Football Season Guide

Last year Sandhausen defied the odds once again and despite having three points deducted for the second season in a row and being with the smallest budget in the division Black and Whites were never in any danger of being relegated. These successful back-to-back campaigns were majorly doing of the extremely talented manager Alois Schwartz and after he decided to move on in June now many of the fans are worried that the coming campaign will be much more difficult. Kenan Kocak is Schwartz’s replacement and his lack of experience is worrying. The other big departures in terms of squad members were those of Hubner from defence, Kratz from midfield and the team’s top goalscorer Bouhaddouz. The new gaffer did his best to compensate for that and despite the limited resources he managed to secure the services of experienced players already. Gordon will be the new regular centre-back, Kaiserslautern’s vice-captain Karl is brought in to become the rock of the midfield, while three years in hell for Sukuta-Pasu saw him losing confidence, but Kocak is confident that he can provide the goals when it matters. 26-year-old Sukuta-Pasu was tipped as the new leader of Germany’s attack just five years ago and surely he has enough talent in him that just needs to be rediscovered by the right manager. The other player that will want to make case in attack is Vunguidica. He arrived a year ago but after missing eight months of last season through injury the Angolan striker didn’t start even once and now he will be determined to show his worth. He scored three goals in the pre-season already and definitely seems to be back in the groove. Sandhausen’s financial situation also has to be monitored closely as the club have delayed licence payments yet again and if this is not sorted soon another point deduction is a possibility. Offloading more players won’t be an option though, at least according to the Board’s recent statement, and despite the difficult task ahead the players remain confident and positive that they have a place in this division.