Football Season Guide

Kaiserslautern

In


Benjamin Kessel (def) Union Berlin; Giuliano Modica (def) Dynamo Dresden; Marcel Correia (def) Eintracht Braunschweig; Brandon Borrello (mid) Brisbane Roar; Gervane Kastaneer (mid) ADO Den Haag; Gino Fechner (mid) RB Leipzig II; Mads Albaek (mid) IFK Goteborg; Baris Atik (mid) Hoffenheim – on loan; Lukas Spalvis (att) Sporting Lisbon – on loan; Marius Muller (gk) RB Leipzig – on loan; Leon Guwara (def) Werder Bremen – on loan; Manfred Kwadwo (mid) Sonnehof-Gr. – end of loan;

Out


Robert Glatzel (sp) (att) Heidenheim; Julian Pollersbeck (r) (gk) Hamburger; Marcel Gaus (r) (mid) Ingolstadt; Maurice Deville (sp) (att) Waldh. Mannheim; Sebastian Jacob (sp) (att) released; Tim Heubach (sp) (def) released; Mensur Mujdza (sp) (def) released; Florian Pick (mid) Magdeburg – on loan; Ewerton (r) (def) Sporting Lisbon – end of loan; Marlon Frey (sp) (mid) Bayer Leverkusen – end of loan; Sebastian Kerk (sp) (mid) Freiburg – end of loan;

After two very difficult campaigns, Kaiserslautern are hoping for a much better season this time around but some pundits think that the coach, Norbert Meier, is not the right man to get the Red Devils back into the top flight. These criticisms arrived because Meier allowed his hugely talented first-choice goalkeeper to leave plus he failed to re-sign defender Ewerton and also saw the most effective midfielder of the team, Gaus, depart. Despite his critics, Meier shopped smartly too as he added experience and quality to the squad in search of a much better campaign. The club secured the loan of Marius Muller who is expected to become a regular between the posts while the signings of the two tested warriors, Correia and Modica, will provide bright young talents like Robert Koch with great support in the heart of the defence. Vucur is also available for the back-three, which might see Koch used more in a holding midfield role. Kessel and Guwara come to provide depth for the wide defensive positions where Aliji and Mwene didn't have the best of seasons last time around. Many think that the most important signing for Kaiserslautern so far this summer is that of Mads Albaek, with the giant Dane tipped to form a solid duo with Moritz in the heart of the midfield. The fans are also excited by the arrival of the explosive right winger Borrello from Australia and, together with captain Halfar, Stieber, Zoua and Atik, he will be providing the threat from the wings. Last season, Kaiserslautern struggled seriously in front of goal and, to address that, Meier brought into the squad youngster Spalvis. Together with Osawe and Gortler, he will have to find ways to score more goals and only if the Lauterns succeed in that can they stand a chance of challenging for promotion.

Target


The Lauterns target a top 3 finish and, if they improve in attack, they stand every chance to achieve promotion. Despite the criticisms, Kaiserslautern look strong enough to be there or there abouts come the end of the season.