MSV Duisburg narrowly avoided a cup embarrassment. The third division leaders won 2-1 at regional league side Union Nettetal. The game was still a topic of discussion the day after.

Dietmar Hirsch, coach of MSV Duisburg, couldn’t and didn’t want to simply move on to the next item on the agenda.

After the 2-1 win in extra time in the Niederrhein Cup at SC Union Nettetal, the press conference ahead of Saturday’s league game (September 13, 2 p.m.) against SV Wehen Wiesbaden was scheduled for Thursday, September 11, at 12 noon. Only after the press conference did Coach Hirsch welcome his players to the training ground.

When asked which players he was particularly pleased with against Nettetal, Hirsch replied: “You could see that when Simon Symalla, Christian Viet, and Jesse Tugbenyo came on, there was a different energy. Symalla throws himself into everything, he was flying through the air. Other players, without naming names, could learn a thing or two from him. And by that I mean seasoned players who have already been through a lot.“

Hirsch went on to emphasize: ”When you play as badly as we did, you can’t single out any players.” This announcement to the team was likely followed up during Thursday’s training session.

Anyone who gives their all here will get everything from me, anyone who doesn’t will have problems. Even if they have proven their quality and delivered in the past. We expect running, fighting, and giving it your all here!

Dietmar Hirsch

Hirsch says of some of the new signings: “New players first have to understand the mentality here. We expect Ruhrpott soccer here. That requires more than just talent. That’s difficult for some of the new signings. Anyone who gives their all here will get everything from me, anyone who doesn’t will have problems. Even if they have proven their quality and delivered in the past. We expect them to run, fight, and work their asses off!”

In addition to his criticism, Hirsch also had some praise to offer. He feels that people are too quick to talk about embarrassment in soccer.

The 53-year-old explained: “People are quick to talk about embarrassment, but you have games like this sometimes. The important thing is to move on, to win. Anything else would have been disastrous. When you get through a situation like this, you might come out even stronger.” On Saturday, against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, we will see whether MSV can get back to top form in the league.