No counting against old acquaintances: Sapina is eager for the promotion duel

Wants to celebrate promotion in Bielefeld: Vinko Sapina. IMAGO/Fotostand

It's the absolute top match with three matchdays left before the end of the 3. Liga season: League leaders Dynamo Dresden travel to the Alm to face Arminia Bielefeld, separated by just one point before kickoff of Matchday 36. And Arminia is currently the team of the moment: DSC has recently celebrated five consecutive league wins in some impressive fashion, and has also reached the DFB Cup final.

If Dresden manages to break this run, the greatest possible reward awaits : With a victory on the Alm, the Saxons could celebrate their return to the 2nd Bundesliga at the third attempt, and direct promotion would no longer be denied to them.

For Vinko Sapina, the direction is therefore clear: "We don't want to play it safe or do anything based on calculations - that's clear. We want to win this game!", the Dresden co-captain sent a challenge to East Westphalia in an interview with MagentaSport .

The 29-year-old will once again be a key player. Sapina, who moved to Dynamo from Essen last summer, has become an integral part of Dynamo's midfield; one goal and four assists in 27 appearances only inadequately reflect the Croatian's value. SGD coach Thomas Stamm recently praised his sweeper and driving force as the "best number six in the league" – for Sapina, "a direct new incentive to work even harder."

The midfielder finally wants to make his dream come true: "I've always said I'd like to play in the 2nd division because I think I can do it." Sapina has traveled extensively in the 3rd division, playing 115 times for Verl, Essen, and Dresden, plus over 150 appearances in the Regionalliga. Now he's finally set to move up a division. "And then there would be new goals. Any path without a goal makes no sense," said the 29-year-old.

For Sapina, the match in Bielefeld will be a meeting with old acquaintances. First, there's Arminia coach Mitch Kniat , under whom the Croatian himself played for a year in Verl. And the memories couldn't be better: "Mitch and his boys are simply very conscientious, very ambitious. His communication is truly special."

Of course, there are no friends in the 90 minutes.

Vinko Sapina on meeting his friend Mael Corboz

But most importantly, it's against Mael Corboz , with whom Sapina has also been friends since his days in Verl. In the first half of the season, he attended the American's surprise 30th birthday party, the Dresden native said, and now it's a showdown: "It's obviously a special situation for both of us. But during the 90 minutes, there are no friends."

And if Dresden ultimately slips back to the relegation spot, currently seven points away, Sapina even faces a clash with his youth club Ulm – the Spatzen could still escape the relegation play-offs in League 2. A decisive duel for promotion with his old love – for Ulm native Sapina, it would be "an absolute nightmare scenario."