WSV FAILS TO REACH REGIONALLIGA
* - WSV lost the decisive playoff game against SV Elversberg 3-2, and
thereby miss the cut. A WSV victory would have seem them through, as VfB
Huels was only able to defeat Borussia Neunkirchen 3-0, and they needed to
win by at least 5. However, it's all academic, as SV Elversberg retains
their Regionalliga standing. Things started out well, as Noel Kipre scored
after only 7 minutes to put WSV in the lead. Then after the match was
squared, newcomer Michael Bayertz scored, and once again WSV had the
advantage. But again they couldn't hold the lead, and the game was even at
the half. At the end, Elversberg got the game winner with about 5 minutes
left, when WSV was desperately trying to win the match.
WSV still alive!
* - WSV still has a chance at Regionalliga promotion. Last
night they had one of their best season performances, as they travelled to
the Saarland and crushed Borussia Neunkirchen 5-0. WSV started out
furiously, as Frank Klemmer opened the scoring after only 3 minutes.
Further goals by Minas Hantzidis, a double by Alex Kohout and the coup de
grace by Robert Kovacic completed the rout.
* - VfB Hüls lost at home 1-2 to SV Elversberg. To have a chance,
Hüls will have to hope that they route Borussia Neunkirchen and that
Elversberg loses to WSV.
* - This essentially means that promotion will be decided next Monday in
Bad Kreuznach. WSV needs to defeat SV Elversberg, pure and simple.
Otherwise Elversberg goes to the new Regionalliga. VfB Hüls will have
to defeat Neunkirchen by at least 5 goals. This match is played in the
neutral Euskirchen.
Promotion Playiff standings: 1. SV Elversberg 5:1 6 2. WUPPERTALER SV 5:1 3 3. VfB Hüls 2:2 3 4. Bor. Neunkirchen 0:8 0
June 5, 2000
WSV blows chance; Regionalliga gone
* - Things look pretty grim for WSV, as they dropped the home opener in
the promotion playoffs against VfB Hüls 0-1. The only goal of the
match was an own goal by Murat Jasarevic. Overall, it was a rather crap
performance by WSV, as only GK Nils Heese rose to the occasion.
The defeat means that WSV now needs to win the upcoming match at Borussia
Neunkirchen, and then also defeat SV Elversberg on the neutral ground at
Bad Kreuznach. Since this is unlikely, you can write off the Regionalliga.
* - Meanwhile, current Regionalligist SV Elversberg easily defeated
Oberliga Sudwest champ Borussia Neunkirchen 3-0 to grab the promotion
lead.
LAST MINUTE REPRIEVE!
* - In a last minute reprieve, the DFB has decided to grant WSV a
provisional license for the Regionalliga. This means that WSV will take
part in the promotion playoffs, which start this Sunday against Oberliga
Westfalen champion VfB Huels.
Officially WSV had withdrawn the application, but then asked for an
extension. Then
WSV had deposited funds with the DFB and sent in a declaration that " we
will pay the remainder to the pension fund when we receive exact
clarification of the amount owed." Since the amount in question was
disputed, apparently all parties agreed, and the DFB was statified. The
Berufsgenossenschaft" will still have to figure out the
exact amount, but WSV has already deposited over DM 500,000 with
the DFB. Hopefully this is not another cruel joke to be perpetrated on the
long suffering WSV fans.
* - The promotion schedule looks something like this:
June 4: WSV - VfB Huels
* - James Igwilo, the talented Nigerian midfielder, has apparently
decided to leave the club, destination unknown. So far, WSV has managed to
re-sign most of the starters. Few new signings have been announced. Aside
from a couple of promotions from the WSV-II squad, the only commitment so
far is Sascha Walbroehl, the ex-WSV player who last played for
Alemannia Aachen.
NO REGIONALLIGA!!!
* - WSV announced that they have withdrawn their application for the new
Regionalliga, since they can't come up with the money to pay their pension
obligations. As a result, the whole Oberliga season is totally worthless.
In fact, why even bother to play next year?
May 19, 2000
CHAMPIONS!!!
