Rumours and unsubstantiated truths


December 10, 2000

Another decent performance
FC Wegberg-Beeck - Wuppertaler SV 0:1 (0:1)

WSV put in another decent performance as they won away to Wegberg. WSV pretty much controlled the match with a strong midfield, but failed to build on the lead, despite having a man advantage for the last 30 minutes or so. As it was, Noel Kipre grabbed the only goal has he headed in off Sven Steup's cross.

Wuppertal: Heese - Mademann, Dioup, Kurt, Klemmer - Steup, Walbroehl, Rietz, Bayertz - Kipre (63. Goumai), Kohout

Scoring: 0:1 Kipre (42.)

Att: 700

* - Despite the apparent recent turnaround, coach Frantisek Straka is apparently on shaky ground. Club boss Friedhelm Runge hasn't exactly been standing behind his coach, waffling back and forth. The rumour mill continues to grind, so he may yet get his ass canned, despite what appears to be a decent job. One thing is clear though: if WSV doesn't win the Oberliga and automatic promotion, his ass is grass.

December 3, 2000

Good effort gets key win!
Wuppertaler SV - Borussia Freialdenhoven 2:1 (1:1)

WSV wins a tough match against an agressive visitor. Things almost started out with a bang, as Thomas Rietz put in a perfect cross after only 5 minutes, but Noel Kipre put the ball over the bar from only 5 meters. WSV continued to attack, and then were caught with their pants down. Kochen broke away on a counter and waltzed in alone on Heese - 0:1.

But WSV wasn't too shaken, and only 5 minutes later, the match was square. Markus Bayertz turned in a corner, which Alex Kohout slid into the net. The rest of the half saw back and forth action, which only some 1000 fans showed up to see.

In the 2nd half, the guest started to lose equality, and WSV pressure began to mount. After several chances were wasted, Jacques Goumai took Walbroehl's perfect cross to give WSV the lead. Freialdenhoven then tried desperately to equalize, but the WSV defense and especially keeper Heese were up to the task.

An important win for Wuppertal, which keeps them in contention.

Wuppertal: Heese - Dioup, Mademann, Kurt - Steup, Bayertz, Klemmer, Walbroehl (82. Lalli), Rietz - Kohout (90. Janssen), Kipre (68. Goumai)

Scoring: 0:1 Kochen (13.), 1:1 Kohout (18.), 2:1 Goumai

Att: 1,100

November 26, 2000

Oh well, at least we bring home the bacon...

1.FC Bocholt - Wuppertaler SV 1:2 (1:1)

* - WSV continued their slow recovery with a 2-1 away win against Bocholt. This was a makeup for an earlier rainout. Some 650 fans showed up at Bocholt's "Am Hünting" satdium, and they were treated to a crap game on an even crappier field.

WSV had trouble getting started, and so it was that they quickly fell behind. After a few minutes of helter-skelter, they evened the score as Markus Bayertz blasted a free kick into the top of the net. WSV then began to assert their dominance, but it wasn't until the second half that they won the match. Noel Kipre put in a nice cross that Alex Kohout headed home. The rest of the match was pretty uneventful, although WSV did fall asleep in the closing minutes, as Bocholt tried despertaely to equalize.

The high point was actually about 7 minutes before time. Noel Kipre was subbed out, and as he was passing the Bocholt bench, one of their idiot players tried to trip him. What a disgrace. Hopefully Bocholt is relegated down to the bush leagues where they belong. If they had any class, they would cut that idiot and apologize, but I don't imagine that will happen, as their bench spent most of the game swearing and yelling insults at the WSV players and coaches.

The important thing is that WSV gets the points. They still look crap, but at least a couple of road wins might have set the stage for an acceptable finish before the winter break. The main negative, aside from the crap play, is that Sven Steup had to be carried off the field with a suspected concussion after a vicious Bocholt foul.

Wuppertal: Heese - Mademann, Klemmer, Dioup - Rietz, Bayertz, Kurt, Steup (34. Lalli), Walbroehl (88. Janssen) - Kohout, Kipre (83. Goumai)

Scoring: 1:0 Maier (9.), 1:1 Bayertz (22.), 1:2 Kohout (53.)

