On Friday evening (September 12, 8 p.m.), a very special Kreisliga A derby is on the agenda in Duisburg. Two clubs, whose grounds are separated by only a few trees, will face each other.

SV Duissern vs. DSC Preussen Duisburg: The Kreisliga A derby between the current third-placed team and the twelfth-placed team in the league is a very special game.

Marvin Ellmann, striker for the home team, explains what makes it so special: “We’re hoping for a four-digit crowd. But anything over 500 fans would be great. I think this is the first real derby for points in a long time. Both grounds are only a few meters apart and are separated by just a few trees.“

Even at 37, ”Elle,” as he is called by his teammates, is still a real cracker. The former pro is far from tired and wants to keep playing. He explains: “I still really enjoy playing soccer, even though I’m getting older. But I know some of the guys, the coach, and the sporting director. I just want to keep playing at the district league level and stay healthy. I’ve scored seven goals in four games now, which is pretty good. The team is happy and I’m happy to help them. As long as I can, I’ll keep playing soccer.”

With Ellmann in top form, Mehmet Özer’s team, which narrowly avoided relegation to Kreisliga B last year by finishing 14th, certainly has something to play for in the 2025/2026 season.

Ellmann emphasizes: “We’re taking it one game at a time and want to finish in the top five. If we succeed, then everyone in Duissern should be satisfied. Of course, a derby win would be the icing on the cake. Because you always see the Preußen players at the grounds, and it’s obviously cooler to talk to the losers as the derby winner (laughs).”

Ellmann has played a total of 229 Oberliga games (140 goals), 31 Regionalliga games (3), 25 third division games (3), and two games in the 2nd Bundesliga. Most recently, he played in the district league for Mülheimer SV 07, Duisburger SV 1900 and, from January to June 2025, for Mülheim’s A-league team TuSpo Saarn. Since July 1, SV Duissern has been on Ellmann’s resume, and he currently has seven goals in four appearances. Maybe “Elle” will score his next (derby) goals on Friday.