Recreation begins with Hendrik Weydandt helping Yannick Oelmann get fit like Cristiano Ronaldo

Sarstedt. “When Yannick takes off his jersey in the locker room, you think it’s Cristiano Ronaldo in front of you,” says Stephan Pietsch, coach of 1. FC Sarstedt, describing a model group with the good training of his head of defense Yannick Oelmann. “Just muscle, not an ounce of fat.” And there is a good reason for that.

It’s not that the 32-year-old, who has a total of 72 league and 37 regional league appearances for 1. FC Germania Egestorf/Langreder when he started, didn’t work diligently and consistently on his fitness beforehand. But since he was plagued by the effects of a double herniated disc, Oelmann has stepped up. It is not a coincidence that his body at least resembles that of the Portuguese world football. “It’s a lot of work,” the veteran said with a laugh.

Almost two years off from football for Yannick Oelmann

“I do my exercises every morning and evening, go to the gym three times a week – and then luckily there are team training sessions on the pitch twice,” said Oelmann. This was out of the question for a long time. Basically, the trained central defender, who moved to Sarstedt in 2021 after a one-year interim period at SV Bavenstedt, has not been able to play football properly for almost two years.

His last competitive appearance was on October 15, 2022 in the 2-2 draw against Lower Saxony Döhren Since then, persistent disc problems have prevented Oelmann from being able to continue with his best hobby with it. “I got back in the game in the summer of 2023, and in the last preseason game he shot me in the back – that was it. “

Repeated visits to the doctor, physical appointments, therapy and treatments, tips and advice, constant training and work on weak points – things just weren’t going to make permanent, definite progress. Sports and football were out of the question; The pain bothered him even in everyday life. Oelmann was forced to watch passively as his team spiraled into relegation last season without their regular “leader”.

In February this year he went through a course of injections at the Paracelsus Clinic in Langenhagen. At first the effect was not so obvious. But little by little he got better. “The time factor is probably the main factor,” said Oelmann. He has had no problems in his daily life since May. “And since then I have been thinking about attacking again.”

Challenge the regional league instead of over 32 teams

Instead of ending his football career in the over-32s with friends like Bastian Hattendorf, Daniel Reuter and Marcel Schrader, Oelmann wanted to attack again in the first team of 1. FC Sarstedt . “At first, I started running casually and I saw how the body reacted to it. “As soon as it lasted an hour, I gradually increased the workload. “

And since his back stood up, after a few discussions he gave the OK to the new coach Pietsch to start preparations. And the development work has paid off. In the 6-0 victory at the beginning of the district league against VfL Borsum, Oelmann was in the starting line-up as the organizer of the back four and even contributed two goals. “You have to go back there and deal with this other tension. But the bottom line is that I got there quickly,” he says. “And in the end I was happy that I achieved it. “

It wasn’t a bad thing that he had to be substituted after 70 minutes due to a sore thigh. Important: The intervertebral discs did not report. Although he lost the following game in Ambergau (2:4) and may sit out the home game against TuSpo Lamspringe again on Saturday (3:30 pm) as a precautionary measure, he confident about the rest of the season: “I’m physical I’m completely up to speed.”

Congratulations: Yannick Oelmann (left) celebrates a goal in one of his few recent appearances.

Source: deisterpics/Stefan Zwing

The first competitive game proved the importance of Oelmann, says Coach Pietsch: “Yannick is our rock in the surf.” You can tell he is very experienced and played at a higher level. “The defense and the midfield feel very safe with him, and he always moves forward in training and pulls everyone on.

The defender is optimistic that FC will have a good season. And his personal goal? From the answer it is clear how much he loves kicking. “If my body cooperates, I could easily imagine playing for another ten years,” says Oelmann wistfully, but added: “It should be another three or four. There was still a long way to go.” enough “The rust still needs to come off…” he said with a smile.

NP