* - WSV has won the Oberliga Nordrhein title with a match to spare. In a
tough match against a fired up SC Adler Osterfeld in Oberhausen's stadium,
WSV managed a 3-3 draw, thereby gaining the point that made it
mathematically impossible for Preussen Koeln to catch Wuppertal.
* - The main issue facing WSV is whether we will have to force over the
estimated DM 1.5 million in arrears to the Berufsgenossenschaft.
Apparently much of the debt stems from the 1970s-80s, when the current
management was not involved. WSV is attempting to negotiate with the DFB
to make sure that we are not automatically disbarred from the Regionalliga
playoffs.
May 8, 2000
* - WSV's match at SC Adler Osterfeld has been moved to May 19th, and it
will be played in Oberhausen.
* - WSV did make an application for a Regionalliga license, which
basically meant a DM 30,000 deposit. Of course, if the application is
accepted, WSV will need to pay off the Labor office arrears. However,
given the crap form of the squad, that doesn't appear to be much of a
worry, since there's no way they'll win the Oberliga at the rate things
are going.
* - Matches against Teveren and Gladbach Amateurs were postponed as the
playing fields are basically mud heaps due to heavy rain. Perhaps WSV
catch a break, because Gladbach is kicking ass and currently in 1st.
* - WSV finally did restart and ended with an absolute disgrace: 0-1 at
Euskirchen.
* - The Winterbreak has been rather ho-hum so far. WSV had a disgraceful
result in the city-wide indoor tournament, but you can file that under the
"Who cares?" department. Indoor soccer is fun to play, but it is about as
important as ping-pong.
* - WSV has taken advantage of FC Wegberg-Beeck's insolvency problems to
swoop for a couple of players. Forward Markus Bayertz and goal
keeper Manfred Kubik have signed contracts with WSV. Bayertz has
been quite promising in some test friendlies that have been played.
* - WSV is back in negotiation with the Labor Office over payment arrears.
As you might recall, that's the reason we suffer in the Oberliga in the
1st place: Forcible relegation due to non-payment. Well, if WSV wants to
qualify for the Regionalliga, they are still going to have to pay up. The
amount is believed to be around DM 500,000, due by March 1st. The total
arrears appears to be around 1.5 million.
* - Winterbreak Wrapup
Now a review by positions:
Goalkeeping: Has been pretty solid ever since Jochen Gramse got canned.
Gramse was a player that never seemed consistent enough, which is what you
absolutely need. Daniel Eschbach and Nils Heese have been good. Grade: B+
Defense: Relatively good. Newcomers Babacar Dioup and Yasar Kurt have
earned starting roles. Veteran Richard Mademan has been solid, and Frank
Klemmer has played well enough to be considered Player of the Year.
On the other hand, Murat Jasarevic has been crap too often. Grade:
B+
Midfield: Needs improvement. James Igwilo has been a a decent find, but a
playmaking midfielder role is still lacking. Erol Refos went down with
injury too early. Gabi Raduta has only shown that he's a benchwarmer at
best. Kovacic and Dabovic have been OK, but not capable of carrying a
team. It would be really nice if they could have signed Sven
Steup or Sascha Lenhart. Grade: B-
Attack: Need to develop another threat. Alex Kohout has been a nice find,
with 12 goals. Noel Kipre has proven to be a tricky forward, but has
trouble finishing. No other players have stepped up as scoring threats or
even capable of playing forward. Still, 36 goals lead the league, as
other positions have chipped in. Grade: B
Coach Frantisek Straka has done a good job in molding together a decent
squad from mostly new players. Grade: A-
Management: OK, you're probably expecting the usual "F-" grade, but so far
management has been reasonable. Runge is still prone to sticking his foot
in his mouth, but generally has tempered things. Something still needs to
be done to attract more fans. Obviously winning is a huge factor, but it's
not the only one. Inability to sign ex-WSvers Steup or Lenhart
indicates that the club is still not respected. Grade: B-
* - Lame performance in Straelen. Not the best way to go into the
winterbreak. WSV now faces a tough match against the
Duesseldorf amateurs when the season resumes next year. WSV should kick
their ass, but you can't tell the way we're usually slow out of the box.
