TSV 1860 Munich: “Ingenious clarity on the positions”

After this memorable dress rehearsal, Christian Werner wanted to get something off his chest; he wanted to capture something that, in truth, can no longer be captured: "I always have to be the killjoy; at the end of the day, it was a warm-up game," he said, adding that things can always be "optimized." The managing director is actually the one primarily responsible for providing the fun, which is why he's currently faced with a dilemma: the euphoria at TSV 1860 Munich immediately before the start of the season hasn't been as great as it is this time for a long time; expectations of the team are enormous. After Saturday's 4-0 win at league rivals Jahn Regensburg, they were somewhere way above the clouds that were hovering over the Upper Palatinate. "TSV is back," the fans sang, as if it had been away for some time.

This was no longer a friendly, but a warm-up match. Sechzig's coach Patrick Glöckner left the starting eleven unchanged for 72 minutes, more than just a hint of the formation for the third-division season opener on Friday evening at Rot-Weiss Essen. 9,270 spectators at a dress rehearsal, almost half of them in white and blue, are further indication of the enormous interest. The match also marked the tenth anniversary of the Jahnstadion, and long-time Jahn chairman Hans Rothammer said at halftime that without this arena in Regensburg, "there would certainly be no more professional football in this form" – an infrastructure that doesn't cause any worries is perhaps the only advantage the second-division relegated team has over Sechzig.

Now, according to the Jahnstadion website, the pitch is 105 meters long, and because Kevin Volland scored the sensational opening goal in the 26th minute from almost exactly the halfway line, it must have been a 52.5-meter goal. The prominent S60 returnee, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on Wednesday, then scored with a tap-in after a pinball to make it 2-0 (38th minute, Jesper Verlaat and Soichiro Kozuki added the goals). He was later substituted to great applause. There were even more ooohs and aaaahs, such as Florian Niederlechner's run-up in the 22nd minute. Niederlechner pushed the defender ahead of him, cut inside, and curled the ball – but only hit the inside of the post. That's probably what Werner meant when he talked about "optimizing."

The high level of individual quality at Sechzig is factored into the expectations. Even more threatening for the league rivals is the matter-of-factness that Glöckner's team is already displaying in all parts of the squad. "We've only conceded one goal in the entire pre-season; you can see the stability, you can see the wit," said the coach happily, who also spoke of "brilliant clarity in the positions." The often straightforward game resembles that of last April, when Glöckner had finally arrived at Sechzig – only now it is played with even greater speed and precision. The uncompromising attitude he praised was evident right up until the final minute of the game; a goal conceded would have been meaningless, but was prevented with the help of tactical fouls when necessary.

Werner then said of Volland that he was very happy for him because of his goals. But he was even "much happier" about the fact that Volland "worked extremely hard without the ball, that's what we want to embody." Even as a spoilsport, he couldn't help but confirm that the overall quality of the squad is "a positive aspect." Even after Niederlechner, Volland, and several others had left the field, the performance didn't drop. Werner also singled out one player, David Philipp, for special mention. After his 18 minutes of action, the sporting director found that the 25-year-old "is one of the best players in the third division in this form."

The day before, Patrick Glöckner had watched Rot-Weiss Essen in a friendly against FC Augsburg in Dillingen. Ahmed Arslan scored from a reported 55 meters. A striking argument that everything would be different in Friday's opening game, with psychology also playing a role, Glöckner pointed out. Even after the Sixties had bid farewell, there was still much talk in the Regensburg interview zone about the maturity of the Lions' performance, and the phrase "class difference" was even heard. Glöckner and Werner wouldn't confirm that for at least another ten months.