Seventh victory in the seventh game of the season: The EG in Düsseldorf rocks the DEL, even record champion Eisbären Berlin could not stop the start recorders.
The glamour is back at the once so glorious Düsseldorf EG. The glittering silver jacket, which defender Patrick Köppchen bought from a carnival shop, was used even after the seventh victory in the seventh game of the season. This time Philip Gogulla was allowed to wear it on the acclaimed lap of honour, but there were many match winners at the famous 5:1 against record champion Eisbären Berlin.
“The glorious seven!!!! Awesome!!!!!!! An unleashed and really sexy DEG beats the Eisbären Berlin with 5:1”, wrote the club on its Facebook page: “It’s a bit scary, after all.”
The whole DEL and the club itself are amazed at this DEG who missed the playoffs in the last two seasons. With the triumph over Berlin, the newly renovated team set its own club start record. The previous record came from the DEL premiere season 24 years ago. At that time some Düsseldorf professionals from the current squad were not even born yet.
“If anyone had said before the season that we would be leaders after seven games, we would have signed it immediately and taken it that way,” said striker Gogulla, who scored against Berlin with one goal and two templates. The high flight may come as a surprise, but it is by no means undeserved. “It’s very hard work, we invest a lot in it,” Gogulla stressed.
Since coach Harold Kreis returned in the summer, the team is back as a unit. “Team spirit is crucial,” says Kreis, “everyone is there for the other.” For Köppchen, who came to the eight-time champion from Nuremberg before the season, the composition of the squad is also a recipe for success: “There are very good characters in the team. We also have some players with us who haven’t had their best times lately and say, “Now more than ever,” said the former national player to Sport Bild.
This expresses itself in the unrestrained will to win. After the moderate first third against Berlin (0:1), the DEG came out of the cabin in front of 7741 spectators and then forced Berlin to its knees. “We started somewhat cautiously, perhaps with too much respect for Berlin,” Kreis said. In the interval of one third he changed his tactics and ordered more glass ownership. The result: Düsseldorf thus provoked the Berliners’ penalty times and made ice-cold use of them. Circle: “We scored goals when we needed them.”
While the fans are already dreaming of their first championship title in 22 years, those responsible do not (yet) want to correct the season’s goal upwards. The goal remains to reach the playoffs in order to attract even more fans to the arena and keep the shareholders happy. So the more often the silver jacket goes on a lap of honour, the better it is for the DEG.