* - WSV loses 1-3 at home to Preussen Koeln, disgracefully. Luckily, I was
in Mexico checking out the Pachuca-Morelia wildcard matchup. (Ultra Tuzos
advance, gracias). Largest crowd of the season, but WSV falls flat. The
next match is an extremely tough on at Straelen, which seems to have
replaced Erkenschwick as an "angstgegner".
* - Coach Frantisek Straka apparently does not have the "A" trainer
license, so theoretically the DFB could ban him from coaching. However, so
far the regional federation has decided to look the other way. The whole
concept is bogus anyway.
* - WSV advances to the final of the Niederrhein Pokal, as they squeaked
by TusPo Richtrath 2-1. This means they will face either Bor. M'Gladbach
Amateurs or KFC Uerdingen in the finals. The winner of the finals advances
to the DFB Cup 1st round.
Nov 18, 1999
* - As expected, WSV treated the regional Kreispokal match as a
useless training match. And as a result, they played total crap, and were
beaten 4-1 by SSVg Velbert. Christian Trummel scored the lone goal for
WSV. In any case, the upcoming Cup match against TuSpo Richtrath, in the
Niederrhein Pokal is more important. A win puts WSV in the final,
and the winner of the final is automatically qualified for the 1st round
of the DFB Cup.
* - Good news out of Wegberg. Apparently FC Wegberg-Beeck has decided not
to throw in the towel just yet. (I'm sure Euskirchen wished they had,
since they got stomped 0-5 last weekend). Instead, FC WB will most likely
let the high-salaried players become free agents at the winterbreak,
meaning they are available on free transfer. WSV is rumoured to be
interested in signing Ingmar Putz, and there may be other FC WB players of
interest.
Nov 15, 1999
* - WSV's tough win in Koeln against the FC punks allows the Lions to win
the fictional "Herbstmeisterschaft", i.e. the "half-way" title. Not a bad
way to finish out the first half. Still, things aren't getting any easier.
In fact, the next match is against Preussen Koeln, the only team to
inflict a defeat upon WSV this season, and a rival for the title. WSV
needs to win this match, not only for revenge, but to show everybody who's
the boss. WSV has a couple of weeks to prepare, as they have a couple of
worthless Cup games against SSVg Velbert and TuSpo Richrath first.
Nov 8, 1999
* - A hard fought 3-2 over Osterfeld keeps WSV in 1st. But it doesn't get
easier, as the Lions travel to 1.FC Koeln to face their under-23 squad.
The Koelners have been playing fairly well, despite a couple of recent
setbacks. WSV needs to find a way to win this, as Gladbach's amateurs are
still breathing down ourneck.
* - Attempts to sign Sven Steup, an ex-Wuppertal captain and
fine midfielder, have apparently fallen through. WSV had reached an
agreement with Bayer Leverkusen Amateurs for Steup's release, but
apparently Sven has decided to join SC Verl instead.
* - Grim news out of Wegberg: it looks like FC Wegberg-Beeck, one of the
stronger teams in the Oberliga, will pack things in due to bankruptcy.
They apparently cannot pay their players. They plan to play their next
couple of games, according to press releases on their website. After that,
they'll decide what to do.
Nov 1, 1999
* - A lucky draw in Duisburg, but WSV remains on top.
* - Daniel Limburg, a 19 year old keeper from Westhof, has been
signed by WSV. Although he is probably slated for the WSV-II squad, most
likely he will at least be on the bench for a few games. Since Daniel
Eschbach got red carded, Nils Heese is the only keeper on the squad
available.
* - Murat Jasarevic has to pay the piper. The wildman was sentenced
to a 4 game ban due to his assault against Rheydt. This means he will miss
at least 3 league games, since there is also a Cup match against Velbert.
* - Best performance in ages! Well, at least it seems that way. It
was time for WSV to stand up and be counted. They were in 1st place, and
had to ward off the challengers Rheydter SV. They met the challenge and
kicked ass, winning 5-1. It looks like coach Frantisek Straka is slowly
building a decent squad. Next week is an important match against MSV
Duisburg's amateurs. They haven't been winning much, but have proven to be
a tough opponent. Therefore it's imperative that WSV not take the
mini-zebras too lightly.
