Will Schmidt be in Emden’s starting line-up for the first time in Flensburg?

Marten Schmidt (here still in the Weiche Flensburg jersey) will meet his former colleagues for the first time on Friday evening.
IMAGO/Lobeca

By mid-September, BSV Kickers Emden already had more points than they did at the end of the entire season two years ago. The East Frisians had collected 15 points after 36 match days, and now they have 17. From the BSV’s point of view, they would have liked to have at least one more after Saturday’s game against Holstein Kiel’s U23s. “That was a little unfortunate. We weren’t the worse team, but Kiel played very efficiently,” said captain Tido Steffens about the 1:3 defeat. Holstein also had two dream goals from Kaan Kurt (12th) and Nick Breitenbücher (69th).

As third in the table, Emden will now travel to the top match on Friday against second-placed Weiche Flensburg. “Weiche is very experienced. Mads Albaek is the leading figure in the team,” says coach Stefan Emmerling, looking at the opponents. A win in the direct duel will see the Kickers overtake them. For both teams, it’s all about not completely losing sight of TSV Havelse.

Successful Joker

One Emden player without whom Flensburg might not even be playing in the regional league is Marten Schmidt. The 28-year-old wore the Weiche jersey last season and scored a goal in the second leg of the relegation match against TuS Bersenbrück in a 2-1 win.

Schmidt currently plays the role of joker at Kickers and also scored after coming on as a substitute in the games against BW Lohne (1:1) and SV Todesfelde (3:1). However, he is still waiting for his first start in the starting eleven. “Marten is a player who is not really easy to reach and can be very uncomfortable for the opponents. We compare him a bit to Thomas Müller in terms of his running style and stature,” says Emmerling, describing the central attacking midfielder. Will Schmidt be allowed to start for the first time against his former club? “It’s not far off. Marten could be one of the first eleven,” says Emmerling. “Let’s see if it’s on Friday, or soon in another game.” Michael Igwe, who was absent against Kiel due to flu, will be back in the team in Flensburg. Dennis Engel and Pascal Steinwender were also slightly ill in the past few days, but should be fit again on Friday.

Meanwhile, central defender Fabian Herbst (24) and center forward David Schiller (25) have extended their contracts with the Kickers. Both have signed until 2027. Herbst came to BSV from VfB Oldenburg in 2023 and has developed strongly since then. Schiller was previously relegated from the Oberliga with Blau-Weiß Papenburg and currently has seven points this season. “If players perform well and still have potential for development, we want to continue down the path with them,” says Emmerling. “We see that something is being built here and that Kickers is thinking long-term,” praises Steffens. “The club will take the next step at some point.” The captain, whose contract expires next summer, also wants to continue down the path in Emden. “Kickers is definitely my first point of contact,” says Steffens.