Football Season Guide

Elversberg almost pulled off a sensational promotion to the Bundesliga last season, only to be denied by Heidenheim in a closely-fought play off encounter. Having risen from the fourth-tier under coach Horst Steffen, they continued to grow in confidence with fluid counter-attacking performances. As for the upcoming season the fairytale with Steffen is unfortunately over, as he finally took his chance of a top job to take over at Werder Bremen. Replacement Vincent Wagner has some big shoes to fill, but is a hungry young coach who believes in his own methods. There have been big changes on the pitch too with Elversberg losing many of their key players from last season. Asllani and Damar were instrumental to a lot of their attacking play, but were only on loan while the versatile Fellhauer has been snapped by Augsburg. Sahin, Neubauer, and Baum are also notable departures. This doesn’t mean Elversberg can’t be competitive again this season. New additions Gyamerah, Gunther, and Conde have experience playing in the division previously while loan signings Conte and Malanga are young talents looking to prove themselves. Adapting to new methods could take time and they may also struggle in attack compared to last season, unless new signing Pfeiffer and club legend Schnellbacher can rediscover their form in front of goal. On the flip side Elversberg will be unpredictable under Wagner with a high pressing style and this could make them dangerous.