Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s SV Elversberg from the Regionalliga Südwest.
Michael Wiesinger has experienced almost everything in professional football. Promotion, relegation, championships, cup wins, you can even call him a Champions League winner. As a player and a coach he has collected over 20 years of experience. The man from Burghausen has taken on a task that is both appealing and difficult at the ambitions Sportvereinigung Elversberg from the Regionalliga Südwest. For SVE, there is an absolute highlight of the season for them just after the start of the league: they meet Europa League side FC Augsburg in the first round of the DFB Cup on 7th August at 20:00 CEST. Wiesinger has spoken with DFB.de about the cup task, the appeal and difficulties of his task in Saarland and the big aims of his new club.
DFB.de: Mr Wiesinger, how were preparations for the new season in the Regionalliga Südwest?
Michael Wiesinger: Our preparations had highs and lows. I saw a lot of positives, but I could only train with the complete squad on a few occasions. So I haven’t yet found a regular formation. But I have already coached the reserves of 1. FC Nürnberg in the Regionalliga Bayern and so I know that you always need a plan B and C in this league.
DFB.de: Your club is ambitions and wants to gain promotion. How strong is the Regionalliga Südwest and who are your biggest competitors?
Wiesinger: I think a different type of football is played here compared to the Regionalliga Bayern. in my opinion the level is better in terms of quality, the competition is intense and unpredictable. There are a lot of strong competitors going for promotion like 1. FC Saarbrücken, Kickers Offenbach, Homburg, Mannheim or even Trier.
DFB.de: SV Elversberg’s aim is to get promoted to the third division, but at the same time stated that the third division should not be the end goal. How is the club prepared for these goals?
Wiesinger: There is a completely positive spirit of optimism. But what’s also clear is that the path will not be smooth, and we will need to be patient. That also goes for the infrastructure. As for the stadium, well the club has found a solution despite the competition with local rivals 1. FC Saarbrücken. Because both clubs have to rebuild their stadiums, we will share our grounds during reconstruction. I personally see it as one of my main task to always demand more and push so that we go further.
Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s SV Elversberg from the Regionalliga Südwest.
Michael Wiesinger has experienced almost everything in professional football. Promotion, relegation, championships, cup wins, you can even call him a Champions League winner. As a player and a coach he has collected over 20 years of experience. The man from Burghausen has taken on a task that is both appealing and difficult at the ambitions Sportvereinigung Elversberg from the Regionalliga Südwest. For SVE, there is an absolute highlight of the season for them just after the start of the league: they meet Europa League side FC Augsburg in the first round of the DFB Cup on 7th August at 20:00 CEST. Wiesinger has spoken with DFB.de about the cup task, the appeal and difficulties of his task in Saarland and the big aims of his new club.
DFB.de: Mr Wiesinger, how were preparations for the new season in the Regionalliga Südwest?
Michael Wiesinger: Our preparations had highs and lows. I saw a lot of positives, but I could only train with the complete squad on a few occasions. So I haven’t yet found a regular formation. But I have already coached the reserves of 1. FC Nürnberg in the Regionalliga Bayern and so I know that you always need a plan B and C in this league.
DFB.de: Your club is ambitions and wants to gain promotion. How strong is the Regionalliga Südwest and who are your biggest competitors?
Wiesinger: I think a different type of football is played here compared to the Regionalliga Bayern. in my opinion the level is better in terms of quality, the competition is intense and unpredictable. There are a lot of strong competitors going for promotion like 1. FC Saarbrücken, Kickers Offenbach, Homburg, Mannheim or even Trier.
DFB.de: SV Elversberg’s aim is to get promoted to the third division, but at the same time stated that the third division should not be the end goal. How is the club prepared for these goals?
Wiesinger: There is a completely positive spirit of optimism. But what’s also clear is that the path will not be smooth, and we will need to be patient. That also goes for the infrastructure. As for the stadium, well the club has found a solution despite the competition with local rivals 1. FC Saarbrücken. Because both clubs have to rebuild their stadiums, we will share our grounds during reconstruction. I personally see it as one of my main task to always demand more and push so that we go further.
DFB.de: SVE’s U17s have just been promoted to the first division. What does that mean for the club?
Wiesinger: That means that we have made the first step. But we have to improve the quality of our youth development centre. My assistant coach and I have brought with the necessary knowhow for that. But it’s clear that we will not get three regular players for the first team from the U17s in one go. The aim is have a long-term development path for the youngsters whereby they move to the U21s and then to the first team squad without problems.
DFB.de: Why are the club currently training in France?
Wiesinger: The club was intensively looking for training possibilities. At Elversberg there is currently space for our youth academy but not for the first team. The best possibility was to move 25 minutes from Elversberg, just over the border, to some unused land which the first team can use. Of course that isn’t ideal but it is currently the best solution.
DFB.de: Elversberg and FC Augsburg played together in the Regionalliga Süd in 2006. Is Augsburg’s path a model for Elversberg?
Wiesinger: I can only recommend that everyone thinks outside of the box and learns about what others do. Augsburg are an example of the importance of keeping calm and encouraging continuity. I still remember when Markus Weinzerl had only won nine points by the winter break a few years ago. But the club stuck with him and were rewarded for that. That shows that slow and steady does win the race and that whoever remains cool will be rewarded in the end.
DFB.de: How much are you looking forward to the cup game?
Wiesinger: The demand for tickets is good – the stadium will be full. My assistant Oliver Beer also used to work for Augsburg’s academy so we are well informed about the opposition.
DFB.de: What are the particular strengths of Augsburg?
Wiesinger: The team has a good plan and a good balance. Everyone knows what they have to do. We can never feel too sure and should keep possession of the ball as much as possible until the end. Counter attacking is one of Augsburg’s big strengths. We have to be bold ourselves because we have our own qualities too and we can hurt Augsburg. Maybe we can reward ourselves at the end…
