Fortuna Cologne, the leader of the Regionalliga West, travels to face VfL Bochum II on Sunday. Here’s what coach Matthias Mink has to say.
Regionalliga West leader Fortuna Cologne kicks off the 2026 competitive season in the Ruhr region. The Rhinelanders will play on Sunday against the reserve team of second-division club VfL Bochum.
“We’re expecting a tough away game in Bochum. In our home game, we didn’t create many scoring chances against a VfL side that defended well. We definitely have to do better on Sunday. With U23 teams, it’s also always difficult to predict which players they’ll ultimately field. That’s why, in our preparations, we’re focusing primarily on what and how we want to play,” says Fortuna Cologne coach Matthias Mink.
During the winter break, VfL Bochum II made significant changes to its roster. Players with no realistic chance of seeing playing time, such as Tolga Özdemir (SV Schermbeck) and Jan Nzeba-Bost (RW Ahlen), left the club. Other departures included Stevan Tasic (free agent), Ben Heuser (SV Kapfenberg), Divine Boafo (SV Schermbeck), and Keleb Nwubani (RW Ahlen).
In return, VfL signed Aurel Wagbe, who had most recently been a free agent—a versatile winger with Regionalliga experience and physical presence who had previously played for Holstein Kiel in the 2. Bundesliga. Three more new signings followed this week: Dominic Volkmer joined from TSV Steinbach Haiger, Mohammed Tolba—who had been a free agent—returned to his former club, and Luis Köster, who most recently played for KSV Holstein Kiel II.
Fortuna Köln signed only Neo Telle. The midfielder, who came from 1. FC Köln, says: “The most important thing will be that we play as a team and give it our all on the field. Especially at the start after a winter break, it’s important that our effort remains at a high level. In terms of soccer, not everything will click right away, so we’ll have to work even harder. Bochum isn’t in a good spot. Maybe they’ll want to make a fresh start after the break, with the ambition to pick up points. It’s going to be a tough battle,” emphasizes new signing Neo Telle.