The Unforeseen Victory of VfL Osnabrück: A Sensational Comeback in the Lower Leagues
Thrilling Account of Effort that Saved VfL Osnabrück from Peril
By Torben Siemer
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The story of VfL Osnabrück this season is nothing short of extraordinary. After an abysmal first half, the Lower Saxons seem like a team destined for relegation, only to turn things around dramatically in the second half and contend for the top spots in the 3rd division. What happened to spark this incredible transformation?
It was a chilly Sunday night before Christmas when VfL Osnabrück stared into the abyss. Having been relegated from the 2nd league and losing eight consecutive games, they found themselves at the bottom of the 3rd division table with only 11 points from 17 games. A second consecutive relegation seemed imminent, as VfL would be relegated to the fourth division for the first time in its 125-year history. But then, something miraculous happens in Osnabrück, and an extraordinary journey begins.
Fast forward to early May, and VfL wins 2:0 against Viktoria Köln in the return match. With the final whistle blown, a wave of relief sweeps through Stadion an der Bremer Brücke, but it's not until the other matches of this 36th round that it's mathematically certain: The Osnabruckers have managed the seemingly impossible and secured their place in the league. Even early. Since that dark look into the abyss, they have played like a top team and earned an impressive 37 points in 19 games. No other team in the 3rd division has performed better in this time. The question remains, how did this happen?
The turning point comes with the explosion in December. Sports director Philipp Kaufmann is forced to leave after only nine months, and coach Pit Reimers even after just nine weeks, along with his two assistant coaches. Michael Welling, then in charge of economic affairs and not directly involved in the team's performance, suddenly finds himself at the center of decision-making.
"I believe that a leadership vacuum led us into this crisis in the first place," says Welling, looking back in an interview with ntv.de: "I would put it that way." Welling, aged 54, steps into this vacuum and ensures that "we regain clarity in our processes, decision-making, and decisions." Kaufmann, who was supposed to take care of all these things, seemed increasingly overwhelmed in his role as the first sports director at VfL from the very beginning.
Kaufmann only begins his tenure in March 2024 and needs time to familiarize himself and settle into his role, as Welling explains: "In this role that he had never held before, not even in Germany, because he had only worked in Switzerland before, and in the crisis mode we were in due to the relegation situation." This is evident in the fact that the VfL Osnabrück 3rd division squad is only completed well into the season, despite the relegation from the 2nd Bundesliga being known early on.
The Dismantling of a Haphazard Team
It becomes clear that this squad lacked many of the skills needed to succeed in the 3rd division. As a result, SV Werder Bremen rebuilds during the winter: seven players leave, seven players arrive. Among the departures is Erik Engelhardt, the top scorer of the previous season. He becomes a symbol of the collection of individualists that stand on the pitch instead of a team in the Werder shirt. Engelhardt would rather play with Energie Cottbus for promotion than fight against relegation in Bremen. Werder lets him go to achieve their goal: "A team that we know who identifies with the task and who doesn't. I think we've done quite well with that."
A Stabilizing Force in Defense
Among this "we" is Marco Antwerpen, whom SV Werder Bremen presents in the days after the turmoil. Antwerpen is an expert in relegation battles, having led 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Waldhof Mannheim to survival in previous years. The new coach starts with a 2-0 home win against Rot-Weiss Essen and a 1-1 draw at SC Verl before the winter break, and remains unbeaten for a long time afterwards, winning six games and drawing three in the first nine games - including a 2-1 away win in the 26th game against then-league leaders Energie Cottbus.
"Marco has taken over the team with clear ideas, with a clear idea of how we want to play football," says Welling. What he means is: Antwerpen stabilizes the defense first. Before his appointment, SV Werder Bremen had the weakest defense with 35 goals conceded in 17 games, but only 14 goals conceded in the remaining 19 games until survival. This is also a third division best at that time. A key role is played by Jannik Müller, the experienced center back, who comes to Bremen after half a year as a free agent and immediately becomes a regular player in the defensive center. The fact that he has signed for three and a half years is a coup.
The other winter signings also deliver: right-back Niklas Köller runs kilometer after kilometer, Bryan Henning drives the midfield and advances the ball forward, Braydon Manu brings new dynamics to the attack as a substitute. SV Werder Bremen's own Ismail Badjie returns early from his loan to the Regionalliga and rewards himself with his first professional goal in front of the Ostkurve, the home of the Bremen fans, in a 1-0 home win against FC Ingolstadt.
The Eternal Presence of the Bremen Fans
Badjie's goal is one of many special moments that Antwerpen has extracted from various players in his squad: striker Chance Simakala is a good example. He usually alternates between the bench and the stands, but suddenly starts against 1860 Munich and scores the winning goal. Welling speaks of "clear role assignments on the respective positions" that the new coach has obviously successfully conveyed. So far this season, 18 different goal scorers (out of 31 players used) have contributed to SV Werder Bremen's statistics.
They all contribute to SV Werder Bremen's phenomenal second half of the season, which was not expected after a disastrous first half. The season ends today with a meaningless home game against SC Verl in the sold-out Weser Stadium, where only a few seats in the away block remain empty.
This is the most astonishing figure of the season: With an average of 14,610 fans, the stadium in desperate need of renovation is seeing its highest attendance ever in a third-division year. Despite the first half's gloom and the second-worst final position in the club's 126-year history, the club is celebrating its birthday just before the crucial home win against Viktoria. For a while, it seemed like it might have been a wake instead. Yet, attendance never drops below 13,000 for the 19 home games, with four sell-outs including the visitor section. The chant "We are the Osnabrückers, we are always here!" rings truer than ever.
Source: ntv.de
- VfL Osnabrück
- Osnabrück
- Football
- 3rd Division
- Relgation Battle
- The unforeseen victory of VfL Osnabrück in the sports analysis stemmed from the team's significant improvement in regional development, which included regional development strategies aimed at strengthening the team's structure and providing aid for the development of the regions.
2.As part of their community aid efforts, many football fans in Osnabrück consistently showed up to support VfL Osnabrück during their relegation battle in the 3rd division, leading to an exceptional turnout at Stadion an der Bremer Brücke and ultimately contributing to the team's success.
