Felix Göttlicher suffered a 3-0 defeat on his return to Unterhaching.
Sandro Wagner's team is now seven points ahead.
Unterhaching – For Felix Göttlicher, the top game for the championship in the Bavarian Regionalliga between SpVgg Unterhaching and Würzburger Kickers must not have just felt like a normal top game.
For the 21-year-old, who has been wearing the Kickers jersey since the current season, it was the first return to his old place of work on Saturday afternoon.
In the first leg in Würzburg, he was substituted on a good 20 minutes before the end.
In the summer, the club and the players parted ways – and not necessarily for the better.
After Göttlicher did not want to extend his expiring contract, Haching President Manni Schwabl banished him to the stands for the entire second half of the 2021/22 season.
Würzburg top performer Göttlicher sees a deserved defeat: "We defended sloppily"
On July 1, 2022, Göttlicher moved to Erzgebirge Aue, who had been relegated to the second division, on a free transfer, from where he was loaned out directly to Würzburg.
During the current season under Marco Wildersinn, he has become an absolute top performer for Lower Franconia and has played 18 out of a possible 19 games, contributing three goals and two assists.
Due to the 3-0 defeat in the top duel on Saturday afternoon, the loan player vented his anger after the final whistle: "We didn't put what we wanted on the pitch.
We played much too awkwardly and sometimes stubbornly.
Then we defended it sloppily and deservedly conceded three goals.
Haching fully deserved to win.”
Felix Göttlicher's big career plans: "I want to go to the Bundesliga"
As usual, there was no tip from Göttlicher to his old employer this time either.
“I traveled to the top game here full of anticipation and wanted to win.
Unfortunately, that didn't work out and we're left empty-handed," he said, describing his feelings before the game.
Göttlicher, who also played for Ingolstadt, FC Augsburg and FC Bayern as a youth player, had bigger plans in his career than playing for Haching.
"I want to play in the Bundesliga, of course," he said, revealing his plans for the future.
In addition, the central defender was bothered by the approach that Unterhaching took during the contract negotiations: "From now on, I was simply sent a contract and presented it without informing me beforehand and showing me a sporting plan".
"Then the club will collapse" - Schwabl made no compromises when it came to Göttlicher's suspension
Since Göttlicher signaled early on that he did not want to extend it, Schwabl actually planned to enforce the suspension at the beginning of the season.
Only coach Sandro Wagner was able to convince him otherwise and Göttlicher played for Haching in the first half of the season.
But in the end it followed six months later.
The former top talent always behaved professionally in the case and always emphasized: "I will continue to train very concentrated and do everything in my power for the club and the team." But Schwabl had no understanding and Göttlicher didn't play a minute more for the SpVgg.
The main argument of the Haching boss: "Free transfer is not possible for us, then the club will collapse."
Unterhaching with a seven-point lead – Göttlicher still believes in Würzburg's race to catch up
For a long time, there was a head-to-head race for the championship in the Regionalliga Bayern, which entitles you to play the promotion games against the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost.
But thanks to Hachinger's 3-0 home win in a direct duel, the Munich suburbs have now extended their lead to seven points last weekend.
Nevertheless, Göttlicher was combative and kept the hope of Würzburg catching up: “Yes, we still believe in it.
We don't have it in our own hands anymore, but we keep going and want to make up for this defeat.
A threesome is definitely needed against Schweinfurt!” (Kilian Drexl)
