Next challenge for SVE in Cologne

After losing their opening match, SV Elversberg are heading to Cologne for a difficult (but not insurmountable) task. 

SV Elversberg are facing their first away game of the year – and what will be a real highlight of the current second-division season: on Saturday 25 January, coach Horst Steffen’s team will be visiting former first-division team and candidate for promotion 1. FC Köln. The match will kick off at 1 p.m. at RheinEnergieSTADION.

Both teams are clearly excited about this top encounter. ‘We had a few things to work on after last weekend, but we have done so. We are now slowly starting to get excited about the match in Cologne’, Horst Steffen says. ‘Things will get straight down to business – they have a fantastic stadium and a fantastic atmosphere, so we will also be wanting to bring something along with us.’ Despite the rising euphoria, Elversberg are aware of the challenge posed by this duel with one of the league favourites.

We had a few things to work on after last weekend, but we have done so. We are now slowly starting to get excited about the match in Cologne.

Horst Steffen

Köln started the new year with a narrow 0:1 defeat by Hamburger SV, but before this they had enjoyed an impressive streak: they remained unbeaten for nine official games in a row, with eight wins and a draw. The Rhineland team are currently in third place in the table, equal on points with frontrunners HSV, underscoring their ambitions.

Nevertheless, 1. FC Köln have had some staffing issues. Eight players were temporarily out of training before their first home game of the year. One was ultimately able to return to action on the pitch, but for many of the others, time is scarce. For example, Luca Kilian and Jacob Christensen – who are both suffering cruciate ligament injuries – will still be limited to rehabilitation activities. Mark Uth (torn muscle fibre) and Mathias Olesen (back problems) are similarly still unavailable. Julian Pauli has not attended any further team training since the training camp in Spain, but will be gradually eased back in. ‘Julian is completing solo training. We are slowly ramping up the intensity’, Köln’s coach Gerhard Struber explained. ‘He appears stable, but we are being cautious.’

Luca Waldschmidt will also be out of action on Saturday. ‘Luca is still ill and will not be available’, Struber confirmed. There are still hopes that Tim Lemperle will be able to rejoin the team for training on Thursday. ‘Things are looking very positive’, Struber said about his potential inclusion in the squad.

As Struber puts it, although it only says Elversberg on the box, the contents are something special. The Austrian considers ‘Elv’, as the team is also known, to be a team that has shown in recent months that ‘they are able to provide surprises on every league match day’. He describes their stability and ‘good concept of play’, saying that they have the courage to develop combinations and to operate boldly and freely. ‘They have individual players who work very well together, and a couple of strikers up front who offer goalscoring opportunities and technical tools that are some of the best in the league.’ In their first and only encounter so far, this season’s first leg, the two teams ended on a 2:2 draw. ‘We want to be more confident in our positional and transitional play, and operate in a more specific and determined way’, Struber said of their objectives for the match. ‘We want our body language to say: we are playing at home, we can claim dominance here. We want to play with passion, develop joy’, as Struber described their plan.

We want to show once again that we are the bold underdogs, just as we have done in some of our previous games.

Horst Steffen

Despite their opponents’ injury worries, Horst Steffen also remains realistic: ‘Köln have a squad of very strong individuals’, he explains. ‘They have adjusted some of their tactics and play in a flexible, high intensity way. They have recently had several 1:0 wins and have developed a better defensive structure – but we will be seeking to break it down. We want to show once again that we are the bold underdogs, just as we have done in some of our previous games.’ In addition to the players already known to be missing, Elversberg will have to manage without Frederik Schmahl, who received a two-game suspension following a red card. Whether Fisnik Asllani will appear is also up in the air, as he has a slight injury.

Nevertheless, Elversberg are confident about the match. Köln’s central defender Timo Hübers is also expecting a bold opponent: ‘Elversberg play without a care in the world.’ After their last match against Magdeburg, SVE could be successful in Cologne with this approach. Emotions are therefore running high in the run-up to this match.