Football Season Guide

Duisburg had to show character to survive in their first season back in the Second Tier, but after achieving this task thanks to their solid away form Gruev’s men are now eyeing a much higher table position. The Zebras had a better away record than home one for the entire last season and if they manage to clear the individual errors in defence from their displays they should be able to win more matches. The Bulgarian manager, he is adored by the fans after playing over 400 games for the club before taking charge of it, received fresh funds in the summer and he invested them smartly according to most pundits. The departure of goalkeeper Flekken was inevitable, but quickly Mesenholer was signed from Union to be the new number one. Duisburg also had problems in the full-back positions last term, the 35-year-old Hajri was moved to right-back halfway through the campaign only to continue playing there for the rest of the season, and logically Gruev addressed that too. Both Regasel and Seo are full-backs that will provide support for captain Wolze and Hajri when it is needed. Duisburg have one of the most solid midfield lines in the division and logically no new signings were made in this area. Up front things are getting competitive though as two new strikers joined Tashchy and Iljutchenko to compete for the two starting spots in the 4-4-2 formation. Duisburg look to have back up options for pretty much every position on the pitch and this good depth should give the Zebras an edge in the long run. Gruev, he is an ex-centre forward, constantly works on the attacking set pieces with his squad and last season Duisburg were the second highest scorers from dead-ball deliveries, with the team expected to be converting a lot of these opportunities again this term.