Att: 650

November 18, 2000

At last, a decent result!

SV Straelen - Wuppertaler SV 2:4 (1:4)

* - Finally, WSV put together a decent game. Sure it was against a crap Straelen squad, but WSV tarditionally has had trouble there. Not so today. From the start, WSV dominated the match and should have kicked some serious ass. Alex Kohout opened the scoring early, and WSV continually attacked the Straeleners. Midfielder Markus Bayertz was the best man on the field, having his best match ever for WSV. He crowned his effort with a goal as well. Noel Kipre finally realized you get goals by putting the ball in the net, and he bagged two. Richard Mademann missed a penalty which could have completed the massacre.

In the 2nd half, Straelen got a little more into the game, mainly because the ref fell for a blatant acting job by one of the Straelen forwards. Not only did he give them a penalty, but he red carded Guenter Pesch. Down to 10 men, WSV only did the minimum necessary to bring home the bacon.

Wuppertal: Heese - Dioup, Mademann, Pesch, Kurt - Steup (89. Uzun), Bayertz, Walbroehl, Rietz - Kipre, Kohout

Scoring: 0:1 Kohout (9.), 0:2 Bayertz (21.), 0:3 Kipre (28.), 0:4 Kipre (44.), 1:4 Faltinsky (45.), 2:4 Jepp (53., pen)

November 11, 2000

Another worthless effort

Wuppertaler SV - Preussen Koeln 0:0

* - Yet another effort wasted. At least WSV took the game to Preussen, but the finishing was laughable. There were a few questionable calls in the box that probably denied WSV a penalty, but if you have to rely on that, it just shows how lame you're playing. WSV did pretty much control the game and generate the majority of chances, but that and a couple of marks will get you a Bratwurst...

Clearly, the fans have pretty much given up, as under 1,000 bothered to show up. WSV coach Frantisek Straka has been under a lot of pressure to get a "W", and he made several changes to his lineup, but really can't kick the ball in the net himself. Newcomer Daniel Janssen was benched after his crap performance in Velbert, and Mademann was back in the libero position. The defense was pretty solid overall, which is a minor positive.

* - "How crap art thou? Let me count the ways..." This could be WSV's theme for this week. Suffice it to say that WSV is closer to relegation than promotion!! Disgraceful, but true. We now trail worthless Alka-Seltzer Leverkusen so-called Amateurs by 10 points, whereas we're only 8 points above the relegation zone. And what about next week? WSV travels to SV Straelen, one of the crappiest teams in the league, tied for last. However, WSV has always struggled against Straelen, so unfortunately you expect yet another crap result. Since we've only scored once in the last five games, don't expect an outburst.

November 5, 2000

Surprise! WSV plays crap again!

* - Yet another disappointing result, as WSV could only draw 0-0 at SSVg Velbert in a local derby at Velbert's Sonnenblume Stadion. Some 2,000 fans showed up for the first league meeting between the two in some 30 years, and WSV did absolutely nothing to ensure that it will be another 30. After this crap result, next match against Preussen Koeln is a must win, otherwise the seaosn is over.

October 30, 2000

WSV sucks again!

* - God! This is too much to bear! WSV sucked again in a 1-1 draw against Fortuna Duesseldorf II. What a disgrace, especially when you consider that their opponents will probably be automatically relegated since FD I is probably getting dropped down to the Oberliga! This also means that we didn't get a single win in the month of October!! Is there any hope for WSV? Are you prepared for yet another year of 4th division football?

* - Apparently WSV has signed a new defender, Daniel Janssen. No word if he is any good. Another player, an ex-1.FC Koelner, is currently under trial. He had signed with Dynamo Dresden, but apparently failed his medical.

* - Our next match is a local derby against SSVg Velbert, apparently the first one in about 30 years. The coach of Velbert is also an employee of EMKA, which is WSV president Friedhelm Runge's company. So I suppose if WSV loses, the Velbert guy gets to collect unemployment insurance. Therefore, I predict a WSV victory!

