SuS Haarzopf won promotion to the Bezirksliga at the weekend. The second team from Essen can also still make the leap up the league.
With 25 wins from 26 games, SuS Haarzopf has had an almost perfect season so far in the A2 district league in Essen. Last weekend, the Essen team celebrated their promotion to the Bezirksliga with a 12-0 win over Spvg Schonnebeck II at home.
The celebrations on Sunday were big, tells Marco Guglielmi, coach of the promoted team. “After such a long season, the joy and relief was naturally enormous. The celebrations were extreme and long, but that’s how it should be. The second team joined in the celebrations despite their defeat and we had a lot of fun.”
The 47-year-old’s team is playing a terrific season. According to Guglielmi, this is mainly due to the club’s sense of community and the combination of good footballers and team unity. “We already played a strong second half last year. With the addition of new players in the summer, we found each other very well after a short time. There is simply great cooperation between the two teams and the board does a great job,” Guglielmi praises his club.
Promotion often brings big changes to the squad. According to Guglielmi, there will be some departures. These are mainly age-related departures to the club’s second and third teams and the already known departures of Mike Fuchs (TGD Essen) and Abdelmalik El Ouriachi (SG Essen-Schönebeck). “We already have some new arrivals, but we have to replace seven to eight players. With the current market, it is difficult to bring in top players and we have already had a few cancellations. Nevertheless, we will have a strong squad for next season,” Guglielimi commented on the squad planning.
I’d say the target is a single-digit place in the table.
Marco Guglielmi
Soccer has often shown that promoted teams usually have a hard time staying in the higher division. For Guglielmi, however, a relegation battle is not to be an issue next season. “You should always approach a season like this with humility. Nevertheless, I would still aim for a single-digit place in the table. But first and foremost, it will be about establishing ourselves in the league and playing a good season,” says the successful coach about his goals in the district league.
The Essen second team can follow the first team into the district league. The latter is currently in second place in the A1 district league in Essen behind SC Türkiyemspor Essen. Since the top team has already played all its games this season and is three points ahead of Haarzopf II, the Essen team can clinch direct promotion to the Bezirksliga with four points from its last two games.
Guglielmi and his team want to support their club mates on this path. “We want to keep motivating and helping the boys with the first team. The club is desperate for promotion to happen. That would be a huge story. The second team has always supported us and we want to do the same now,” Guglielmi emphasises. This underlines the community in the club perfectly.