* - Another minor positive is that some 2,000 showed up in the Zoo, which
is the largest "crowd" of the season.
* - Assitant Coach Vlatko Glavas has been unable to agree on a
contract with the club, and has decided to leave.
* - Erol Refos is apparently the first player to get the boot.
Reports say that he and Straka didn't see eye to eye, so it looks like
he's out. Other players that might be leaving are Miki Miljak and
Damian Kalaysi who have received minimal playing time.
* - Supposedly in the winterbreak, some decisions about new players will
be made. Leverkusen's Marc Bach and ex-WSVer Sven Steup have
been bandied about several times.
* - FIRST PLACE! Well, WSV kind of backed into it, as Straelen held
Wegberg to a draw. At least WSV won 3-0 at Bonn, without impressing. Next
match is against Rheydt, another important clash at the Zoo. What is
needed is a clear, if not thumping, win in order to show the Oberliga
who's the boss.
* - WSV almost disgraced themselves in a local Cup tie against
Tuerkiyimspor Wuppertal. Despite mostly 2nd stringers, they should
have kicked their ass royally. Instead, a sole goal by Andrija Dabovic
rescued WSV from humiliation, for the 1-0 win. Among the players were Erol
Refos, Gabi Raduta and Michel Peeper, playing their first competitive
matches since coming back from injury.
* - Coach Frantisek Straka has hinted that 2-3 new players will be brought
in over the winterbreak, which basically means that the same number will
probably get the axe.
* - WSV couldn't take over 1st, as Wegberg held the draw. Next match is a
critical trip to Bonn. Wuppertal needs to thrash them, and shouldn't have
trouble keeping a blank sheet: Bonn has only scored three times. Of
course, look for WSV to struggle. Last time they played in Bonn was a
couple of years ago in a Regionalliga match: WSV sucked, but
managed to squeak by 2-1.
* - WSV plays a worthless cup match against Tuerkiyimspor Wuppertal on
Wednesday the 13th.
* - Rumour has it that the protest movement "Aktion Boettinger Weg" has
fizzled out. The protesters are supposedly joining the massive throngs in
the stands after their meeting with club officials.
* - In a ridiculous move, the San Jose Clash have apparently
decided to rename themselves the San Jose Earthquakes, after the
defunct NASL club. What a worthless gesture! The Clash are crap, but so
were the Quakes, so disguising the name ain't foolin' nobody.
Oct 4, 1999
* - WSV's meek 1-0 away win in Essen was magnified tremendously, as leader
Wegberg-Beeck was stunned 1-3 at home by 1.FC Koeln's U23 squad. This
essentially moved WSV into tie for 1st on points, and sets up a huge match
this weekend at the Zoo, when WB comes to town. A win would put WSV in
first place for the first time; in fact, it's been years since WSV has
been 1st in any league. Both coaches (Wegberg is lead by ex-MSv Duisburg
star Detlef Pirsig) are claiming that the other team is the favorite.
Perhaps a gigantic crowd of 2,000 might show up, a whopping 8% capacity.
* - Devrim Kalaysi and Miki Miljak have apparently been
given a release by the club. Neither player had played much, and are now
free to seek other teams.
* - One of last season's better players, Dirk de Wit has apparently
decided to abandon bankrupt Eintracht Trier and head for KFC Uerdingen.
Hey, if he wanted to play in the Oberliga, he should have just stayed with
WSV.
Sep 30, 1999
* - OK, another ho-hum crap performance only nets a draw vs. Remscheid.
The fans have certainly voted with their feet and pocketbooks, as less
than 2,000 bother to show up. We need a win at Schwarz-Weiss Essen to
regain the momentum! SWE stunk up the league early, but fired their
coaches ass, and have played respectably since, so it shouldn't be easy.
* - WSV played a friendly against "Fenerbahce Wuppertal" the other night,
winning 4-2. Goals were scored by Noel Kipre (2), "Tostao" Soares and Miki
Miljak. Although never threatened, hardly an inspiring effort. About 100
folks showed up, and the money was donated to help the victims of the
recent earthquake in Turkey.
