"In essence, the celebration is for a promotion to a league that we've never aspired to join."
Rewritten Output
MSV DuisburgGrinds Through the Ranks in the Rugged German Football Leagues
Lively relief still lingers around MSV Duisburg, even a week after their promotion to the 3rd League. A half-empty beer glass sits under the substitute bench in their stadium, a relic from the wild celebration that took place after they clinched the Regionalliga West title. On Saturday, the Zebras set off on a weekend-long party that ended with a titanic celebration in front of the city hall, drawing thousands of fans.
Just a week prior, MSV's faithful followers were far from eager to return to the stadium. In the wake of a dismal showing in the lower leagues, many had torn up their season tickets in anger. But amidst the rubble of their past season, the Zebras rose, conquering the League Three and ascending to the 3rd League like a phoenix from the ashes, a feat no other team had accomplished before them.
Michael Preetz, the solitary managing director of MSV, is feeling a mix of relief and uneasiness on this Monday afternoon. "It's almost a joke that we're celebrating promotion to a league we never wanted," he says during an interview with ntv.de, gazing out over the stadium that yearns for the 2nd Bundesliga. That needs the 2nd Bundesliga to survive.
The Struggle Continues
Once upon a time, this steelworker city pulsed with the life of football. MSV was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga, offering a nostalgic charm rather than a historical claim to the top tier. Big football has its place here, but it's been a long time since the city truly tasted the glory days. Much has gone wrong, both for the club and for the city that battles constant decline and negative headlines. But MSV has managed to reverse the negative trend, once again standing tall as a beacon for the working-class metropolis. Their struggle, however, is far from over.
"Below the top two leagues, football can't be played profitably anywhere," says Preetz. The struggle for survival can be grueling. Preetz aims to escape this never-ending battle, to lead MSV out of the decline that began in 2019 with a narrowly missed return to the 2nd Bundesliga and escalated into a full-blown crisis in the summer of 2024. Preetz is determined to lift MSV to where they can finance their own operations, and the journey begins in the 2nd Bundesliga, free from the constant structural deficit in the lower seven figures.
From Ruins to Riches
In the previous season, MSV achieved something extraordinary. In the Regionalliga West, a narrow gateway to professional football, they penned an almost unbelievable story. Not necessarily on the pitch, for the football giant, celebrated for cup victories and European games, was the clear favorite. Despite all odds, the team took on this formidable challenge on unfamiliar terrain. "I think we played an incredible confident season," says Preetz. "What the boys and coach Dietmar Hirsch accomplished was absolutely remarkable." And they were rewarded. The team will largely stay together and serve as the foundation in the 3rd League.
No Satisfaction for Preetz
The extraordinary story of MSV was written by the fans in the stands. Many had thrown out their season tickets in anger just a year ago, vowing never to return. But suddenly, they were there again. On average, 17,000 people attended the Duisburg Arena over the course of the season, a testament to the fans' loyalty in the face of adversity.
Preetz was left speechless by it all. After spending 18 years with Hertha, he had to leave in January 2021 and read many unflattering articles about himself afterward. That he was a successful manager of scarcity was one of the kinder descriptions. That he's now writing a new chapter with MSV while Hertha struggles to find direction in sporting insignificance doesn't matter to him. "Satisfaction," he says, "is not something I know or feel." He is mainly happy for the Meidericher that things are looking up, that this club is getting back on track.
But it's also true that one can look at where Hertha was when he left and where they are now. "That's something you can certainly discuss, regardless of the circumstances." Here, the self-confidence of a man who believes in his abilities and is now using them for MSV shines through.
Preetz Bides His Time for the Right Offer
It took him nearly three years to seriously consider the Duisburg offer. He had no intention of retiring from football early. "First, I wanted to distance myself from the Hertha chapter and reflect on it for a while." But football never let him go. “It was missing.” However, the time until MSV stretched on longer than Preetz would have preferred. “I kept it a secret that things didn't turn out as I had hoped or where I saw myself.” So why Duisburg? Why a 3rd League team amidst turmoil in January 2024?
When Preetz speaks of MSV, a flame burns within him. He believes in the power this club still wields, a belief that extends beyond the structurally weak region they call home, dotted with powerful football rivals like Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke 04, VfL Bochum, Fortuna Düsseldorf, and Rot-Weiss Essen. It's a massive challenge, a contested battleground.
