Markus Kauczinski, who was born in Gelsenkirchen and was a youth coach at Schalke 04, is a down-to-earth football teacher. This was also shown when the coach of SV Wehen Wiesbaden realistically assessed the mood in the state capital after the club’s promotion to the second division. “It’s not a landslide, but I can feel movement,” said the 53-year-old two stretchers before the season opener at home against 1. FC Magdeburg (Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sky and in the FAZ live ticker for the second Bundesliga).
He is now often recognized on the street, and the cohesion between the coach and team and the club supporters has also increased. “Something has already happened.” Kauczinski does not expect that the stadium will “always be sold out” in the future. But there will be some home games like against Schalke 04, Hertha BSC or Kaiserslautern, “I know it will be full”.
In the duel with Magdeburg, the Wiesbadeners expect around 6,000 spectators, 15,295 fit into the stadium. For comparison: In the past third division season, the promoted team had an average audience of around 4,300.
Everyone was talking about Kauczinski’s team at the dramatic season finale. For four minutes the blissful Hessians thought they were in the second division on the last day of the game before Osnabrück sent Wiesbaden into the relegation with an impressive finish. For goalscorer Benedict Hollerbach, who has now joined the Champions League participants Union Berlin, these were initially the “best four minutes” of his life. The Wiesbadeners quickly got rid of their frustration at the first missed opportunity.
The gray mouse of the league
After a day off, they laughed about bouncing around the pitch in a frenzy of promotion. Arminia Bielefeld felt the outsider’s mental strength and new courage: With two convincing victories (4:0 and 2:1), the Hessians made the leap up at the second attempt. It is their third promotion to the second division, they were last represented in this division in the 2019/2020 season.
The only remaining regular is the new captain Sascha Mockenhaupt, who was also on the ball for Aalen and Kaiserslautern in the league. “The good thing is that for many opponents we’re a bit of a gray mouse in the league, where people might be less inclined to travel,” says the 31-year-old. “Then it would be good if we managed to get people to be reluctant to be here on the pitch.”
Success coach: Markus Kauczinski : Image: dpa
Wiesbaden, which scored the second most goals in the third league, feels well positioned this time, especially in terms of staying in the league. After various departures (captain Johannes Wurtz, Brooklyn Ezeh and Ahmet Gürleyen), the club strengthened itself with professionals from Germany and abroad. With regard to Wiesbaden’s “opportunities” he was “totally satisfied” with the new squad, said Kauczinski: “We got the best out of it. Now we have to take further steps, ”demands the coach.
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“We want to show that we’re a strong team.” The coach has by far the most second-division experience among the league newcomers. Karlsruhe, Ingolstadt, St. Pauli and Dresden were further places of work for the qualified sports teacher, who once played in the second team at VfL Bochum. Now he wants to develop Wiesbaden into a second division location with corresponding public interest. “The ascent was a step in the right direction to wake up even more people.” Kauczinski senses a “certain sense of optimism”.
