Sascha Mölders is an interested observer of the 3rd division. The former Bundesliga striker is also excited about his former clubs Rot-Weiss Essen and MSV Duisburg.

Nine match days before the end of the season, Rot-Weiss Essen are nine points behind third place in the promotion relegation places and MSV Duisburg are five points behind the first non-relegation place.

Sascha Mölders, who wants to go far up the coaching ladder in the future, is also aware of the starting position of his former clubs RWE and MSV. The 38-year-old is still hoping for a happy ending for both clubs.

“The penalties that were given against RWE in Verl still make me angry today,” Mölders told Forecasting the day after. He added: “Nobody whistles penalties. But it’s also pointless to get worked up about it – unfortunately it doesn’t help. But it’s damn annoying for RWE. Because in this tight starting position, two points more would make a big difference.”

And yet: The man from Essen-Vogelheim, who has now lived near Augsburg for over a decade, still believes in Essen. “They won in Regensburg and got a point in Dresden. RWE haven’t lost any of their four games against these two top teams. If you can do that, you can expect four or five wins in a row. It will be important for Essen to win against Dortmund now and then have two weeks to rest before starting the attack,” says Mölders.

And MSV Duisburg? Mölders replies: “The Zebras also have to go into the international break with a win against Saarbrücken at the weekend. Otherwise it will get tighter and tighter. Of course I hope that MSV can do it in the end. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Sascha Mölders also played for Rot-Weiss Essen, MSV Duisburg and in the Bundesliga

Mölders played for Atletico Essen, Vogelheimer SV, Wacker Bergeborbeck, ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen in his home town until he was 21 years old and played for Rot-Weiss Essen for two years in his senior career – after a stopover at MSV Duisburg. He scored an impressive 42 times in 52 regional league games and was top scorer in 2008/2009 with 28 goals.

The center forward even laced up his boots for TSV 1860 Munich for six years. From January 2016 to January 2022, he played 194 competitive matches and scored 76 goals. He also played 92 times (18 goals) in the 1st Bundesliga for FC Augsburg. His greatest successes were promotion to the 3rd division (2018) and the third division top scorer’s crown in the 2020/21 season (22 goals). At the age of 36, Mölders thus became the oldest top scorer in the 3rd division since it was founded.