October 23, 2000

Woeful Soccer Verein

Schwarz-Weiss Essen - Wuppertaler SV 3:0(0:0)

* - If you thought last week was bad, WSV simply put on one of the worst performances in years (and that's saying a lot, given how crap we've been) as they get drubbed by a worthless Essen squad. SWE totally domainted the game, and WSV just ran around aimlessly, waiting to get their ass kicked. Through mostly luck, they did so for about an hour, then the floodagtes opened.

October 15, 2000

Black day in the Zoo

Wuppertaler SV - SC Adler Osterfeld 0:2 (0:0)
* - In the top match of the season, WSV sucked royally and went down "sang und Klanglos" 0-2 against Osterfeld, who take over the lead. After this disastrous performance, coach Straka has some major ass-kicking to do.

October 8, 2000

WSV back to old tricks and play CRAP!!

* - WSV failed to impress and could only reach a 2-2 at Germania Ratingen. Jacques Goumai and Frank Klemmer grabbed 2nd half goals for WSV to avoid a disgrace. Andrija Dabovic got his ass red carded, so that hardly helped the cause. Only about 800 fans showed up for the game, and almost half were for WSV. Too bad they didn't have much to cheer about.

October 1, 2000

* - WSV's match at 1.FC Bocholt was canceled due to field conditions. It's been postponed to November 25th.

Several other Oberliga matches met the same fate. As a result, WSV's next scheduled match is at Germania Ratingen on Sunday, October 8th. WSV should be able to take these guys. Ratingen has a potent offense, but their defense is crap, so expect something like 4-2 for WSV

* - In midweek, WSV played a friendly against 2.Liga club MSV Duisburg. The match ended in a 3-3 draw, with Andrija Dabovic scoring once, and Salvatore Prestipino getting a double.

* - If you had a chance yet, check out the detailed history of WSV's legendary 1972-73 season in the history section.

September 25, 2000

Lame performance, but the result is decent
Wuppertaler SV - FC Remscheid 5:1 (1:0)

Despite a thumping 5-1 over crap Remscheid in the local derby, WSV doesn't have too much to crow about. For one thing, they played down to Remscheid's level, running around haplessly like chickens with their heads cut off. Coach Frantisek Straka didn't seem too pleased, despite the score line. Also disappointing was that only some 2,100 fans showed up, clearly indicating that soccer is still in the doldrums in the Wupper valley...

On the other hand, the result is great. Usually WSV has managed to suck in the derby, and drop critical points to Remscheid. This time was different. WSV managed to take advantage of enough Remscheid lamebrain mistakes to ram home a few goals. In fact, for the other teams in the league, unless they had scouts at the game, it probably strikes fear in their lederhosen. So you really have to ask whether the bierstein is half-full or half empty.

As for the game itself, WSV started out strong, but soon fell asleep. Alex Kohout almost put WSV ahead after only a few minutes with a nice header, but after that, the attack was generally clueless. It was up to the outstanding Richard Mademann to get the lead, in a header off a corner. WSV went into the half with a lead, but the fans were hardly excited. In the 2nd half, Remscheid brought on Giuseppe Spitali, and he ran through the WSV defense like a bad case of the runs. He grabbed an equalizer, and tormented his defenders all day. Luckily for WSV, they got on track via the penalty spot. Noel Kipre was pulled down, and Mademann converted to give WSV the upper hand. In the end, they pulled away with some garbage goals.

Wuppertal:
Heese - Dioup, Mademann, Kovacic - Klemmer (30. Kurt), Steup, Walbroehl (86. Lalli), Rietz, Bayertz - Kipre, Kohout (71. Goumai)

1:0 Mademann (30.), 1:1 Spitali (59.), 2:1 Mademann (61., pen), 3:1 Kurt (75.), 4:1 Rietz (83.), 5:1 Kipre (90.)

Att: 2,100

Next up:

WSV travels to 1.FC Bocholt. In reality, FCB looks like a crap team, and should give WSV no trouble, but we've had a tough time in many games we should have won easily. I'll pick WSV to play crap, but manage to win 2-1.