* - A stunning victory for WSV over Fortuna Duesseldorf in the regional
Cup qualifier. Hopefully this effort will spill over into the game against
Remscheid.
* - A win in Bocholt, WSV brings home the bacon. An important win, since
it keeps WSV in the hunt. Next weekend match in the derby vs. Remscheid is
another must-win situation.
* - This Wednesday night (9/22), WSV takes on Fortuna Duesseldorf in a
regional cup qualifier. While it is nice to revive the old rivlary, let's
hope this essentially worthless game doesn't detract from the more
important match vs. Remscheid. Let's face it, qualifying for the 1st round
of the DFB Cup would be nice, but we'd probably be elmininated in the 1st
round anyway (Like against Offenbach this year.) WSV needs to make it to
the new combined Regionalliga...
Sep 13, 1999
* - OK, another ho-hum performance in beating Euskirchen. Since everybody
else stumbled, WSV has now moved into 3rd. Next week is definitely
winnable, at 1.FC Bocholt. WSV needs to crush them, or at least win with a
solid performance. If they do that, then perhaps a "crowd" of some 2,000
might "jam" the Zoo for the derby against Remscheid.
* - Reports indicate invisible Marcel Peeper was sighted at the Zoo
in civis. He had been AWOL for about a week.
Sep 7, 1999
* - OK, we got the crushing 5-0 victory at Teveren, but should have won
about 9-0. It's not being greedy, but WSV needs some impressive
performances to regain respect. Hopefully, coach Straka will set things
straight. We need another rout this weekend against Euskirchen, who just
got clobbered by 1.FC Koeln's schoolboys.
* - No new players will be showing up, unless some existing ones are
dumped. At least that is the position of management. Winger Marc Bach of
Bayer Leverkusen amateurs had been rumoured. Meanwhile, Rot-Weiss Essen
has demanded that WSV pay an outraegous DM 4000 transfer fee for Yasar
Kurt. Although some might argue that RWE should be forced to pay WSV
instead, perhaps everybody could be made happy with the counteroffer of a
bratwurst and beer.
* - Several players are nursing injuries, the most serious of which is
apparently James Igwilo's muscle tear. Also, apparently mentally
indisposed is Marcel Peeper. According to reports, he has vanished
and hasn't been seen in practice for about a week.
* - A "protest group" called Aktion Boettinger Weg has formed among
disgruntled fans, who are demanding an end to the Runge regime. Apparently
they are boycotting home games, and are said to number about 30 so far.
* - OK, this has nothing to do with WSV, but San Jose Clash suck,
despite a lame win over Kansas City. Good thing there is no relegation in
the US, or we'd be in the Bezirksliga by now.
Aug 31, 1999
* - After the crap 1-1 home game against Gladbach, coach Frantisek
Straka has apparently hinted he is going to kick ass and take names.
Well, basically, some players may be in the dog house, and he intends to
use less of a rotation and settle on a more regular lineup. (Actually, I'm
not sure WSV needs regularity, if so, Metamucil is pretty reliable...). In
any case, WSV ABSOLUTELY needs a CRUSHING victory at Teveren this weekend.
If they can't kick Germania's lame ass, then they might as well forget
about it.
* - WSV played a friendly against Al-Nasr of Dubai, ending 2-2. The scores
for WSV were Frank Klemmer and "Tostao" Soares. By all accounts, yet
another lame performance by WSV.
Aug 16, 1999
* - Nils Heese made his debut in the win over Straelen. According
to reports, goalkeeper Jochen Gramse and the club have agreed to
part ways and disolve the contract. Gramse has apparently decided he's not
going to make it, and has decided to concentrate on his job instead. WSV
has just signed Daniel Eschbach, previously with 1.FC Köln, as
a replacement.
* - Noel Kipre's release still hasn't come through. Although
Cottbus has given the release, and the papers have been filed with the
regional west federation, apparently the confirmation hasn't come from the
regional brandenburg association yet.
