The 42-year-old played soccer in Bottrop for a long time. He was employed by MSV Duisburg. VfB Bottrop promises help for the family.

Great sadness in Bottrop soccer. Mustafa Gebes, who was VfB Bottrop’s youth manager for several months from summer 2020, has died as a result of a serious traffic accident.

The 42-year-old leaves behind his family, including two sons.

“Mustafa was a great guy,” recalls Gündüz Tubay, 1st Chairman of VfB Bottrop. In the 1990s, he had Gebes under his wing during his time as player-coach at Dostlukspor Bottrop. “He was a good footballer, a good person and always clear-headed,” said Tubay.

He would have liked to have seen him as VfB Bottrop’s youth manager for longer, but Gebes’ professional career prevented his further involvement. The fatal accident happened on Monday afternoon on the A3 between the Oberhausen-West junction and the Oberhausen-Lirich junction. Gebes had collided with an articulated lorry in the direction of Cologne. The accident happened after he had changed onto the A3 at the interchange. He had apparently overlooked the truck, which had broken down due to a technical defect.

“You can see that life is a breath. It was a real shock and I and VfB Bottrop simply wish his family a lot of strength,” said Tubay. He promises: “We will try to support the lads as soon as there is some calm. As a club, we definitely want to help, it’s a matter close to my heart.”

Mustafa Gebes’ sons play for MSV Duisburg’s youth team, and he himself worked for a while as a driver at MSV’s youth training center. “Mustafa was a gifted technician, always funny, could cheer up his teammates after defeats and liked to philosophize about soccer,” Tubay remembers many hours together.