Tobias Kraulich played for Rot-Weiss Essen for the first time on Sunday. The central defender played the first 30 minutes in the 0-0 draw against TSG Hoffenheim U23

In the test match against TSG Hoffenheim II (0:0), Tobias Kraulich celebrated his debut for Rot-Weiss Essen. The central defender, who moved from Dynamo Dresden to Hafenstrasse at the end of May, was carefully built up by the Essen management following his lengthy thigh injury. On Sunday, he took to the field for the first time and played 30 minutes

“That was also the plan. We took a very cautious approach, which I’m really grateful for. When you’ve had muscular problems for four months, there’s no point in training twice a day,” explained Kraulich after the clean sheet against the TSG reserve team.

While RWE defended solidly, they lacked precision and penetration in attack. The 25-year-old had a similar view: “We were relatively solid at the back. We did what the coach wanted to see. We still need to change a lot in our play with the ball. We have to play faster and with more determination. We didn’t have a real chance to score in 90 minutes. The opponent was a very good regional league team, but still a regional league team. That cannot and should not be our standard.”

With a healthy Kraulich, head coach Christoph Dabrowski also has more options in defense. Despite the departure of last year’s defensive boss Felix Götze (SC Paderborn), RWE is well-positioned in central defense with Kraulich, Michael Schultz (came from Viktoria Köln), José-Enrique Ríos Alonso and home-grown Mustafa Kourouma.

This is one of the reasons why a back three was tested in the last two test matches. Last season, RWE usually played in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 system, only switching to a back three on rare occasions. For Kraulich, the tactical alignment is relatively unimportant: “I’ve also played a back three at Meppen. We play what the coach wants us to play. That always depends on the personnel. “

Both clubs have huge power. You can definitely compare them. The difference is probably that it feels like there are 15 clubs here in the region that play in the top three leagues. In the Dresden region, there is only one club. But I’ve already played twice in Essen, which was really cool.

Tobias Kraulich

After his one-year intermezzo in Dresden, the tall central defender is now looking forward to his new challenge at Hafenstrasse: “Both clubs have a huge amount of charisma. You can definitely compare the two. The difference is probably that it feels like there are 15 clubs here in the region that play in the top three leagues. In the Dresden region, there is only one club. But I’ve already played twice in Essen, which was really cool. “