Football Season Guide

VfL Bochum once again flattered to deceive as they had periods of playing excellent football while also failing to have sustained success over the course of last season. It resulted in them finishing in a solid fifth placed finish but a whole 14 points off of third placed Nürnberg were did not even manage to win the playoff themselves. Gertjan Verbeek will have his second pre season behind him when this season and with some consistency at the helm of the club the foundations may be set for a charge at the top three. Certainly the fact that Verbeek is still there means the significant overhaul of players should be managed. A number of starting players have moved on in all positions with the most significant being Simon Terodde who will play for league rivals VfB Stuttgart who will be one of the favourites for promotion this season. Terodde’s 25 goals last year made him the only player to get into double figures so his importance for the side cannot be underestimated. Other regulars Onur Bulut and Marco Terrazzino have also left meaning the way has been left open for some new and existing attacking talent to take centre stage. Bochum have recruited from two sides in particular with three players arriving from Greuther Fürth and two from Paderborn. All five players have pedigree at this level with Marco Stiepermann and Kevin Stöger particularly astute signings who have a proven record in the second division. In addition Dominik Wydra, Tom Weilandt and Johannes Wurtz are all younger players who have plenty of potential and will perhaps start showing some of that now they are at a bigger club. From the players who remain from last term Penial Mlapa is being earmarked to be their next regular striker and therefore replace Terodde while a few other youth team graduates such as Selim Gunduz will hope to have more of an impact on the first team. The one area of the team that has seen little change is at the back where Manuel Riemann is now the undisputed number one keeper with a back four he knows well from last year. The Bochum squad has the potential to challenge for the top three, but in a hugely competitive league they will need to be more consistent over the course of the season and hope that their summer recruits get the goals that Terodde brought over a number of years for the club.