The beginning of a strong reaction: Elia Soriano (center) scores the 1-0 for Offenbacher Kickers in the home game against Hessen Kassel. The OFC won 5-1 and rehabilitated themselves for the meager 0-0 in Walldorf.
© Huebner
There is one thing you can rely on at the regional soccer division Kickers Offenbach: the team always reacts to setbacks and immediately returns to the road to success. For OFC coach Angelo Barletta this is no surprise.
Offenbach – team building is the well-worn term for an important field of work for soccer coaches. Angelo Barletta thinks very highly of that too. But he prefers to use German vocabulary and then ponders the development of the team. And there he sees Kickers Offenbach, third in the table in the Südwest regional soccer league, on the right track.
On one point he already has a very clear opinion: “The core of the troop is clean,” says Barletta, praising the structure that was transformed on a large scale before the season. This becomes clear above all in a recurring phenomenon: After setbacks, the kickers always managed to show the right reaction.
There were some examples of this: After the sobering 0-0 at the start of the season against Bahlingen, a 2-0 victory at SG Sonnenhof Großaspach followed. The 1-0 defeat in Ulm, the only defeat of the season, was followed by an – albeit unadorned – 1-0 win against Giessen. After the disappointing 2: 2 at VfB Stuttgart II, the Kickers stormed to a 4: 0 win against Schott Mainz – and after the 0: 0 in Walldorf, now to the highest win of the season against Kassel (5: 1). For Barletta, this successful comeback was proof that the character traits of the teams are right.
“We are very sensitive when dealing with mistakes,” says Barletta: “That is only possible because nobody takes themselves too seriously and there is trust.” “I can work out the best tactics, but if the team doesn’t believe me, it doesn’t matter,” explains the Kickers coach.
And it is precisely this good feeling that is confirmed in many facets in his daily work. Be it Tim Dierßen, who was left out for a long time, but finally played his way into the team through persistent training work – and from Barletta now receives great confidence in the central midfield. “I like the way he worked on himself and how stable he is now.” Another example: Maik Vetter. The 29-year-old, injured for a long time, came to Walldorf in the second half, but was not part of the squad in Kassel. “He had his fist in his pocket, but he accepted it and trained again very well,” praised Barletta. Keeping the big picture in mind and not cultivating personal vanity: That is what Barletta demands and sets an example – and consistently backs it up with personnel decisions. Against Kassel, he initially only left striker Mathias Fetsch on the bench, although he had reported ready for action after a bruised foot. “Mathias would have liked to play from the start, but reacted very well,” praised Barletta. Elia Soriano stormed and met for him. The 31-year-old could also be in the starting XI on Saturday (2 p.m.) against VfR Aalen, for whom he stormed in the 3rd division from July 2010 to January 2011. If not, he too will submit without grumbling. Because Barletta also instilled in him: “We can only be successful as a collective.”By Jörg Moll)
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