Football Season Guide

Arminia Bielefeld went mighty close to being relegated last campaign and this season could well end up in another relegation battle. Jeff Saibene's side survived last spring thanks to a run of five unbeaten in their final games of the season including a 6 – 0 thrashing of 3rd placed Eintracht Braunschweig. That win, however, was inspired by assistant coach Carsten Rump who has been one of the few consistent figures in the backroom staff in recent seasons. Question marks remain over Saibene's suitability of coaching a side who are likely to struggle considering his inexperience in the league. His main job over the summer has been to reduce the squad down to a more manageable size and that has meant losing a significant number of players, some of whom with a fair bit of baggage from the chaos of last season. Goalkeepers Wolfgang Hesl and Daniel Davari were both criticised at different times during the previous campaign but they have been replaced by Bielefeld youth product Stefan Ortega who returns from relegated 1860 München. The defence that will line-up in front of him will also be very different as a total of five defenders left. Right-back, Nils Teixeira, has joined from fellow second division side Dynamo Dresden and will likely be a starter. A handful of other signings suggests that the coaching staff are happy with the core squad available to them. Indeed, they have some right to feel that the squad has more to show than they did last season. Strikers, Fabian Klos and Andreas Voglsammer, both helped to make Arminia the sixth highest scorers in the league last term. Should Christopher Nöthe remain fit this season he would add to that potency. Bielefeld have some potential to grow and avoid the desperate end to season they experienced last term, but the side really needs a stable campaign to establish themselves in mid-table.