Hertha loanee Eduard Löwen has not yet made more than a few good starts for VfL Bochum. In the basement duel in Fürth on Saturday, coach Thomas Reis expects a lot more from his midfielder.
The start at his new club was brilliant, but it also went downhill pretty quickly. In the first training sessions and test matches, Eduard Löwen was convincing, already taking control of the game, shining with fine passes and finishes.
Not unexpectedly, however, Bochum’s loanee from Hertha BSC lost touch during his participation in the Olympic football tournament, plagued by muscular problems after his return from Japan and clearly fell behind.
At the Olympics, by the way, Löwen showed why he is considered a very fine standard-setter when he scored a great free-kick goal in the German team’s third group match against Ivory Coast. However, he has yet to excel with such actions at his current club.
Nijmegen as a pointer?
The next step, however, has been taken: In the test match against NEC Nijmegen last Thursday, Löwen came up trumps with two goals and strong passes. Accordingly, he is expected to take more control of the Bochum game on Saturday in Fürth and, of course, also provide danger with stationary balls.
“His running performance has improved a lot,” praises coach Thomas Reis, “in training you can see that things are looking up for him. He is certainly capable of putting his stamp on our game. “
Rice: “Can become a real weapon for us “
But apparently Löwen is putting too much pressure on himself. “Everyone expects good standards from him, that can also be a real weapon for us. But he’s thinking too much about that,” Reis thinks.
Bochum’s central midfield line-up for the match against fellow promotion contenders Fürth will be more or less self-sufficient, as Robert Tesche has to sit out due to muscular problems. Löwen is therefore likely to be part of the starting eleven, as are “Capitano” Anthony Losilla and the combative Elvis Rexhbecaj, who has, however, so far remained well below his potential in Bochum.
Good memories of the Ronhof
At any rate, Reis expects a fairly open game in the explosive clash between the two teams at the bottom of the table; for the first time, VfL are not going into the game as underdogs. In the previous year, the away team won the duel between the two promoted teams, especially in Fürth, where VfL put in an excellent performance. “That victory gave us a lot of momentum in our fight for promotion,” Reis recalls.
In the pre-season, Fürth played very bravely; “at the moment,” says Reis, “like us, they are in a phase of finding their feet and have changed their style of play a little bit, also throwing in long balls from time to time.”
Bochum travels to Franconia optimistically, but urgently needs to remedy its offensive weakness. There is a mighty lull: VfL have not scored a goal in 301 minutes.
