Strasse to Glory weekly recap: Things Begin to Rebound

Well, it’s been a wild turn of events for us here at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Two matches against Bayern Munich II, two derbies, and thirteen total games.

Let’s not waste any time.

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October part 2 (1-0-1) (All of October 1-0-3)

Kaiserslautern 0-1 Meppen

77’ Piossek

We had 55% possession, mostly in our attacking area with 6 shots/4 on goal. They had 2 shots/2 on goal. They got lucky here.

Magdeburg 1-3 Kaiserslautern

32’ Huth (0-1)

67’ Huth (0-2)

73’ Ritter (0-3)

85’ Gjasula (1-3)

We may not have been able to keep a clean sheet, but Huthendowski is back now!

November (1-1-1)

We tried to stream all of November on Monday, but unfortunately, a strong storm knocked power out at my house. So, up until Waldhof Mannheim, you can watch the above video as well.

Kaiserslautern 0-1 Duisburg

9’ Pepic

I’ve got nothing for this one.

Lubeck 1-1 Kaiserslautern

12’ Hobsch (1-0)

44’ Skarlatidis (1-1)

With the team angry, I decide to try out K’lautern’s default formation: a holding 4-4-2. It did not work.

Kaiserslautern 3-1 Waldhof Mannheim

24’ Huth (1-0)

32’ Gouaida (1-1)

39’ Just (OG) (2-1)

85’ Nedelev (3-1)

It’s our first rivalry game, the Südwest Derby. We go back to the 4-2-3-1 and it works wonders for us. (Watch this game below)

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December (2-1-0)

With a decent month under our belts, we look to turn it around in December against Bayern II and a rival in Saarbrücken.

Bayern München II 2-3 Kaiserslautern

12’ Arp (1-0)

29’ Huth (1-1)

34’ Ritter (1-2)

39’ Dajaku (2-2)

72’ Ritter (2-3)

This was a lot of fun. After Chris Richards gave an easy goal up to Marlon Ritter it seemed over. A Leon Dajaku rocket tied it, but Ritter came through late again.

Kaiserslautern 3-3 Wehen Weisbaden

27’ Teitz (0-1)

34’ Ritter (1-1)

37’ Schwede (1-2)

45’ Wurtz (1-3)

65’ Huth (2-3)

76’ Huth (3-3)

To come back from 3-1 down is an amazing accomplishment. I was super proud of the team on this day.

Saarbrücken 1-5 Kaiserslautern

20’ Huth (0-1)

28’ Huth (0-2)

37’ Mendler (1-2)

65’ Skarlatidis (1-3)

83’ Sessa (1-4)

90’ Skarlatidis (1-5)

Under Saarbrücken’s Wikipedia page, they list FCK as rivals. However, the same isn’t said on Kaiserslautern’s wikipedia page. The teams are separated by about 80km on the A6, so it seems close enough to be a rivalry. Anyways, Saarbrucken were top of the table and had a 6-1-1 home record. We made it 6-1-2.

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Before we get to the January matches, it’s time to take a look at the player and personnel changes we made:

Outgoing transfers

• Marvin Pourie and Daniel Hanslik were recalled by their clubs due to lack of playing time from us. Not too worried about that.
• We sold: 1) Hendrick Zuck to Sandhausen, 2) Janik Bachmann to Darmstadt, 3) Andre Hainault to French side Nancy. All told, they were players rotting on the bench that we never used. We recouped a lot of money from these sales and it helped us bring players in.
• We sent these players out on loan: 1) keeper Matheo Raab to MK Dons, 2) midfielder Anil Gözütok to Lechia Gdańsk, 3) midfielder Mohamed Morabet to Karlsruher SC

Incoming Transfers

We needed reinforcements for the backline and some help in the midfield if we could get it.

• Besar Halimi, CAM (26, Kosovo) from SV Sandhausen on a free transfer

Not a terrible pickup for next season. We should be stocked at that time and we could flip him by January if Ritter and Sessa lock their places in the team for sure.

• Chris Richards, CB/RB (20, United States) from FC Bayern München II for €2.55 million

After we realized many of our targets were unwilling to come down to the 3. Liga, we go to Bayern’s second team to snag a young talent who will be a centerpiece on our team for years to come.

Now let’s get to the games:

January (2-1-0)

Wehen Weisbaden 1-1 Kaiserslautern

7’ Kleinsorge (0-1)

58’ Korte (1-1)

In his first game for the club, in a substitute appearance, Chris Richards gets injured which knocks him out for the game next week against his old club.

Kaiserslautern 2-1 Bayern Munich II

9’ Arp (0-1)

24’ Huth (1-1)

71’ Nedelev (2-1)

Much like the reverse fixture, Jann-Fiete Arp scored early. Also like the reverse fixture, we come back and win it.

Duisburg 0-1 Kaiserslautern

31’ Paik Seung Ho

Same result as the reverse fixture, the away side wins 1-0.

After all these games, Kaiserslautern are sitting in 5th place in the league table on 35 points from 22 games with a record of 10-5-7.

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Lastly, let’s check the stats leaders for the league.

Top Scorer

1) Elias Huth - 22 goals from 22 games

2) Marlon Ritter - 10 goals from 20 games

Not listed: Skarlatidis (3), Nedelev (2), Kleinsorge (1), Redondo (1), Paik (1), Sessa (1)

Assist Leaders

T-1) Marlon Ritter - 9 assists in 20 games

T-1) Elias Huth - 9 assists in 22 games

T-11) Todor Nedelev - 3 assists in 11 games

T-11) Simon Skarlatidis - 3 assists in 13 games

T-11) Paik Seung-ho - 3 assists in 14 games

Not listed: Redondo (2), Hloušek (2), Kostadinov (2), Sickinger (2), Sessa (2), Kleinsorge (1), Schad (1), Mitrovic (1)

Clean Sheets

T-5) Avdo Spahić - 5 clean sheets in 22 games

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This week, we won’t be streaming on the day Bayern plays in the Champions League. But, we will stream at 2:00pm ET on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Be sure to meet us there!