Football Season Guide

Braunschweig looked destined for the drop when coach Marcel Hartel was sacked last October with the club sitting rock-bottom of the table. Replacement Daniel Scherning orchestrated an impressive turnaround after, overseeing 10 wins from the remaining 22 games as the Lions survived relegation. Scherning will now look to build on this and take Braunschweig forward, easier said than done, with the club fluctuating regularly from the second and third tier in recent years. Keeping their squad intact and getting the recruitment right was the first objective and they have managed to do that fairly well so far. Goalkeeper Hoffmann was one of the most improved players from last season, so his loss to Schalke is a shame. Lennart Grill is a more than able replacement on loan from Union Berlin, but has fallen off the pace a little in recent seasons. Braunschweig were much better defensively under Scherning and it's an area where they could be strong again. The experienced Bicakcic is still on board, as is Ivanov, while the outgoing Donkor has been replaced by a competent Bell Bell at left-back. Some exciting youngsters have also come through the door with Sanchez, Raebiger, Ba, and Marie all ones to look out for. Goals could still be an issue for Braunschweig without a regular finisher up front, Conteh from Osnabruck is the only real attacking purchase, but is more of a winger. Frontman Philippe was much-improved under Scherning last term but is unlikely to hit big figures.