🧐 Forced to win: analysing the Wontorriors | OneFootball

Last season’s fourth-place team, Wontorriors FC, experienced a disappointing start to the new season. After seven matchdays, they had only two victories—both against the winless bottom teams Bürgeramt and Find the Pro.

Then, on matchday eight, came the exclamation mark: a win against the strongly-started Bavarian Clique. Coincidence or turning point?

In an exclusive interview, Okan Kurt talks about the weak start, the reasons behind it, and the goals of the Wontorriors.

Reasons for the False Start

Kurt names three main causes. First, the team around Martin Harnik lost key players. Captain Herbert Paul transferred to Era Colonia in the Kings League, Nils Schätzle has played for Babelsberg in the Regionalliga Nordost since this season and is no longer allowed to play in the Icon League by his new employer.

Additionally, the new players, who are Icon League newcomers, "need time to get used to the format," Kurt emphasizes. The Icon League is special, the processes are different, and the team still needs to find itself.

Furthermore, the Wontorriors are currently plagued by significant injury misfortune. With Zhi-Gin Lam, Caspar Kremberg, Mattia Maggio, and Max Wendt, four players are out at once. 

"A good start would have been crucial," Kurt admits. "Unfortunately, we didn’t manage that."

Familiarity as a Weapon

With every game, experience grows, and the team’s cohesion returns. Many players know each other from TuS Dassendorf, where Kurt and Harnik are also active. Three to four joint training sessions per week create automatisms.

"We’ve known each other for years," explains the 30-year-old. "We know exactly who has which strengths and weaknesses."

This familiarity was already the key to fourth place last season. Now it’s supposed to become a weapon again.

Defensively, Kurt sees the team well set up: "Everyone works very well off the ball." However, with the ball, calmness and creativity are still lacking. With 37 goals, the Wontorriors have one of the least dangerous offenses in the league.

To change that, two futsal players from HSV, Mohammad Mozafari and Bilal Mirzayi, have joined the team, bringing fresh impetus with their small-field experience.

Goals and Outlook

After last season’s strong performance, expectations were high. Fourth place was to be confirmed. After the weak start, every game now counts double. "We have to be honest: From now on, every game is a final," Kurt admits.

The goal is clear—to reach the Top 8 and thus have a chance to participate in the final tournament in Vienna. The gap: four points.

Kurt is combative: "The league can expect passionate, intense, and courageous Wontorriors. We are forced to win!"

The 8:6 against the Bavarian Clique could be the turning point—the start of a series that brings the Wontorriors back into the race.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.