Fortuna Bottrop is doing very well in the Lower Rhine District League Group 6. Seventh place is where they stand so far.
When Sebastian Stempel, coach of SV Fortuna Bottrop, calls his team back to training on January 2, 2026, he will be welcoming the seventh-place team in the Lower Rhine District League Group 6—a very good midseason record.
Sebastian Stempel, how would you assess your team’s first half of the season?
Overall, I’m satisfied with the start. We had a lot of new signings that we all had to integrate. Then, shortly before the season began, the six new players from Rhenania Bottrop joined us, so we had to start a whole new preparation process. In the end, there were ten new additions, including a new coaching staff. We definitely had a challenging schedule to start with. But after that, we still had a sense that everything was coming together. We’re now in seventh place. We’ve won seven of our last eight games. We can certainly be satisfied.
What has been the highlight for you so far?
There have been a few highlights. We beat the current second-place team, Sterkrade 06/07—and we did it in Oberhausen. We also beat the former league leaders, SV Burgaltendorf, at home. The cherry on top was the last game of the year, when we turned a 1-2 deficit against Fatihspor into a 3-2 victory, and our goalkeeper even scored the 2-2 goal. It was all very emotional.
And what was the biggest negative experience?
That was definitely the game in Königshardt. We were weak both in terms of soccer and attitude. Unfortunately, that still lingers in the back of our minds.
Will there be any changes to the squad during the winter break?
There won’t be any major changes during the winter break. Nils Pelzer is moving to Preußen Eiberg. Hürkan Kindac is heading to SuS 21 Oberhausen. I don’t want to rule anything out, but we probably won’t be making any further changes. We have a large and strong squad.
What is your goal for the rest of the season?
A single-digit league position would be great. We’ll keep working toward that. This district league, with so many teams from Essen, is very strong, but we’re proving that we can hold our own very well. We want to do the same in 2026.
