Since the start of the season, Nils Da Costa Pereira has been wearing the jersey of Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick. But the defender isn’t just playing well in the Oberliga Westfalen.
After a “horror October” with five consecutive games without a win, Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick is finally back on track. Last weekend, ESV won 2-0 in a crucial traditional derby against SG Wattenscheid 09, climbing back into the upper mid-table of the Oberliga Westfalen.
For left-back Nils Da Costa Pereira, who only moved from Lohrheide to Stimberg during the summer transfer window, the derby was particularly explosive. The 25-year-old experienced a “heated battle with lots of tackles and emotions” against his former teammates and emphasized the psychological importance of the victory:
“A month like October really takes its toll on you. Even the annoying draws all felt like defeats because we had set our sights higher. The derby win was a huge weight off our minds. We need to carry this momentum forward.”
For Da Costa Pereira personally, the start of the fall was successful, at least on a different pitch: The Münster native was part of Season 2 of the indoor soccer league “Baller League,” where he showed himself in top form with some impressive goals. Just recently, he and his team, the Gönrgy Allstars, lost to Las Ligas Ladies in the grand final.
“The game is really fun and suits me,” he says. The match days of the major event, which are broadcast online, filled him with enthusiasm: “The Baller League was a mega experience that I wouldn’t want to have missed. I met so many great people. And then the Final 4 in front of around 15,000 spectators – that was unique.”
The amateur footballer’s team manager 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: “He’s a really cool guy, really awesome. He got totally involved, did a lot for the team, and was always there as the leader of our group. I look back on it very positively.“
Erkenschwick before duel against ”welded” ASC 09
From indoor sports back to the amateur pitch: 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 defender played for Aplerbeck himself in the 2021/22 season. Accordingly, he knows his opponents very well:
“The core of the team has always stayed together. We can expect a close-knit group that plays good soccer and has strong individual players. In addition, Marco Stiepermann is a good coach on the sidelines. We are looking forward to this difficult task and will do everything we can to hold our own.”