On Saturday afternoon, promotion aspirants Saarbrücken conceded their first home defeat in 105 days. The subsequent outpouring of fan fury left players and coaches baffled.
The 1-0 defeat to Viktoria Köln meant that FCS missed out on jumping up to third place, at least temporarily. The fans were so incensed by the performance and result that they stormed the interior and vehemently confronted players and coach Uwe Koschinat.
Koschinat in particular did not shy away from confrontation. The 50-year-old singled out one ranting fan and made his point particularly clear to him. Koschinat said on the microphone of “MagentaSport”: “Of course, there are a lot of emotions in football and disappointment is very big. Then maybe a fan has no other chance than to let it out in this way. In the end, as a professional and a coach, you have to deal with this situation because we have often enough felt this emotionality in a positive sense and today, somewhat surprisingly, in a negative sense. “
Fundamentally, he said he sees it as a “problem” that his team is not a “mid-table team choking its way through the season”. “We probably conveyed the claim that we are a team that plays at the top,” Koschinat said, “Then the way the defeat comes together is simply disappointing. Then the emotion discharges, and that the fans get the chance to run onto the pitch, that’s not their fault. “
” … as if we weren’t a bunch ready to perform “
For Koschinat, understanding and incomprehension were mixed. “What always frustrates me massively is that every time it seems as if we are not a performance-ready bunch,” he scolded: “We have gone beyond our limits in so many games with the help of the fans. That’s when I assumed that there would be an idea of unity here…. I also never formulated that we don’t need the fans to win games. That’s why I naively hoped that the fans would also accompany us through difficult phases, but maybe that doesn’t apply to everyone these days. “
Captain Zeitz sees “completely exaggerated reaction “
Koschinat referred explicitly to “very strong groups that consider themselves much more important than the club. They bring a lot of heart and soul. I don’t mean that in a negative sense. They identify themselves with a cause.” Captain Manuel Zeitz was more explicit about the fans’ behaviour: “They’ve just made their displeasure known, but so have we as a team this time. I think this time the reactions are completely exaggerated, that the pitch is being stormed after a 0:1 in the 3rd Division. “
He and his teammates also knew that it “wasn’t an outstanding game from us”, Zeitz said. “He is convinced that “we are in our second year in the 3rd Division and I think humility would do us good in Saarbrücken at the moment. We should accept that we are not yet the number one favourite for promotion and that it is actually a good achievement that we are up there. That’s what everyone needs to remember. “
