Football Season Guide

Largely expected to somewhat struggle during the previous season, Wolfsberger have made a mockery of such predictions, going on to enjoy another excellent season, going strong even after losing their manager Gerhard Struber midway through the campaign. Their success had a lot to do with them finding a diamond in the rough in Schon Weissmann, who signed from Israel and went on to enjoy a sensational campaign, but it was unrealistic for the Wolves to keep the striker after the season he had and he duly left for Valladolid, leaving them with an enormous hole to fill. The inexperienced Dejan Joveljic has signed from Eintracht while further signings are possible, but it is hard to see the Wolves replacing the output of Weissmann, who netted 30 times in 31 league appearances last season. Lukas Schmitz and Romano Schmid are two more regulars who have left, while the list of departures also includes Milos Jojic and Miguel Viera, back to parent club Basaksehir following the end of their loan stays. The days of lavish spending for the Wolves have ended in the middle of the previous decade and their list of signings consists mostly of players unproven in the Bundesliga, with Jonathan Scherzer and Dominik Baumgartner being exceptions to this. While a side with a solid playing system that has remained largely unchanged despite them losing two highly-rated managers in the last year, the Wolves face a potentially tough campaign. Their success might cause their opponents to approach games against them in a different manner, while replacing a player of Weissman's quality is next to impossible for a club of their size.