Würzburger Kickers played the archetypal season of two halves as their stay in the second division lasted just one season. Following promotion from the third division via the playoff, Bernd Hollerbach’s side always looked like a candidate to go down. But for the first half of the season at least that looked highly unlikely as they finished the opening round of fixtures in sixth spot. Their final fixture before Christmas was a 3 – 0 win over eventual champions Stuttgart, which would also be their last win of the season. In the second 17 fixtures Würzburg rarely looked like taking the three points and ended up taking a measly 7 points, not enough to keep them in the league. Hollerbach may look back and think he should have added some more quality before the start of the season or in the January transfer window. But his faith in the side which took them up last season almost paid off although they were ultimately found wanting.
Two injuries during the season can be seen as a big part of the reason Würzburg will be back in the third division next season. First choice goalkeeper Robert Wulnikowski was taken off in the first game after the winter break and he was a big miss as the defence had previously been very consistent with him at the foundation. In attack Nejmeddin Daghfous was injured during their winter training camp and he never really regained his form from the first half of the season. The winger was excellent early on and led the league in assists at one point with 7. He was the Kickers’ best player this term, but he has shown he definitely has the talent to play at a second division level and other clubs will certainly show interest now. Hollerbach has already been sacked as coach for next season meaning Stephan Schmidt will have the task of trying to keep the squad together with the aim of gaining promotion back to the second division next season.
