Viktoria Köln has to cope with a departure. And to a league rival at that.
With right winger Robin Velasco (VfB Lübeck) and central defender Kevin Pytlik (Wuppertaler SV), Viktoria Köln have already presented two additions for the upcoming season in the 3rd division.
On the other hand, two players have also had to leave. Seok-ju Hong is moving to Schalke 04 U23 and Viktoria are also losing their key player Jeremias Lorch.
The central defender appeared in 34 league games, scoring three goals and providing four assists. A strong record for a defender. And SV Sandhausen have not failed to notice.
On Wednesday, SVS announced the signing of Lorch. “With Jeremias, we have been able to sign a seasoned third division professional for the coming season who can play in various positions and has enormous quality, especially in defense. He will stabilize our defence,” explains Matthias Imhof, SV Sandhausen’s sporting director.
And he also brings a goal threat with him that can’t hurt either. SVS coach Jens Keller emphasizes: “Jeremias has a lot of experience, which is noticeable in his ball security. With over 170 games in the 3rd division, he is a reliable back-up in the center of defense or midfield.”
In the 2011/12 season, Lorch, who was trained in the youth ranks of VfB Stuttgart, joined SGV Freiberg, where he made the leap into the Oberliga team.
In the 2015/16 season, he moved to the 3rd division with SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (51 games, 1 goal, 4 assists) before moving to Wiesbaden in 2017. In his second season with third-division side Wehen Wiesbaden, Lorch won promotion to Bundesliga 2 via relegation.
He made 58 appearances for Wehen in the 2nd and 3rd divisions. During this time, he scored six goals and provided just as many assists. Lorch returned to League 3 for the 2020/21 season and played for Viktoria Köln. At Höhenberg, the central defender has made 104 appearances to date, scoring eight goals and assisting five.
“SV Sandhausen’s goals are in line with my ambitions. I’m looking forward to my time at SVS. The people in charge made an effort to win me over in good talks, and that was the deciding factor in the end,” explained Lorch.
