The Baumberg madness never ends. SFB turned the game around in stoppage time against TVD Velbert. For El Halimi, however, the anger at the association prevails.
For an incredibly long time, it looked as if Sportfreunde Baumberg would stumble at home against TVD Velbert. After four minutes, the leaders of the Oberliga Niederrhein were already behind and had to chase for a long time. In stoppage time, there was complete ecstasy and the league leaders went on to win 2:1.
Salah El Halimi, Sportfreunde’s successful coach, described what happened in the final minutes: “We had already missed three hundred percent chances beforehand. The team was always on the ball in the second half. Due to a long goalkeeper change and a circulatory collapse at Velbert, there was a long stoppage time. We went all out – even after the 1:1. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Anyone who can turn a game like that into a win deserves to be promoted. El Halimi doesn’t want to commit himself, but is full of praise for his charges: “What we’re doing this season is impressive. Week after week, you can feel the passion, the will and the desire to win in everyone. We never lose faith. That simply sets us apart. The boys deserve it.”
But even if it looks like the team will win the Oberliga title, it is still not clear whether Baumberg will apply for a license. The decision must be made by the Easter weekend – just under a week to go.
And the Baumberg coach is furious about the association’s requirements, which exceed 76 pages: “It would just be a shame. Everyone who qualifies in sporting terms should have the right to prove themselves at a higher level. Unfortunately, this is the bureaucracy that is a thorn in the side of our players and coaching team.”
El Halimi continued: “The association should question itself, because these conditions make it almost impossible for an amateur club to make the leap. Who, apart from perhaps one or two clubs, has the capacity to make promotion possible? “
It’s really unbelievable how you can make such a project difficult for a club
Salah El Halimi
The conversion of the stadium in particular is likely to be one of Baumberg’s main problems. The current MEGA stadium does not have the spectator capacity required for a venue in the regional league.
For El Halimi in particular, this is a formality that is more than questionable, especially in this day and age: “Now Aachen is even going up. In the Regionalliga, we’re only talking about two or three games where you need such a big stadium because of the many spectators. We’ve already played 1 FC Bocholt in the Lower Rhine Cup at our stadium – without any problems. It’s really unbelievable how you can make such a project difficult for a club. As a 1.80 meter tall person, you can’t overcome a five-meter hurdle. “