* - The official jersey sponsor is apparently EMKA once again. Or is it?
The club had announced that the insurance company Gothaer-Versicherung,
last year's sponsor, would continue. Then the Runge's own company, EMKA,
which had been a previous sponsor, had outbid. In the game against
Preussen Koeln, the jersey said "EMKA", but in the cup game against
Homberg, it was blank.
* - Jochen Gramse may have been booted off the team for his recent
crap performances. Nils Heese will apparently get the start against
Straelen.
* - Forward Miki Miljak may finally get his first WSV start this
weekend. It seems as if his DFB papers have come through.
Aug 9, 1999
* - Disgraceful 2-3 loss at Preussen Koeln in Oberliga start.
* - Forward Noel Kipre has been signed as a free agent from
Energie
Cottbus. He was impressive in camp, but then left to pursue offers in
Greece and Holland. This could be a major find for WSV.
* - Croatian forward Miki Miljak is still not available to the
team. His papers may not come through for several weeks.
* - Nice result for WSV in the regional qualifier for the 2000 DFB Cup.
They thrashed Vorwaerts Bottrop in B-town 6-1.
* - Despite a good effort, WSV lost 1-2 to Kickers Offenbach in the 1st
round of the DFB Cup. More details in Match section.
* - The qualification for next year's DFB Cup kicks off on
Wednesday, Aug 4th, as WSV faces Vorwaerts Bottrop away.
July 26, 1999
* - Two more players have signed on for WSV: Greek forward Minas
Hantzidis, who has been fairly impressive so far, and Dutch midfielder
Michel Peeper. Slowly, but surely, WSV is putting together a decent
squad - or at least we hope so!
* - Bosnian defender Murat Jasarevic, who played for WSV last
season, looks likely to re-sign with the club afterall.
* - Preseason preparations continued, as WSV lost 2-1 against Israeli
squad Hapoel Jerusalem, in a decent effort. Later, WSV defeated fellow
Oberligist FC Remscheid easily 2-0.
* - The upcoming DFB Cup match (August 1st) against Kickers
Offenbach
promises to be lucrative for the club. We might actually witness a half
decent crowd at the Zoo, although they will probably be mostly KO fans.
Offenbach has already sold their allotment of 2,000 tickets, and has asked
for more.
* - WSV continued preseason preparation. Bundesliga club MSV Duisburg
visited Wuppertal, and kicked WSV's ass 0-3. However, at least for the
first half, WSV made a good impression, playing well against Duisburg's
top lineup. A couple of players on trial, Noel Kipre of Energie
Cottbus and Pavel Kohout made good impressions. It seems like they
will be offered contracts. Among the regulars, Gabi Raduta had a
nice game.
* - After the defeat against Duisburg, WSV turned the tables and waltzed
past SV Sodingen 3-0.
* - Frank Klemmer has apparently decided to stick with WSV
afterall. This is good news, since the defender had an option to terminate
his contract if WSV was relegated.
WSV's LAST GASP FAILS!
The last desperate bid by WSV to avoid forcible relegation was put to rest
today as the appeals court ruled that the Westdeutscher Fussball Verband
was justified in forcibly dropping WSV for non-payment of financial
obligations. The bumblers who have been running WSV into the ground over
the last few years have finally succeeded in bringing the unprecedented
occurence: 4th division soccer to the Zoo-Stadion!
* - New assistant coach
* - More signings
* - Training camp continues. The first "test" match is against TSV
Ronsdorf on July 7th. After that, a couple of games have been scheduled
against Israeli clubs.
* - In addition to the potential loan of some young Dutch based players,
WSV has signed a total of 12 players so far. These include:
GK:
Jochen Gramse,
June 28, 1999
WSV signs new coach
* - Summer training camp has started. Straka has been leading the
sessions, which consist almost entirely of new players. Several Dutch
based foreigners have been brought in, all young players.
Fach says WSV sucks and leaves!
* - WSV's hope for a legal decision now rests with an appeals court. The
club has hired some attorney, Schurkhardt or somebody, to present
the club's case. The good news is that this guy has a decent track
record, having "saved" Hertha BSC, VfL Wolfsburg and SpFr Siegen when they
were in difficult circumstances.
