MSV Duisburg’s success cannot be denied. However, Luis Hartwig has not been a key factor in this success so far. We spoke to him about his role.

MSV Duisburg’s last defeat came on August 23 against SC Paderborn’s second team (1-2). Since then, the Zebras have played eleven competitive games, winning eight and drawing three, including their recent cup quarter-final.

MSV’s winning streak is growing week by week and the team seems to be finding its feet. One player who has not yet reached his limit is Luis Hartwig. The 21-year-old joined the club in the summer from KV Oostende and has only played seven competitive games for his new employer to date.

Three of those games were in the Niederrhein Cup. He scored his first goal for the Zebras there and was an important part of the hard-fought 3-2 win over Ratingen 04/19. “First of all, I’m just happy to be back on the pitch. First on the wing and then up front. I think I did pretty well, even though I couldn’t play to all my strengths because of the space. But I wasn’t the only one,” revealed the scorer of the 1-0 goal.

However, he still hasn’t quite found his feet in his new sporting home. There’s a very specific reason for that, as Hartwig himself explains: “I’ve played at number 9 my whole life. Wego (Gerrit Wegkamp, editor’s note) and Malek are great at it and, as center forwards, they’re different types of players to me.”

That leaves Hartwig with only the wing position in Dietmar Hirsch’s offensive structure. But there he faces stiff competition. He is well aware of that, of course: “Simon (Jan-Simon Symalla, editor’s note) and Pat (Patrick Sussek, editor’s note) are simply outstanding there. They’ve probably been our best players in the last four or five games. I fully accept that and will therefore continue to serve the team. Of course, I’ll be delighted if I get my chance and hope to take it, just like I did against Ratingen.“

Luis Hartwig has thus taken the first step in the right direction. He has shown that he can definitely be counted on when he is in ”normal form.” It remains to be seen whether his performance has also convinced coach Hirsch and whether the Zebra fans will be able to welcome Hartwig back to the starting line-up in the next game. The team will then travel to Grotenburg for the derby against KFC Uerdingen (November 23, 2:00 p.m.).