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Photo: Harry Rubner
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Volker Grimminger, as he has emphasized several times, knows what his team is capable of.
And even if the coach of 1. CfR Pforzheim was unable to be there when his eleven won the 9-1 win in the friendly against the South Baden association league club SV Kuppenheim at the sports festival of FV Langenalb due to his DFB coaching license training – the information that he interim coach Alexander Freygang transmitted, made the coach quite satisfied.
“Recent performances have been good. Especially the way. But so far it hasn’t been about much and progressing in the cup is simply a must,” says Pforzheim’s coach.
Large squad width at the 1st CfR Pforzheim: advantage or disadvantage?
The SV Kuppenheim, test game character or not, was dismantled by the top division football team, as well as a few days later by the association league team VfB Bretten in the association cup (9:0). And quite a few supporters in Langenalb were rightly asking themselves where the missing Stanley Ratifo, Tim Schwaiger, Enes Türköz, Noah Lulic, Denis Gudzevic and Salvatore Varese should find a place in this team in the future.
The squad is extremely well positioned in terms of both top and bottom players, “and we will need everyone,” CfR sporting director Giuseppe Ricciardi is certain.
We will need all players.
Giuseppe Ricciardi, CfR-Sportdirektor
Experience was added in the newcomers Schwaiger and Alexander Götz, and in Konstantinos Markopoulos an attacking force who knows where the goal is. Keeping motivation and spirits high due to the great competition is likely to be one of Grimminger’s more difficult tasks.
“The boys understand more and more that we need everyone. We need the collective, that will benefit us,” he is convinced. While it was often only 13 or 14 players who formed the core, this time there are around 20 players who have legitimate claims to a place in the starting lineup. “It’s all about performance,” the CfR coach clarifies.
CfR starts with a home game against 1. FC Rielasingen-Arlen
Before the start on Saturday (4 p.m.) at home against 1. FC Rielasingen-Arlen, he still sees room for improvement despite the appealing performances. “We can still improve in the collective backward movement and in the game against the ball,” said Grimminger, who sees the strongest opponents in the Stuttgarter Kickers, FC Villingen, SSV Reutlingen, Bissingen and 1. Göppinger SV when it comes to this going to attack at the top.
The fact that the CfR, who finished fifth last season, is often mentioned by fellow coaches when it comes to the title candidates does not increase the pressure. “It’s more of a confirmation of the work we’re doing. We want to get off to a good start and would be happy if we did one or two places better than last season,” said Grimminger. “The experience that we have now gained through the newcomers is worth its weight in gold. That gives security.”
Early cup end for FC Nöttingen a damper
Safety is also what they hope for at FC Nöttingen. The dress rehearsal before the first league game on Friday (7 p.m.) against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach went horribly wrong in the association cup in the 3-2 defeat against state league club ASV Durlach.
In general, coach Reinhard Schenker speaks of a “mixed preparation. I’m divided: on the one hand, we weren’t able to complete the training as we had hoped, and we only had eleven outfield players in training due to illness and injury. On the other hand, the intensity was good. The guys tried to implement everything.”
We want to start well and would be happy if we did one or two places better than last season.
Volker Grimminger, coach 1. CfR Pforzheim
The cup-off was a damper that should now be quickly forgotten in the league. But it will probably still take some time before one cog moves into the other at FC Nöttingen.
“One must not forget: We have ten new players, nine departures. That was a medium-sized upheaval. It’s a process that won’t be over in four or five weeks. The adjustments will last well into the first half of the season,” says Schenker.
Tactically, FC Nöttingen wants to present itself more variably in the future
In the future, FCN wants to be more tactically variable, away from the once “typical” Nöttinger 4-2-3-1. In preparation, the three-man chain with two sixes in front of it was worked on diligently, “because we simply thought about how we could tighten the defense because of the many goals we conceded recently,” says Nöttingen’s coach.
It’s a process that won’t be over in four or five weeks.
Reinhard Schenker, coach FC Nottingen
The start against Großaspach will be a kind of piñata for both teams, with the Remchingers in particular there are a number of injured and battered players even before the start.
“At Sonnenhof, scaffolding has to form after the descent. But in terms of the squad and the individual quality alone, they are of course in the top third,” said Schenker.
Stuttgarter Kickers are the top favorite for Reinhard Schenker
He also sees 1. Göppinger SV, 1. CfR Pforzheim and FC Villingen fighting for the top spots.
“And if we could also advance into these regions, a lot would have been achieved,” said Schenker, who, like everyone else, sees the absolute top favorites in the Stuttgarter Kickers.
“If you see what they tore off again in the DFB Cup against Greuther Fürth, then the Kickers are the measure of all things.”
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