Aside from pleading stupidity, WSV's case relies upoin the fact that there
is no license review for the Regionalliga, so only on the field results
should count. Furthermore, WSV intends to apply it's share of the TV
money, which is roughly equivalent to the amount of the debt owed to the
pension office.
The final, binding decision of the appeals court is expected by mid-July.
June 14, 1999
New coach for WSV
* - WSV has retained an attorney to present legal arguments as to why WSV
should not be forcibly relegated to the Oberliga. Initial presentation is
set for Wednesday, June 16. Meanwhile, the Berufsgenossenschaft has
added insult to injury, by demanding DM 525,000 in payment, an
increase of DM 75,000 beyond the original DM 450,000 for which WSV was in
default.
Arrangement with Dutch club?
June 1, 1999
ARMAGEDDON!!! WSV FORCIBLY RELEGATED!!!
In a sad turn of events, WSV has been forcibly relegated to the Oberliga!
The reasons are complex, with bitter recrimination back and forth. What
essentially occured is that Wuppertal failed to pay some DM 450.000 to the
pension fund by the due date, May 1st. There are lots of arguments flying
about, but what is clear that WSV knew in October 1998 that the money had
to be paid. Perhaps they figured they could wiggle around it. The club has
hinted at "legal action", but they don't appear to have much of a legal
leg to stand on.
June 7: Borussia Neunkirchen - WSV
June 12: SV Elversberg - WSV (in Bad Kreuznach)
Overall, you can't be too disappointed with WSV's performance. The team
got off to a slow start, by losing at Preussen Koeln. That was followed
with a few lacklustre games as well. It wasn't until WSV pounded Rheydt
5-1 that you realized this squad finally seemed to gel. However, they
tailed off just before the break to end up in 2nd place - behind Preussen
Koeln.
WSV has a new assistant coach to help out Frantisek Straka. It is none
other than Vlatko Glavas, who played for WSV two seasons ago.
Several moves were made in the contract department. Errol Refos
from Telstar of the Dutch 1st division, along with Marcos Slupak
from neighbor FC Remscheid signed on. On the other hand, Czech player
Michal Ondracek decided against signing his contract afterall.
Apparently he misunderstood the pre-tax amount to be the after-tax salary,
and it wasn't enough.
Defenders:
Richard Mademann
Yasar Kurt (RW Essen)
Frank Klemmer (only for Regionalliga)
Midfielders:
Gabi Raduta
Michal Ondracek (Budejovice, Czech)
Devrim Kalaysi (Dortmund)
Robert Kovacic (Union Berlin)
Forwards:
Valdimiro "Tostao" Soares
Christian Trummel
Miki Miljak (MK Rijeka, Croatia)
* - Frantisek Straka is the new WSV coach, after Holger Fach
deserted the club. Straka, a former Czech international who particapated
in the World Cup in the 1980s, is a former WSV defender from 2.Liga days.
he also played some 100 Bundesliga games with teams like Bochum and
Rostock.
Recently announced coach Holger Fach resigned after only 5 days on
the job. Apparently he realized that WSV sucked so much, he decided not to
waste his time. A bitter blow in the sense that training is supposed to
start at the end of the month. But on the other hand, with only about 4
players under contract, about the only thing they could do is play cards
anyway.
Holger Fach has just signed on new head coach for WSV, replacing
Roman Geschlecht. The 35 year old ex-pro inked the deal today, which is in
force whether the club plays in the Regionalliga or Oberliga next season.
Fach played over 400 games in the Bundesliga, with teams like Uerdingen,
M'Gladbach, Leverkusen, etc. He is a Wuppertal native and as such has
expressed a desire to help the team. "Besides, I haven't been doing
anyhting since I retired, and I'm bored."
WSV has apparently reached an agreement with Dutch 1st division club SC
Heerenveen that could bring up to 6 players from the Dutch squad to
Wuppertal on a loan basis. This would be nice, since only about 6 players
remain from WSV's squad.
Questions or Comments? Send e-mail
to: John Dwyer (jdwyer@wco.com)