Hannover won promotion back to the Bundesliga at the first attempt this season, although for long periods of the campaign it looked like they might miss out. After relegation from the top division in the 2015/16 season Hannover were able to keep hold of a large percentage of their squad and were expected to go straight back up. But inconsistent results hampered the club’s efforts to secure a place in the top two with their performances against sides lower down the table an especially disappointing feature. Although the club were in second place going into the winter break, results in January and February prompted the sacking of coach Daniel Stendel. Andre Breitenreiter was chosen as his replacement and under the former Schalke coach’s guidance Hannover went on a run of 9 games unbeaten to secure second spot.
Hannover had easily one of the best squads in the league and their promotion was no surprise. The only troubling aspect were the complacent performances earlier in the season, but Breitenreiter appeared to solve that issue. The club will have to start planning early for this season in order to make sure their squad is in a good position to compete at a higher level this year. Breitenreiter is also known as a coach who has an excellent record in the second division, but has yet to prove himself in the first Bundesliga. A number of players showed their talent this year at a lower level than they were used to. Martin Harnik enjoyed his time as a real centre forward and grabbed 17 goals. The spine of the team was also very strong including a defence which was the best in the league, conceding just 32 goals – less than a goal a game. Of those players Salif Sane showed once more why he is considered so highly as a rock at the heart of the team. He was defensively strong, but also showed talent in starting attacks and will form the heart of the team for next season when the club will face a challenge back at the highest level.
