Football Season Guide

Ingolstadt failed to deliver on their potential last season as they ended up with a disappointing mid-table finish despite having one of the strongest squads in the league. Managerial upheaval and a squad who needed to adapt to the league did not help the club’s cause last year, but there will be much more expected of the former Bundesliga team this season. For head coach Stefan Leitl, whose side only picked up one win in the final six games of last season, the pressure will be on from the start. It is likely that, should Ingolstadt find themselves below the curve by Christmas, Leitl’s time with the club will be brought to a conclusion. Over the summer the coach has overseen a clean-up of the squad with a lot of the older members of the squad have left including Alfredo Morales who was considered something of a trouble maker in the squad towards the end of last season. Talented midfielder Max Christiansen has also moved on after seeing his first team chances become limited. The incoming players speak more of the necessity to build a solid squad rather than buying any marquee players around which the team will be based. Indeed the key piece of business over the summer was to retain Sonny Kittel for another season. With the exception of Lucas Galvao and Thomas Rocher who arrive from Austrian sides, all the signings have played in Germany before. Even for the two non-German based signings, the language barrier will not be a problem. Konstantin Kerschbaumer impressed last season at Arminia Bielefeld and will be expected to run the midfield in Ingolstadt. The club will hope to answer the lack of goals from their strikers with Charlison Benschop and Osayamen Osawe, though neither have ever been prolific. Ingolstadt will once again be considered amongst the favourites to go up, even after their disappointing 2017/2018 season. If Leitl can prove his doubters wrong and unlock the quality in the squad then they have a chance, but he will need his strikers to fire this time around.