Fun always seems to follow whenever Daniel Farke and Marvin Ducksch’s paths tend to cross. Back in 2015, following a failed loan move to Paderborn and the inevitable confirmation that he wasn’t going to fulfil the promise he once showed in Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy, the German striker was lamenting his bad luck in the Black & Yellows reserve squad. Then along came a youth coach from nearby SV Lippstadt, who just so happened to change Ducksch’s career forever and, according to the player, “bring the fun back”.
“You will play every game with me, come what may,” said Farke to the young striker, according to a Kicker interview with Ducksch from earlier this year. That season, despite returning from a nasty metatarsal fracture and failing to score in his first eight games, Ducksch would go on to bag 15 goals and 12 assists in just 28 outings for Farke’s side. By the end of the campaign, he’d attracted interest from a number of clubs and eventually signed a three-year deal with St Pauli.
In typical fashion, the best of intentions always seem to come back to bite you in the ass when it comes to football and on Saturday Farke’s hard work once again provided plenty of fun. But in this instance, it was all entirely at the expense of him and his Gladbach side, as they were well and truly battered 5-1 by Werder Bremen, with Ducksch breaking his duck to bag his first goal of the season, as well as two assists for his troubles. "The knot has burst with Marvin, I was almost a little afraid of that with our shared past,” admitted Farke after the game, with little delight.
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