Football Season Guide

Augsburg's decision to bring in an inexperienced coach in Sandro Wagner almost backfired for the club who endured an early exit from the DFB Cup and flirted with relegation for much of the first half of the campaign before the timely arrival of Manuel Baum, initially on an interim basis, steadied the ship with Augsburg finishing in the top half. Baum's interim role has since been converted into a permanent appointment and the German coach will largely have the same set of players at his disposal, with Augsburg going through a fairly subdued transfer window. They will be without two of their first team regulars though with Dimitrios Giannoulis and Cedric Zesiger both being sold to PAOK and Young Boys respectively. Elvis Rexhbecaj has also left on a free transfer, though he had lost his place in the lineup to Massengo last season, while Arthur Chaves is also gone after his loan spell ended. Augsburg have picked up the options to convert Rodrigo Ribeiro and Michael Gregoritsch's loan spells into permanent moves while also bringing in Hennes Behrens from Hoffenheim as the replacement for Giannoulis. Calvin Brackelmann and Sima Suso have also arrived to boost Baum's options in the defence and midfield respectively. Baum favors a pragmatic approach, keeping it tight at the back while hitting teams on the break with quick transitions. The system seemed to work for Augsburg last season as they showed consistent form after the winter break, with their top half finish representing a slight overachievement for the club. While they are certainly hard to beat at the back, it is further up the pitch where improvement is needed with Augsburg struggling for goals last season with none of the players able to reach double figures.