Football Season Guide

Julian Nagelsmann had his first full season in charge with Hoffenheim last term and he showed just why the club had such faith in him, guiding them to a 4th place finish. Hoffenheim have long held European ambitions and now they finally get a chance to mix it with the elite of the continent. Their first ever European tie comes against Liverpool in the play-off stage of the Champions League and they go into the second leg at Anfield having the massive task of turning around a 2-1 deficit. The Hoffenheim side that will take to the field this season will have a slightly different flavour to it than the one which missed out on automatic Champions League group stage qualification by a single point. Two of the most vital players in the team, Niklas Süle and Sebastian Rudy, have left to join Bayern Munich. Süle, a centre back, and Rudy, a central midfielder, formed part of the spine of the team so their absence will be keenly felt. Nagelsmann has also continued to trim down the rest of his squad with a few other fringe players being loaned out or sold. In their places the coaching staff are again largely looking to find some diamonds in the rough with no big name players joining this season, with one exception. Serge Gnabry lit up the league with Werder Bremen last season and after a summer switch to Bayern, the attacking midfielder was immediately loaned out to Hoffenheim. If he applies himself, he could play a central role in the team behind strikers Sandro Wagner and Andrej Kramaric. Further signings add depth to the first team due to their experience in the league including defenders Havard Nordveit and Nico Schulz as well as central midfielder Florian Grillitsch. However, none are of the standard to directly replace Süle and Rudy. Aside from the challenge of trying to reinvent the team, Nagelsmann will also have to balance the workload of his squad across three competitions. Nevertheless a top seven spot for Hoffenheim will still be the target they aim for.