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14 games, 13 defeats, only one win: The third division water polo players from Wasserfreunde Fulda have a complicated season. After all: At the end we achieved their first win against Neustadt II. How things will continue is still unclear.
Fulda – It may sound a bit strange, but David Horvath is not completely dissatisfied with his water polo team’s season. “Of course,” says the WFF coach, “I would have liked two or three more wins. But I'm happy with the team's development.” His team, which was in transition, had received a number of claps, but for Horvath, development comes before results.
“It was clear to us that it would be a tough season,” said Horvath, referring to the departures of key players Paul Purkl, Paul Wiegand, Moritz Student (all to Munich) and goalkeeper Konstantin Wolgin (Neustadt).
Water friends in Fulda are optimistic about the future
For a long time before the season it was unclear whether the Fulda team would compete in the 3rd league or the upper league. They ultimately decided to stay in League 3. For Maximilian Hartung, that was the right decision. “I was skeptical before the season and was more in favor of the top league. But looking back, I have to say that it was the right thing to do – and I had imagined the difference would be bigger,” says the Wasserfreunde water polo manager, who also takes part in the pool himself.
The departure of the four top performers was offset primarily by the youth. Although the club also reactivated veterans such as Christian Flamme, Balazs Borbely and Alexander Hörl, the focus was on integrating the young talent. Talents like Orkun and Baris Demir, Niklas Atzert and Kenzo Rossbach were able to enjoy a lot of playing time.
Goalkeeper Rossbach only turned 15 at the beginning of the year and did a more than good job. And in the field, Atzert developed into a reliable goalscorer. “The young players have made great development. The next goal is for them to become regular players in the future,” says coach Horvath, praising his talents.
In general, the water friends are increasingly relying on their own substructure. “We still have a gap at the moment and it will definitely take another two or three years. But we are strong in terms of young talent, especially from the U14 onwards,” says water polo manager Hartung, referring to Tarek Bary's successful youth work.
Despite heavy defeats, the water friends remain motivated
However, it will take a few years before this bears fruit for the first team. Accordingly, the question arises as to what will happen next season for the Fulda water polo players, as in some games the water friends competed with a severely decimated squad.
Although there will be no relegation due to only eight participating teams in the 3rd League South, a return to the upper league would be a possibility. “We will hold discussions in the next few weeks and then decide. But there is no trend yet, that also depends on any returnees,” says Hartung. However, there are no firm promises yet as to who could get into the pool again for the water lovers in the future. The question of whether Horvath will remain as coach has not yet been clarified. “But I assume that we will continue in this constellation,” said Hartung, eliciting a tendency.
Horvath himself was particularly impressed by the morale of his team. “We often lost big, but the boys were always motivated and continued training,” praises the Hungarian, who had to jump into the pool himself every now and then and also actively supported the team. Horvath sees a need to catch up, especially in the tempo game. “We often didn't manage to keep the pace up for four quarters. That will be one of the tasks for the future,” Horvath looks ahead. It is still unclear which league this will be in.
