Football Season Guide

Erzgebirge Aue enjoyed successful and very calm season under Daniel Mayer last term, with the young manager showing great ability to extract the best from average players in his first year as manager. With very small budget Erzgebirge can’t afford to sign big names, but so far this summer none of the important players has left the team and the Violets look as strong, if not stronger, as they were last season. Mayer is established at the helm now and his ability to mix successfully 3-5-2, 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations depending on the opponents makes Erzgebirge very hard to play against. Captain Mannel is one of the best goalkeepers in this division and the addition of 2 new solid centre-backs should only increase the stability at the back. In the heart of the midfield Fandrich and Riese formed excellent partnership last season and they are expected to remain preferred choice. Main goal in the remaining days of this transfer window is to keep prolific goalscorer Testroet in the team, with the talented striker expected to be partnered with Zulechner or Kruger up front in most of the games. Hochscheidt continues to have important link up role right behind the forwards, with Nazarov also hoping for more playing time after coming off the bench several times last season to score crucial late goals. Concern remains the lack of depth in the wide areas, with only 2 typical full-backs currently on the books.