Consistent reports
©Sivasspor
What has long been speculated about Energie Cottbus, but was generally viewed as unrealistic, now seems to have worked out: According to consistent media reports, the third division club has signed 70-time Bundesliga professional Tolga Cigerci until the end of the season. The 33-year-old has been without a club since leaving Sivasspor last summer, but has recently been keeping fit in Lausitz. His brother Tolcay Cigerci has also been hunting for goals there for a year and a half, and now the two could play together in the professional game for the first time.
However, official confirmation of the commitment is still pending. An agreement was considered difficult, particularly when it came to salary expectations, and Cigerci had reportedly not ruled out a return to Turkey until recently. The transfer window there is still open until Friday, so there is likely to be one or two movements on the market over the course of the week. Ultimately, according to reports, the veteran decided to sign with Energie and accepted a corresponding salary loss in return.
When asked about a possible Cigerci transfer, Cottbus coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz remained cautious in mid-January and presented himself as less optimistic: “He has an extraordinary CV, but a player of his size would still shock the club. As a club, you should ask yourself whether you should really use this shelf and whether it makes sense for the development of the club. That would be much more likely to backfire than forward. However, I don’t want to rule anything out.”
Now Cigerci could become the sought-after and much-quoted “game changer” in Lausitz and use his experience to help increase the current league leaders’ chances of a return to the 2nd Bundesliga. Cottbus gave up four players in the winter transfer window, defensive star Gianluca Pelzer came from Hoffenheim but was loaned directly to VfB Lübeck.
