The Rot-Weiss Essen team has been back in the Ruhr region since Sunday afternoon. Forecasting has gained some insights from the training camp in Arnhem.
Rot-Weiss Essen worked from Tuesday to Saturday (Sunday was departure day) in Arnhem in the Netherlands to fine-tune for the upcoming 2024/25 third division season.
Forecasting was on site the whole time and gained 07 insights from the seven training sessions and the test match on Saturday against regional league side Borussia Mönchengladbach II (1:1).
Insight 1: Communicative and well-coordinated coaching team
At Rot-Weiss Essen, not only does the boss, in this case coach Christoph Dabrowski, give clear instructions, but the entire coaching team is very communicative overall. Co-trainer Lars Fleischer gives most of the speeches during training. Together with Paul Freier, he sets up the respective exercises and explains them to the whole team.
Dabrowski watches very closely and intervenes when he deems it necessary. Meanwhile, athletics coach Tobias Schmidt (who will continue his studies while working and therefore remain in the coaching team) takes care of the warm-up training, while Manuel Lenz looks after the goalkeepers. There is a clear division of responsibilities in the Essen coaching team. “That also has something to do with trust – and we definitely have that,” said Dabrowski happily during the training camp.
Insight 2: Defense/ central defense
If there’s one area of the team that RWE fans don’t have to worry about, it’s definitely the central defense. Although Essen lost their best defender in Felix Götze, they were able to compensate well for his departure with the robust and third-league experienced Michael Schultz and Tobias Kraulich.
Schultz communicates a lot on the pitch and Kraulich seems to have recovered from his protracted thigh injury. José-Enrique Ríos Alonso and Mustafa Kourouma are also available. RWE therefore has a total of four central defenders, all of whom have already proven their qualities. Dabrowski’s squad is better equipped in every area of the team.
Insight 3: Ekin Celebi
Ekin Celebi is a perceived new signing for Rot-Weiss Essen. The former Hannover player missed the whole of last year through injury and is now fully fit again. At the start of preparations, Celebi still had a considerable fitness deficit, but the 24-year-old is once again a real option for Dabrowski thanks to a total of eight training camp sessions.
The left-back still lacks some match practice and agility, but with his ball security and good technique he could fit into the Essen system. He is definitely one of the winners of the last few days. His biggest problem: Lucas Brumme, an established key player, plays in the same position. In the test match against Gladbach II, however, the two were on the pitch together.
Insight 4: The shoe pinches up front
In numerous discussions with Christoph Dabrowski, Christian Flüthmann and Marcus Steegmann, RWE’s biggest problem was repeatedly and clearly identified: the attack. Three good players are still missing – a winger, a midfielder and a striker. Only Leonardo Vonic and Ramien Safi have impressed in Essen’s offense so far.
One or two classic difference-makers in the front third with quality and pace would suit the Red & Whites very well. With Marvin Obuz (7 goals, 14 assists), Isaiah Young (5 goals, 2 assists) and Cedric Harenbrock (8 goals, 4 assists), the third division club has lost a total of three regular players in attack, who together collected 40 scoring points. That has to be made up for first. As of July 23, this goal has not yet been achieved.
Insight 5: Mood in the team
During the five days in Arnhem, Forecasting also gained an insight into the team atmosphere. Rot-Weiss Essen has a homogeneous squad, the players get on with each other and have a lot of fun together. There are no bad boys and the new players and the boys from the U19s have also been well integrated.
Insight 6: Game idea
Rot-Weiss Essen wants to play attractive soccer again in the coming season. The training camp focused almost exclusively on playing with the ball: Rehearsed combinations on the outside and in the center, creating superior numbers and breaking up situations were all part of the training content.
Most of the time, a back three and two back sixes were used. It will be exciting to see whether RWE can also implement this philosophy with the new squad in matches. Only Lucas Brumme (who usually came on) and Torben Müsel remain from last year’s playmaking axis.
Insight 7: New additions
With Robbie D’Haese, Tobias Kraulich, Michael Schultz, Ramien Safi, Dion Berisha, Jimmy Kaparos and Tom Moustier (currently injured), RWE has signed seven external players. Forecasting took a close look at the new players during the training camp. Our conclusion: Schultz, Kraulich and Safi could strengthen the team straight away and – as of July 23 – have already earned themselves a regular place. Kaparos is also making good progress, but he has not yet reached the end of his development. The six-man still needs some time to reach his top level.
Berisha and D’Haese, on the other hand, were not really able to draw attention to themselves during the training camp. They will probably start out on the bench and need to improve. In addition, Gianluca Swajkowski and Berkant Gedikli from the U19s have been signed to professional contracts. While Swajkowski made a decent impression, Gedikli has not yet really arrived in senior soccer. He will also find it very difficult to get playing time