Nils Da Costa Pereira has been wearing the Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick shirt since the beginning of the season. But the defender is not only playing well in the Oberliga Westfalen.
After a “horrible October” with five games without a win in a row, the Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick is finally back on track. Last weekend, the ESV was able to win 2-0 in the landmark traditional duel against SG Wattenscheid 09 and at least climb back into the upper midfield of the Oberliga Westfalen.
For left-back Nils Da Costa Pereira, who only moved from Lohrheide to the Stimberg during the summer transfer window, the derby was particularly explosive. The 25-year-old experienced a “heated game with lots of duels and emotions” against his former colleagues and underlined the psychological importance of the win:
“A month like October gets to you. Even the annoying draws all felt like defeats because we had planned more. With the derby victory, a small stone fell from our hearts. Now we have to take this momentum with us.”
For Da Costa Pereira personally, the start of fall was at least successful on another pitch: the Münster native was part of Season 2 of the indoor soccer league “Baller League,” where he presented himself in top form with impressive goals. Just recently, he and his team, the Gönrgy Allstars, lost to the Las Ligas Ladies in the big final.
“The game is great fun and suits me,” he says. The days of the major event, which are broadcast online, were a source of great excitement for him: ”The Baller League was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. I met so many great people. And then there was the Final 4 in front of around 15,000 spectators – that was unique.”
The amateur footballer’s team captain is livestreamer and YouTuber “MontanaBlack”. The 36-year-old is considered the biggest German-speaking gaming livestreamer on the online platform Twitch. Da Costa Pereira got to meet the internet star, who has millions of followers: “A really cool guy, really awesome. He was totally involved, did a lot for the team and was always there as the head of our squad. I look back on it very positively.”
Erkenschwick before the clash against ‘shrink-wrapped’ ASC 09
From indoor sports back to the amateur field: In the Oberliga Westfalen, Da Costa Pereira and his “Schwickers” will face fifth-placed ASC 09 Dortmund this coming Sunday (November 10, 2:30 p.m.). The defensive player still played for Aplerbecker himself in the 2021/22 season. Accordingly, he has a keen insight into his opponent:
“The core of the team has always stayed the same. We can expect a tight-knit group that plays good football and has strong individual players. On top of that, they have a good coach in Marco Stiepermann. We are looking forward to this tough task and want to put up strong resistance.”