SCP professional in the TM interview
© Imago
Niko Koulis of Prussia Münster has a steep climb behind him. In the summer of 2022, the 25 -year -old central defender moved from the second team Holstein Kiels to Münster and experienced the march from the regional league to the 2nd Bundesliga as a regular player. In an interview with the transfer market, he talks about the double promotion, his strengths and his ambitions.
Koulis was trained in the youth of Hertha Zehlendorf and Tebe Berlin before he moved to the U23 from Hertha BSC in 2018. Two years later he left his hometown and joined Holstein Kiel, where he celebrated his second division debut. “Of course. For this reason, I switched to the U23 from Holstein Kiel. I was able to develop technically and tactically well there. It was a good and important step in the career. Work is rewarded and quality is asserted,” Koulis replied when asked whether the dream of professional football continued to live. He also noted that in the recent past, players such as Deniz Undav, Marius Bülter or Phil Harres made this jump.
The first two years after his transfer -free switch to Prussia Münster could hardly have been going better in terms of sport. “The double promotion was a historical success. As a team, we realized that the promotion to the 3. League must be our goal. But of course the march into the 2nd Bundesliga was not predictable in this form.” The Berlin -born noted that many of the large traditional clubs play good football in the regional league, but with the promotion to ask him new challenges. “The big difference to the 3rd league is that the game is significantly more athletic, intense and faster. In the 2nd Bundesliga, players also have a significantly higher individual quality. Only a few mistakes are made. And if mistakes are made, they are punished directly.”
Koulis about his strengths: “As is well known,” self -praise stinks “
Koulis completed the first three games in the 2nd Bundesliga over the full duration, but then he was sitting on the bench five times in a row between the end of August and early October. “Probably the coach had other ideas in this phase. You have to respect that. No player is above the team success. Apart from this personal dry spell, I am satisfied with my performance as a regular player,” sums up Koulis. “I focus on good training sessions and my strengths. The coach decides on the line-up. In any case, our goal scoring statistics suggests that we do a lot right.”
The big trump card in the relegation battle is the good defensive of the Prussia, because in 30 games the defense around Koulis caught 40 goals – only five teams conceded less. “We work well against the ball as a team. In addition, many defensive players from the promotion season are still under contract. Therefore, the processes vote,” he sums up. The question of which strengths he contributes to success answered Koulis with a smile: “As is well known, I have a good position and position game and bring a good duel on the floor and in the air. Unfortunately, my goal-danger from the promotion season has been lost.” He scored six goals in the 3rd division in 2023/24.
After the 30th matchday, Prussia Münster took the relegation rank in the 2nd Bundesliga with 28 points. The lead over Ulm in 17th place is two points, the gap to the saving bank five. “My goal is to stay with Prussia Münster. Peter Niemeyer convinced me of a transfer at the time and brought me to Münster. I was a regular in the 3rd league and was also able to contribute to the 2nd Bundesliga with six goals. In the 2nd Bundesliga, I am also,” said Koulis, but a back door left it open: ” but rather wants to establish and improve. “
Koulis: “Market values are a good indicator of good work”
When moving to Prussia Münster 2022, Koulis’ market value was 125,000 euros, in the December update it climbed from 450,000 to 600,000 euros. “I know my market value because I checked my transfer market profile due to the question. The market values are an indicator that we have done very good work in Münster in recent years.” With EUR 12.1 million, Münster has the lowest squad value of the 2nd Bundesliga, but two years ago it was EUR 3.1 million, which corresponds to an increase of 288 percent.
In the end of the season, Koulis and his team meet Darmstadt, Magdeburg and Hertha BSC before going to Ulm’s big relegation cracker on the last match day. “The chances of staying in the league are absolutely realistic. It is important that we focus on the next games and have a good balance between defensive and offensive,” he shows optimistic. “We have to continue to be compact defensively. So far we have succeeded very well. However, we will not help us in the fight for relegation. We need victories. So we have to score at least one goal more than our opponent.”
At an individual level, Koulis would like to ride the wave of success in the past two years. “As a athlete, you want to be at most successful. My goal is to establish myself as a central defender in the 2nd Bundesliga. I am only 25 years old and therefore still have a lot of development potential,” he explains. In the first step, this means that Prussia Münster has to secure relegation in the 2nd Bundesliga.