Third division team Rot-Weiss Essen is taking a well-deserved winter break. Before that, the players receive a forecasting report.

19 games, 33 points: Rot-Weiss Essen had a strong first half of the 2023/24 season, which was crowned by their 3-2 win against Halleschen FC.

In December 2023, RWE is one of the contenders for the relegation spot. Even though momentum changes quickly in this league, the third division team was able to establish itself at the top.

Before the winter break, the RWE players receive a forecasting certificate. Only players who have played at least five times in the 3rd division were considered for an evaluation.

Note: The suspended former captain Felix Bastians and the long-injured Thomas Eisfeld (three months without a game) were not graded. Overall, we have evaluated 18 players, here is part 1:

Jakob Golz:

The goalkeeper was an absolute constant in the Essen team. When called upon, he was there. In particular, his gala performance at Viktoria Cologne (0-0) will be remembered for a long time. Jakob Golz is undoubtedly one of the best third division goalkeepers in the 2023-24 season.

Forecasting grade: very good minus (1-)

Andreas Wiegel:

Andreas Wiegel lost his place in the team to Eric Voufack in the middle of the first half of the season because he was injured when he was absent from the turning point against BVB II (2:1). Before that, he had a pitch-black day against Verl (0:5), like many of his teammates. As a substitute, last year’s top performer provided important momentum in the last-minute victories against Duisburg (2:1), Bielefeld (2:1) and Halle (3:2).

Forecasting grade: satisfactory (3)

Eric Voufack:

The right back replaced Wiegel in the starting eleven on match day 11 and has been in the starting lineup ever since. With Eric Voufack in the starting lineup, RWE won a total of seven out of ten games. The 22-year-old is an asset, regularly contributing to the offense, but still has room for improvement in his work against the ball. He needs to step it up.

Forecasting grade: satisfactory (3)

Felix Götze:

The 25-year-old is one of the biggest discoveries of the first half of the year. After being deployed by Christoph Dabrowski as a central defender, Felix Götze delivered one strong performance after another. He is uncompromising in duels, strong in the air and extremely technically adept. The following statistic shows how important the native of Dortmund is: RWE conceded three of the six defeats when Götze was not in the starting lineup. Forecasting grade: very good minus (1-)