Football Season Guide

Heidenheim lived to fight another day in the top-tier after a last-minute winner in their relegation play-off against second division Elversberg. The FCH qualified for Europe in the previous season, but this proved to be their undoing as they struggled to cope with the additional matches. A run of 11 defeats in 13 matches between September and December saw them plummet towards the bottom, and they failed to really recover. Long-term boss Frank Schmidt will want an easier ride after suffering his toughest season yet last time out, but due to the lack of financial muscle compared to other clubs, this will be difficult. This has also been evident from their summer transfer business. There have been just two new arrivals so far and both of those are loan deals. Goalkeeper Diant Ramaj from Dortmund is confident about his abilities and is expected to push Kevin Muller for the number one position while Ibrahimovic from Bayern will add quality in the attacking midfield area. Apart from Wanner and Kratzig both returning to their parent-clubs, Heidenheim have largely kept their squad intact. That being said, more additions are needed if they are to make improvements to their league position. Scoring goals was a problem for the club last season with January signing Zivizivadze unable to hit the ground running .If he can gain confidence with some early goals, then this might improve, but you do worry where else they may come from if not. Defensively they were also vulnerable last season, but under coach Schmidt there is always plenty of fight and team spirit. If he can instil that back in the side for the upcoming campaign, then they should at least be tough to beat.