He led the team from League Three to the unwanted land, to village pitches "where we didn't even know if we could play proper football on the pitch," through a crucial funding round to secure the club's liquidity, and back to League Three. The funding round was a pivotal moment for the club, one that revealed Preetz's vision for the future of MSV. “I sought commitment from our sponsors and the city. I presented a vision for the future of MSV and asked if we all shared the same understanding,” he says. The vision: get back to League Two as quickly and seriously as possible. The city, the sponsors, and the club agreed, and they embarked on the journey.
In the past, much ground had been burned, and too many disappointments produced. Preetz acknowledged the challenges and presented himself to the Meidericher as a breath of fresh air, one who would bring optimism and hard work to the club. Last summer, he managed to turn things around and cast a claim: “MSV United.” The club worked on improving communication, hiring people who embodied the new spirit, like coach Hirsch. "He was the locomotive pulling this new momentum," says Preetz.
The same went for assembling the squad. Four players remained, the rest were new. "We only brought in players who were eager for this club, this task, to play in this stadium." The MSV took a gamble and structured contracts that would also apply to League Three. The gamble paid off, and the squad is largely in place, with reinforcements possible. Their current team serves as the foundation for success in a higher league. "Our current team is the foundation," says Preetz. His hope is that "we can carry the momentum and euphoria into the new season." Recent examples like Elversberg, Münster, and Ulm show how well-promoted teams can adapt to their new environment, sometimes achieving promotion.
Football, Preetz reminds us, is a tough sport. There's virtually no middle ground. Either you're fighting against relegation or you're at the top. Sandhausen serves as a cautionary tale. After 12 games, they were top, then suffered a historic collapse and were relegated. And yet, joy prevails because the environment is more professional, with emotional derbies against Rot-Weiss Essen or Alemannia Aachen.
Hard and honest work, that's what he wants. He emphasizes this repeatedly. He wants to grow the MSV in all areas to achieve financial sustainability. "We must significantly improve the framework conditions," says Preetz. In merchandising, their large fan shop in the stadium is already a significant aid to the club, as are the search for new, financially strong sponsors. In terms of attendance figures, which are already incredibly high. And the perspective for talents needs to be improved. In recent years, too many young players have moved on without the MSV benefiting from it. Only for storm talent Julian Hettwer, who went to the U23 of BVB, was the club able to generate "a significant transfer fee". Around one million euros were mentioned. With top talents like Caspar Jander (went to 1. FC Nuremberg) or Santiago Castaneda (to SC Paderborn 07), the club went empty-handed. "That's something we naturally want to change," says Preetz.
In the youth sector, excellent work is being done under challenging circumstances. Because one must look particularly closely. "We know that as MSV, of course, we won't get the biggest talent in the region. That goes more to BVB or Schalke. But we see the competition as an opportunity. Here talents can practically graduate to professional football." Like Jander, who was once deemed not good enough by FC Schalke 04. In the future, there should be more Janders, Jan-Simon Symalla might already be ready, having previously played in Oberhausen and Düsseldorf. And if the boys move on, if the higher leagues call, then the MSV wants to profit. Achieving transfer fees is part of their business strategy. At least in League Three.
In the 2nd Bundesliga, the situation would be completely different, especially due to the TV money. That would be another dimension, offering the club a measure of resilience. In the MSV's four-year plan, the goal is defined. “Then to be back, would be the optimal case,” says Preetz. But first, work seriously in the league that the club never wanted to be in and is now starting with such great euphoria. This could multiply itself into the seemingly infinite on May 24th. If Rot-Weiss Essen, their arch-rival, fails to defeat them in the Niederrhein Cup final. If the MSV were to return to the DFB-Pokal. To feel a little more of the big football.
Source: ntv.de
- 3. Liga
- Football
- MSV Duisburg
- "I'm not going to be able to do this," sighed Michael Preetz, the managing director of MSV Duisburg, as he gazed out over the Duisburg Arena that yearns for the 2nd Bundesliga.
- Despite the celebration of MSV Duisburg's promotion to the 3rd League, zebras are still a common sight around Oberhausen, a stark reminder of the club's historic past in the Bundesliga.
- Amidst the struggle for survival in the lower leagues, idleness is an unthinkable luxury for MSV Duisburg, who aim to build a sustainable future in football, starting with promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga.
- As MSV Duisburg prepares to take on the challenges of the 2nd Bundesliga, the memories of their extraordinary journey from the ruins to riches, akin to an unbelievable tale of a phoenix rising from the ashes, will serve as a beacon for the team and the city of Oberhausen.
