Kreisklasse, here we come: The FCL reserves and their fans celebrate the championship in A-Class 7, which they made perfect on the last matchday. © Christian riedel
The FCL reserve remains 17 games without defeat and is now looking forward to the district class.
Langengeisling – In the end, the fairy tale was to become reality. FC Langengeisling 2, or the "Geisling Amateure", as the team calls itself, is the champion of A-Class 7. "Nobody would have thought that before the season, and yet we will play in the district class next year," says successful coach Sebastian Held, overwhelmed and still a bit hoarse from the promotion celebrations. He gives insights into the party protocol of the Blue and Whites: "On Saturday and Sunday we let it rip with the Geislingen boys, who had a huge party. It was my boys who locked up in the end."
However, this is far from the end, because in addition to an end-of-season party, the "amateurs" also want to toast the coup internally. In doing so, there will probably also be philosophizing once again about how the "miracle" came about. When asked about this, Held cites what he considers to be the most important reasons: "We have grown together more and more from training to training and game to game. We were a tight-knit bunch of 27 people and had a great mix of old and young. Our eldest, Julian Bloch, can now finally celebrate his promotion to the district class at the age of almost 40." Of course, there would also be individual quality from players such as goalscorer Rene Mecking, keeper Christian Bernhardt or midfield strategist Martin Linz.
With this overall package, there were inevitably some highlights, such as the last-minute victory in Schwaig or the success in the chasing duel with Neuching. "The result is an unbelievable run of 17 unbeaten games in a row. It doesn't come out of nowhere," says Held happily.
Unsurprisingly, the championship final against Neufahrn is the big highlight for him, and he goes into raptures: "400 spectators, including the first men's team, both women's teams and the Geislingen supporters - so I'm not surprised that Neufahrn is also thinking a bit about the young team. It was just unbelievable that such a backdrop is part of an A-class game." So Held was not surprised about the "never endangered success without Neufahrner scoring chances" and "the miracle of Geisling".
But promotion should not be the last highlight under Held, who is already looking ahead to next season and emphasizes: "We have no departures to complain about and are building on the same team that deserves the championship." However, the team will still be strengthened - and prominently: With district league captain Kilian Kaiser, who is taking a step back due to work, a Langengeislingen homegrown player is to cause a sensation in the district class. Held sees his team already prepared for the higher league and sets the course: "We now want to attack in the district class and keep the league - and we will."
