Fight to stay in the league: Heidenheim relies on new talent!

Fight to stay in the league: Heidenheim relies on new talent!

1. FC Heidenheim faces a new challenge in the 2025/26 season. After an exciting year in the Bundesliga, in which the team managed to stay in the league with a lot of effort, it is now a matter of consolidating their position there. Again SWR reports, the past 2024/25 season was the most difficult under coach Frank Schmidt, who has been at the helm as head coach for 18 years. In early March, Heidenheim was even bottom of the table and was six points behind the savior bank.

Thanks to a dramatic relegation win against Elversberg (2:1), the class was retained. Nevertheless, there were some setbacks: departures of top performers such as Tim Kleindienst, Eren Dinkci and Jan-Niklas Beste left a clear gap in the team that is not easy to close. The club is all the more pleased about the external newcomers Diant Ramaj, who comes as the new number one between the posts from Borussia Dortmund, and Arijon Ibrahimovic from Munich.

Personnel changes and preparation

The preparations for the new season have been promising so far. Heidenheim won a total of five friendly matches, including a remarkable 2-1 win against Italian team Parma. The young talents Nick Rothweiler, Adam Kölle and Yannik Wagner have also fought for a place in the professional squad. At the same time, those responsible had to part ways with five players, including Vitus Eicher, Norman Theuerkauf and Paul Wanner, who is returning to FC Bayern.

The season goal for the coming months will again be to stay in the league. Schmidt is aware that the first challenge starts against heavyweights of the same name such as Wolfsburg, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. It is crucial here that captain Patrick Mainka gets the necessary playing time and the team shows more creativity in the midfield. In particular, the offensive with Zivzivadze and a fit Pieringer must pose more goal threat in order to survive in the league.

Focus on training and analysis

With no international competitions this season, Heidenheim now has more time for training and analysis. This could prove to be an advantage in the fight to stay in the class. The return of Mikkel Kaufmann after his loan at Karlsruher SC could bring an additional breath of fresh air into the game.

The coming season brings much more than just new games. Heidenheim faces the challenges ahead with fresh hope and a clear plan. With the necessary commitment and the right attitude, the team could conquer the halls of the Bundesliga again.