Seven farewells after Düsseldorf game
Friday, 13. May 2022, 18:30 Uhr
The end of another season is approaching and once again the time has come to bid farewell to various players and coaching staff. In Philipp Ziereis, Christopher Buchtmann, Finn Ole Becker, Rico Benatelli, James Lawrence and Sebastian Ohlsson, plus goalkeeper coach, there will be official send-offs for seven Boys in Brown after the final game of the campaign against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday.
In Christopher Buchtmann and Philipp Ziereis, the club's longest-serving players are set to depart the Millerntor. Buchtmann arrived from Cologne in August 2012 and has made 198 first-team appearances to date, scoring 20 goals and providing 22 assists in that time. Ziereis joined the club from Regensburg in the summer of 2013 and has worn the brown-and-white jersey 158 times (1 goal, 4 assists). Finn Ole Becker leaves the Millerntor after 11 years, having arrived from Holsatia Elmshorn in 2011. Since making his second-division debut in the spring of 2019, Becker has featured in 87 competitive matches for the Boys in Brown.
Rico Benatelli, Sebastian Ohlsson and James Lawrence have been with the club for a combined total of almost nine years. Benatelli joined the Boys in Brown from Kickers Würzburg in the summer of 2019 and has made 65 competitive appearances (4 goals, 1 assist) in the interim period. Lawrence arrived from RSC Anderlecht on a one-year loan deal in August 2019 and made the move permanent in October of the following year. The Wales centre-back has made 53 competitive appearances for the club to date (1 goal, 4 assists). Sebastian Ohlsson made the switch from Swedish top-division club IFK Gothenburg at almost the same time as Lawrence, albeit on a full-time contract, and has made a total of 57 competitive appearances since then (3 assists).
The Düsseldorf game will also be the last for goalkeeper coach Mathias Hain, who is leaving after 14 years with the club. Hain arrived at the Millerntor from Arminia Bielefeld in the summer of 2008. After 72 competitive appearances, he hung up his gloves to take up the position of goalkeeper coach.
Even though there are still 90 minutes left to play against Düsseldorf, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all seven for their service in the brown-and-white colours. Win or lose, they gave their all for the club and we wish them all the very best for their professional and personal futures.
All fans attending Sunday's game are kindly requested to stay behind after the final whistle and give the lads a fitting send-off. Many thanks!
We will bid farewell to all seven more extensively on our various channels next week.
Photos: Witters/FC St. Pauli
