With a back three, two strikers and highly motivated, the Offenbacher Kickers go into the derby on the Bornheimer Hang against FSV Frankfurt.
Offenbach – Jayson Breitenbach associates a very special moment with games against FSV Frankfurt, which ultimately allowed him to really settle in at his club Kickers Offenbach again: On November 21, 2021, the then coach Sreto Ristic called him up for the first time in central defense because of bad luck with injuries . Breitenbach, who had been rather unlucky in the previous games, delivered, the OFC won 2-0 on the Bornheimer Hang. And Breitenbach developed into an absolute regular in the new position.
On Sunday (1 p.m.) FSV Frankfurt will again host the “little Mainderby” – and Breitenbach, whose contract extension has caused great applause in the Kickers community, is set – but in which position?
OFC: Breitenbach can make friends with the back three very well
“I see myself a bit stronger in central defence,” says the 24-year-old, who can also play on the defensive flanks. Meanwhile, coach Ersan Parlatan considers himself lucky “to have such flexible players in the squad”. In the 1-0 draw in the Hessenpokal quarter-finals at SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz, Breitenbach played in a back three alongside captain Sebastian Zieliecki and Maximilian Rossmann. A tactical formation that could also become standard for the round of points. “Basically we want to act flexibly,” says Parlatan, who didn’t want to let his cards be looked at and confirmed that in the training week before the duel between the main rivals, the back four was also rehearsed as a variant. However, Breitenbach can make friends with the three-man chain very well. “Then you have one more passing station up front,” he lists as a decisive advantage.
A second tactical innovation compared to the first games of the past year under Parlatan’s leadership should undoubtedly be a serious option for Sunday. In Fulda, the OFC had two leaders – Dejan Bozic and Lucas Hermes – acted. The 1.94 meter giant Bozic (30) and the fast but physically robust youngster (22) ensure a better “occupation of the box”, Parlatan registered. But he also doesn’t want to delete the game with a tip and two dangerous goals from the repertoire.
Especially since Dominik Wanner, a long-injured winger who was a dangerous goalkeeper and a defining figure in the 3-1 win in the first leg as a two-time goal scorer, has returned to team training. He is probably not yet a candidate for the starting eleven. Winter access Mike Feigenspan or Shako Onangolo are other alternatives to the wing. But if Parlatan sticks to his back three, Vincent Moreno Giesel and Ronny Marcos should be on the wings as so-called rail players thanks to good performances in Fulda.
OFC coach Parlatan: “We must have the greed to want to play every game positively.”
In general, Parlatan emphasized the importance of winning the first competitive game this year. “We have to have the greed to want to play every game positively,” he explains: And he felt this greed in Fulda. The first point game now has the same meaning. “I’m really looking forward to my first derby as coach of the OFC. We want to go our own way step by step,” demands the Kickers coach and also means that the gap to leaders SSV Ulm 1846 should ideally be reduced: “There are still many games to go, anything can still happen.” Breitenbach (“Der OFC is my home club, I just feel very comfortable here”) sees it similarly, hopes that his contract extension will also send a signal to the entire team to strive for the desired upward path together with the Kickers. “We have the individual quality to do so, we only look at ourselves,” says Breitenbach.
On Sunday, the negative away balance (3 wins, 2 draws, four defeats) should be polished up with the fourth win abroad this season. By then at the latest, the start into the year 2023 would have finally been successful. (Joerg Moll)
