’ll see if I might do a master’s degree, which would open up a lot of possibilities. I could work at the Ministry of the Interior, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Greenpeace, or somewhere in marketing. But I still have time until then. First, I want to play soccer for many more years,” says Benz. Preferably in the 3rd league with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen starting in the summer of 2024.