VFK Final 2019 - PATH TO THE "GERMAN CHAMPION"
VfK enchants in the final first leg | One hand on the trophy
The first stage has been mastered. In the final of the German Wrestling League, VfK beat SV Germania Weingarten 15:7 yesterday evening and can therefore dream of the title again after a 14-year absence. "Only VfK will be German champion," chanted the supporters of the German record champions after a memorable match.
"It went very well tonight, but we're far from through, because next week we have to go into the lion's den," said Greco-Roman coach Markus Scherer, dampening the euphoria directly after the last fight.
But let's start at the beginning: As usual, Georgi Vangelov kicked things off against Reineri Andreu from Cuba. The 25-year-old Bulgarian put up a strong fight and prevailed 3:3 in an evenly balanced bout on the basis of the last score. "That was very important. We wanted to get at least one win from the first two encounters and not fall behind," explained freestyle coach Erol Bayram after the victory of his protégé, who made himself almost immortal as the fans' favorite. The 0:1 defeat that Iakobi Kajaia had to accept in the following duel against Oscar Pino was therefore bearable, although this fight was also decided narrowly and only due to a higher passivity score. "Sanal is a technical wonder weapon," commented Markus Scherer on the subsequent duel between Sanal Semenov and Maxim Mamulat, in which the man from Schifferstadt won his third fight for VfK with a shoulder victory and the maximum score of four points. VfK therefore already led 5:1 after three fights.
Shamil Musaev then reduced the deficit after VfK wrestler Alexander Hushtyn lost by a wafer-thin margin despite the 5:5 final score due to the lower number of two-point scores. However, the highlight of the evening followed. The solemnly announced debutant Bajrang Punia awaited the Weingarten "points machine" Alejandro Valdes and exceeded all expectations by far. In an initially close duel, the Cuban was still leading at the break before the Indian ace showed his strength and set off fireworks that were never thought possible, ending 17:2 for the VfK wrestler. "I've rarely experienced anything like it. Even a point for the team would have been completely satisfactory for us, but what Baji then delivered was crazy. Many VfK fans will probably never forget that," said Erol Bayram, who was fascinated by the skills of last year's runner-up in the world championships. Home coach and VfK legend Emzarios "Shako" Bentinidis was also overwhelmed after the fight: "That's my boy, I'm so proud, unbelievable!"
As a result, the team went into the break with an intermediate score of 9:2. The euphoria in the sold-out Wilfried-Dietrich-Halle was now palpable and knew no bounds after the next two fights. First Lasha Gobadze secured two more points for his colors against the strong defending Jan Fischer, before compatriot Ramaz Zoidze went one better and swept Ionut Panait off the mat prematurely after just four minutes. The score was a whopping 15:2 after seven of ten duels.
However, Vasyl Mikhailov and Alik Shebzukov from Schifferstadt were unable to do much against the two strong Russians Magomed Kadimagomedov and Arsenali Musaliev and each deservedly lost by two team points. Kazbek Kilov also did not have his very best day at the end and was unable to repeat his victory over Karapet Chalyan in the previous round, with the result that the Germans reduced the lead to 15:7. This lead must now be saved over the finish line when VfK visit Weingarten next Saturday. "We've invested so much passion, now it's our turn," said Erol Bayram, summing up the tear-jerkers of recent years.
And then it could resound from the stands again:
"Only VfK is the German champion".
It is a matter of honor to support a club in the region. You go through thick and thin together, and there is great joy when successes can be celebrated. It would be unfortunate if I failed to provide this support, as there would be hardly anyone else to help in this area.
Michael Schepers
