FCK - FC St. Pauli (02. November 2013) - 1. FC Kaiserslautern

BETZE NEWS
FC ST. PAULI
After a disappointing tenth-place finish
last season, big changes have taken place
at the Millerntor this summer. Big-name
players have left the club while younger
players have been brought in to inject
some fresh spirit into the squad.
With the departures of Marius Ebbers, Florian
Bruns, Daniel Ginczek, Patrick Funk,
Christopher Avevor, Akaki Gogia, and Joe
Gyau, FC St. Pauli faced the difficult task of
replacing some of the team’s core players
ahead of the 2013/14 campaign. In an attempt
to fill the void left open by the departure
of Daniel Ginczek, St. Pauli’s leading
scorer in the 2012/13 season, the Kiez
Kickers signed Dutch striker John Verhoek
from Stade Rennes, Christopher Nöthe
from Greuther Fürth and Austrian striker
Michael Gregoritsch, who joined St. Pauli
on loan from Hoffenheim.
In addition to them, right-backs Bernd
Nehrig (Greuther Fürth) and Philipp Ziereis
(Jahn Regensburg), left-backs Marcel Halstenberg
(Borussia Dortmund) and Sebastian
Schachten (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
as well as midfielders Sebastian Maier
(1860 München) and Marc Rzatkowski (VfL
Bochum) have been added to bolster the
squad. Actually, FC St. Pauli head coach Michael
Frontzeck seems to have put together
a good mix of youth and experience.
While the Kiez Kickers aimed for promotion
last season, Frontzeck has set a more
modest goal for the 2013/14 campaign.
The former Borussia Mönchengladbach
head coach, who replaced Andre Schubert
on the bench in early October last year to
guide St. Pauli out of the relegation zone,
says he’s aiming for nothing more than
consistency and continuity.
Having recorded five wins, four draws and
three defeats so far this season, FC St. Pauli
got the campaign off to a quite good start.
However, St. Pauli fans are not exactly enthused
about their club’s recent home form
as they have been waiting for a home win
since September 14. Nevertheless, the Kiez
Kickers head into the game against the Red
Devils on the back of a two-game winning
streak on foreign soil. Especially the impressive
4-2 away win over Greuther Fürth
will have boosted St. Pauli’s confidence.
Anyway, Frontzeck and his men are highly
motivated for the clash with the Red
Devils. “We are totally fired up. We have
every incentive to topple Kaiserslautern
at the Betzenberg,” the 49-year-old tactician
said ahead of his side’s trip to the
Palatinate. However, also the Red Devils
are champing at the bit ahead of the
clash with the Kiez Kickers and will fight
tooth and nail to bag all three points in
front of their home crowd.
IN TEUFELS NAMEN 69
‘IT WILL BE A PHYSICAL BATTLE!’
Fin Bartels, regarding your side’s recent
home and away records, how is the mood
in the St. Pauli camp?
Having tallied 19 points, we got the season
off to a quite good start. We certainly
could have picked up more points on
home soil, but we put together very good
performances on the road and we want to
build on our strong away form. We want to
and we will continue to develop, but we
must take one step after another.
FC St. Pauli has already proved its potential.
What are your goals for this
season?
First of all, we want to improve on last season’s
performance. Many changes have
taken place this summer and we need
time to adjust. We haven’t got many loan
players in our squad and the players who
have joined St. Pauli have all signed longterm
contracts. I’m sure theses factors will
have positive effects on the club.
Having scored in each of your side’s last
three away games, one can actually say
you are in a rich vein of form. Should the
Betzenberg be scared of you?
One should be scared of the entire squad
(laughs). We’re enjoying a good run of
form, and I’m certainly happy to help the
team. We aim to build on our recent success
when we face FCK on Saturday.
FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Kaiserslautern are
level on points ahead of their encounter.
What kind of game are you expecting?
It will be a physical game and a tough battle.
I’m expecting a big-game atmosphere
at the Betzenberg. In my opinion, FCK and
1. FC Köln are clear favorites to earn promotion
to the top flight this season. The
Red Devils perform fantastic attacks and
have a strong offense. However, we will
fire on all cylinders and try to get a good
result at the Betzenberg.
MASTHEAD
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