"We are Little Gaul".
In the external presentation, Rüdiger Köhler cultivates the image of the soccer club from the provinces, which with the SC Dortelweil stands up to the big players.
For example FC Bayern Munich.
Yes, the B-Juniors from Wetterau have actually played in a league with celebrities since their promotion to the Bundesliga South, including those from SC Freiburg, TSG Hoffenheim and of course Frankfurt Eintracht.
This season seven players from the former 1. FFC Frankfurt moved to Dortelweil.
The chance to play in the U17 of the Bad Vilbeler district club is more realistic than with Eintracht.
The team there is twice as big, so the struggle to assert oneself is correspondingly.
Perhaps there is something like an extra ration of warmth as an alternative to the highly performance-oriented well-known clubs in this Gallic village.
As the sporting director of SC Dortelweil, Köhler scores with the argument of solidarity in a manageable community.
Youth leader Dirk Münkel also emphasizes: "We know that we are a small club."
Too little space
The SC Dortelweil has a lawn area that is a few meters too small and also inclined diagonally, as can be seen from photos from a bird's eye view via Google. Therefore, an exemption from the German Football Association is required in order to kick for points on a case-by-case basis. Some competitive games are played on the Bad Vilbel “Niddasportfeld”; where the requirements of the DFB for home games in the top division of juniors are met.
Köhler had no idea what dynamic his idea would one day get when he campaigned for a girls' team in the first football age, i.e. e-youth. It all started with his two daughters and their friends. There were five of them around Easter 2011 and eleven before the summer vacation. You were ready to go. And how - every week, Köhler remembers, new ones were added. He advertised and still boldly advertises the base: "The fun of football as a team game should be conveyed." As a girls' play community (MSG) Bad Vilbel, made up of players from SC Dortelweil, SSV Heilsberg, FC Massenheim and SV Gronau, MSG caused a rise and a sensation. Because the DFB does not tolerate gaming communities in higher regions, where the elite of football can be found,The Wetterauer Auslese has been running as SC Dortelweil since its rise in 2019. After all, this district made up the majority of the eleven in the pioneering years.
A few kicked for DFB national teams
"We have become a brand, the competition sends their scouts," says Münkel proudly.
And what if home grown-ups switch to other Hessian Bundesliga teams, such as Pohlheim and Wetzlar?
Then so be it.
It's a give and take.
A few from our own ranks have even made it into the DFB's selection teams.
The Bundesliga chapter in Dortelweil is a continuation story: the Bundesliga premiere year with staying in class was followed by early termination in the 20/21 season due to corona. The current season starts this Saturday with the away game in Alberweiler. There, an established Bundesliga club for juniors, the Dortelweiler are outsiders. With 8,550 inhabitants, the Swabian city is not much bigger than the Hessian municipality with the Bundesliga as a possible springboard for ambitious amateur soccer players.
Five of the 13 teams in the U-17 league will have to be relegated in the end. "We are well prepared," says Köhler, referring to his own, annually renewing squad. It all started with five children, now there are 168 girls and women in nine teams on the ball. The slogan from then has remained: “We're looking for you!” Was the recent call on the Internet for a trial training session for the years 2005 to 2007. Oh yes , today that's probably called contemporary casting.