Group 1: It was not to be expected that the national league club MSV would lead so confidently in the summer.
It is the surprise of the season, but ultimately only the consequence of developments in the recent past: The MSV Düsseldorf dominates the current season in the national league and has risen to the major league firmly in sight. Until three years ago, the club from Eller attracted more attention due to negative headlines. There was too much unrest on and off the pitch, too many people wanted to have a say in what was happening, and the management acted chaotically at times. In 2019, the club was almost relegated from the state league, only staying up on the last day of the game under the coach at the time Harold Becker. In the following season, MSV played under Deniz Aktag in secure midfield.
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The caesura finally followed in the summer of 2020: Mohamed Day became sporting director and took over a few weeks later Mohamed El Mimouni back as coach. The duo forms the foundation for the current success of MSV. The well-connected Dair guided strong players to Eller, El Mimouni formed them into a unit. In the previous year, the MSV was within reach of the top of the table until the end of the season.
After nine months of the compulsory Corona break, there was a change in Düsseldorf last summer: “We had 14 departures and just as many arrivals,” El Mimouni looks back. With the departures TAyfun Uzunlar, Ahmet Gülmez, Salim El Fahmi, Tarkan Türkmen and the one who has meanwhile returned Lutz Radojewski broke important supports from the team. “We lost 25 points with them,” El Mimouni calculates the loss.
Preparations begin in June
The newly formed team started preparing in June. And the coach apparently did a good job here: “Our greatest strength is team spirit, everyone fights for everyone else.” The goal was to be among the top four or five teams in the table. In the summer, no one suspected that MSV would lead the table by the winter break with 13 wins from 14 games and a nine-point lead. “That’s a brutal quota,” praises the coach.
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A tactical change, which was born out of necessity, also proved to be a stroke of luck. “We didn’t find a striker that suited us in the summer,” reveals El Mimouni. However, he remembered that Sufian Abou Laila played as a striker until the A youth, but last acted as a central defender. The 28-year-old has played in attack since this season, five goals and three assists are in the statistics. “But we don’t measure it by the goals. We wanted someone up front who is experienced and can lead the young players.” As a defender for many years, Abou Laila can also empathize well with his opponents. At his side blooms Tom Hirsch up, he’s scored 13 hits so far.
MSV Düsseldorf wants to make a name for itself
In the second half of the season, El Mimouni expects many more ambitious opponents, but there is no way around promotion. Stronger opponents would then await in the coming season. “Competiting with such teams is brutal. You have to plan early and put the squad together,” emphasizes El Mimouni. The basis has been laid by the young squad with development potential. However, promotion alone is not enough for MSV, as the coach emphasizes: “We want to establish ourselves and make a name for ourselves on the Lower Rhine and in the Düsseldorf area. With our success, we are on the right track.”
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