Football Season Guide

Würzburger Kickers sent their fans into delirium with the back to back promotions that ahve resulted in them playing in the unified second division for the first time in their history. A strong end to last year pushed die Rothosen into third place and playoff tie against MSV Duisburg which they won convincingly. Now the challenge will be to hold their spot in the second division against some very good sides. The club can have no illusions about how tough that will be as their predecessors Duisburg showed who were regular cannon fodder for the larger sides in the league, and were ultimately relegated. Their coach Bernd Hollerbach this will be the highest level he has managed on his own accord after spells as Felix Magath’s assistant at both Schalke and Wolfsburg. He leads a squad of whom many have had no experience at playing at this level and the learning curve could prove to be very steep indeed. But the coach has put his faith in the team which got them to this position with the majority of the starting side still under contract and ready to make the step up to the bigger league. Some second Bundesliga experience has been brought in through the addition of Sascha Traut but the only other marquee signing has been defensive midfielder Anastasios Lagos of whom much is expected this term. The squad is one of the oldest in the league and that could be an important factor as could the team spirit built over their successful season last year. But the likelihood of them surviving into next season remains low as the mortality rate of newly promoted sides has shown over the past few years. This could be a long hard season for the Kickers but their fans will enjoy the ride and there are sure to be a few twists and turns along the way.