Re: M★RZEC - Man[ager] with a Mission
JULY 2023 - BIELEFELD'S BAPTISM OF FIRE
The debut of Daniel Marzec has been a rocky one at best. The new Dutch/Polish man at the helm has discovered the DSC are nicknamed Yo-Yo Club for a reason: in the opening games of the 2023/24 3. Liga season, Bielefeld managed to mix promising moments with sheer drama. At the end of an entertaining opening month of the season, it leaves the Arminians with only a single point.
The opening game was a local derby at SC Verl, a mere 10 miles from Arminia's home ground. Bielefeld had a promising first half, leading with 2:1 heading into the half time talks. In the 52nd minute Kaito Mizuta shot Arminia 3:1 up.
But two penalties and a red card leveled the score by the arrival of injury time. Michel Stocker headed in a late winner for Verl, leaving Arminia Bielefeld with the short end of the stick, after a true derby that had everything! - 3:4.
A week later, Marzec sought to seek revenge during the first time in front of the home crowd against another opponent from North Rhine Westphalia: Rot-Weiss Essen came to visit at The Bielefelder Alm.
Again, Bielefeld lead again halfway (1:0), but early in the second half an inaccurate pass between Arminia's central defenders was converted into the equalizer by the visitors. Veteran striker and captain Fabian Klos managed to restore the one goal advantage for the home side. However, another penalty kept Bielefeld from their first win - 2:2.
Kicker.de saw the effects of Bielefeld being a bought together bunch: "Absolutely no cohesion or team-spirit. The new manager has a task of gigantic proportions ahead, to forge a team out of this AND win the 3.Liga title along the way."
"Individually these players show quality, we can deduce from the number of goals scored. But as an organization on the pitch, the opponents at this level sometimes cut through the Bielrfeld defence as a warm knife through butter."
Daniel Marzec however, struck a very optimistic tone: "The derby against Verl was a true baptism of fire for me and for this new Bielefelder team. I think we actually did okay, given the fact that the team and myself have been together a little over three weeks. And derbies go, as they do - it had everything: dramatic turnarounds, red cards, penalties, a late decider. It's sour for us, but we gave our neighbours a serious run for their money."
"Against Essen, losing points because of a penalty is hard, but there was improvement for sure. If we keep imrpoving, we will be even more productive than we already are, while becoming more safe and solid at the back. Then, as crazy as it sounds after only a single point and six goals against, I actually see us challenging for the title, honestly."
The opening round of local derbies hasn't ended yet for Arminia: next up is the 1st round of the German Cup, the DFB Pokal against VfL Osnabrück. The two are separated by the A30 highway. Osnabrück plays a level higher this season, in 2.Bundesliga.
