Always luck is skill, is one of Hermann Gerland’s favourite sayings. What, conversely, constant bad luck means is also clear. A view that could apply to SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Even jubilation at Cedric Itten’s deserved equaliser in stoppage time, euphoria and playing with Sturm und Drang for a double strike and victory, replaced by bewilderment and bottomless disappointment at the blow: the ninth defeat in a row for the Kleeblatt had all the ingredients of a drama, with one point after eleven matchdays they are statistically the worst Bundesliga team of all time at this point in a season. “I don’t have many words, it’s hard to explain,” said coach Stefan Leitl before rightly attesting to a very good game by his team. “Football is sometimes not explainable, that’s why we are back with zero points.”
Leitl reported a quiet atmosphere in the dressing room and great disappointment, but said, “That’s over tomorrow, then we’ll move on.” So far, and this speaks for the character of this team in view of the many blows to the neck, they have got up after every defeat, gave their best again the following weekend – and still lost again. Demoralising. So how long will the heads stay up?
The squad upheaval is taking its toll on the cloverleaf
Even before the start of the season, sporting director Rachid Azzouzi, Leitl and all the important people around the cloverleaf knew that everything would have to fit if they were to manage to stay in the league. Leitl said in the summer that staying in the league would be an even bigger sensation than promotion. At that time, he already had to moderate a change in the squad, with Stach, Raum, Ernst and Jaeckel, four key players, leaving the conspiratorial Fürth promotion team.
In their place came professionals who were injured at their old clubs or replacements. When the squad received another five new arrivals as “boosters “ at the very end of the transfer period, Jessic Ngankam and Gideon Jung, two of the players who had previously signed on, had already been in hospital for months. This was followed by a 1:5 loss at the start to VfB Stuttgart and, after the only point gained against Bielefeld, a string of defeats. No debacles, often quite close, often following the same pattern: goals conceded after standard situations and individual mistakes, garnished with a harmless offensive. Recently, the setbacks increased, five players are currently in Corona quarantine, and with Nick Viergever, the next key player is out for the long term. In one sentence: What can go wrong, will go wrong.
Extraordinary winter transfers almost ruled out
Pitch as an explanation, however, would be too short-sighted. In the end, there is simply a lack of the necessary squad quality to stay in the league. No wonder, given the smallest budget of all 18 first division teams. Nevertheless, giving up is not an option for the cloverleaf. Leitl enjoys Azzouzi’s backing and is not thinking of giving up. In the end, it will probably be a question of relegation with decency and as many points as possible, and of tackling the 2nd division in a financially sound manner. Crazy transfers in the winter can almost be ruled out, they would not significantly increase the probability of a sporting rescue.
Realism yes, negativism no. Fürth will try again, and again, after the international break at Borussia Mönchengladbach. For that, the Franconians deserve respect instead of gloating. Headlines like “Tasmania Fürth” in reference to the Berliners from the 1960s are also forbidden in the knowledge that the financial gap in this league has never been so wide. The game against Frankfurt may have ended tragically, but relegation would not be tragic at all, only logical.