September 18, 2000

Brilliant WSV victory - not!
Bayer Leverkusen Amateurs - Wuppertaler SV 0:1 (0:1)

OK, it will hardly go down as a legendary victory for WSV (what can compare with RotWeiss Essen - WSV 0:5 in 1972?), but Wuppertal plays well enough to bring home the bacon against a tough foe. Leverkusen had served notice as they kicked Bocholt's ass 6-0 the previous week, and they probably intended to pass out free samples of Alka-Seltzer to the some 800 WSV fans that made the trip. Instead, despite the low entry fee of only DM 6.00, the Bayers were hardly hospitable hosts, starting with a strip search of all WSV fans at the gate, undoubtedly searching for Ibuprofen or Tylenol hidden away in unmentionable cavities. And the "welcome" extended to the Bayer players as well, as for the first 15 minutes, they basically hacked down anything that moved.

WSV was not deterred however, as the outstanding Sven Steup got the ball to Frank Klemmer, who layed in a low cross that Noel Kipre hammered home for his first of the season. Unfortunately, WSV then went on to show their usual incompetance at finishing, and neglected on several chances to put the match away. Leverkusen woke up and decided that chop-sockey was getting them nowhere, and started to pressure the WSV backfield. WSV had several more chances to ram home some "plop,plop,fizz,fizz" relief on counterattacks, but failed miserably when faced with the task. Bayer seemed to be drawing the noose closer, but luckily wasn't able to score. In the end, WSV hung on with the skin of their teeth and gain an important win.

WSV: Heese - Dioup, Mademann, Kovacic - Klemmer (89. Uzun), Steup, Walbroehl (77. Lalli), Rietz, Bayertz - Kohout, Kipre (70. Goumai)

Scoring: 0:1 Kipre (15.)
Att: 1.000

September 9, 2000

WSV continues at the top: The season so far
WSV continues at the top of the Oberliga Nordrhein as they defeated Euskirchner TSC 2:0 in another unimpressive performance. Certainly one hoped for a total rout of Euskirchen, which is dead last in the Oberliga. But the trend from WSV this season seems to be "do just enough to win".

WSV played with the following lineup:
Heese - Diop, Mademann, Klemmer - Kovacic, Steup (85. Lalli), Walbröhl, Rietz, Bayertz - Kipre, Kohout (79. Uzun)

Scoring: 1:0 Walbroehl (21.), 2:0 Klemmer (32.)
Attendance: 1.500

After starting the season with a lame 2-2 vs. MSV Duisburg Amateurs in the season opener (worse by the fact that they gave up the tying goal in injury time!), WSV then travelled to Rheydt and won easily enough, 2-0. Another struggle followed, in the 4-2 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach Amateurs. WSV had to come from behind twice to finally finish off the Borussen. Last week, WSV travelled to Koeln and squeaked by 1-0 against 1.FC Koeln U23. That set the stage for today's unimpressive result against a crap team.

The positive so far seems to be the excellent play of Frank Klemmer, who along with forward Alex Kohout, has tallied 4 goals. The defense has been largely solid, with some glaring lapses though. The offense needs to generate more scoring chances, and then finish them. Newcomer Thomas Rietz has shown some promise on the left side.

August 26, 2000

WSV FAILS TO PULL UPSET
DFB Pokal: Wuppertaler SV - VfB Stuttgart 1:3 (0:2)

WSV could not pull off the hoped for stunner, as Bundesligist VfB Stuttgart proved too strong for WSV. A somewhat disappointing 10,000 fans showed up in the Zoo-Stadion to watch the match. Stuttgart grabbed the lead after 30 minutes, and then scored once again right before half-time. The culprit was Romanian international Ion Ganea on both ocasions. Up until then, WSV had played the Bundesligist evenly, although not really generating much in the way of scoring chances.

In the 2nd half, WSV continued to press, but Noel Kipre's score with only 5 minutes left came too late. WSV was out of gas, and in injury time Ganea completed his hattrick to finish off Wuppertal


Questions or Comments? Send e-mail to: John Dwyer (jtdwyer@sonic.net)