BUNDESLIGA 2021-22 BUNDESLIGA SEASON PREVIEW
HERTHA BERLIN Hertha have made some interesting signings. The first is former player Kevin-Prince Boateng, with Hertha’s board hoping that the highly travelled 34-year-old attacker will be able to bring plenty of experience and guidance for the younger players. In addition, they’ve also secured Marco Richter from Augsburg. The 23-year-old first announced himself to the world by scoring seven goals in an Augsburg youth match back in 2016. Die Alte Dame were another side who had their shares of ups and downs but fortunately managed to steer clear of the relegation play-offs – will they do slightly better this time around? LAST SEASON FINISH: 14TH
HOFFENHEIM The fact that Hoffenheim managed to hang on to Andrej Kramaric despite finishing in the bottom half of the table is an achievement in itself, especially considering the Croatian is the all-time top scoring player from his country in Bundesliga history. It truly was a season of highs and lows for Hoffenheim, who ended Bayern’s 32-game unbeaten streak in the league, but at the same time had their issues in successfully balancing competing in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League. However, they did gain back some ground at the tail end of the season, going seven games unbeaten. In addition, they’ve made some key signings, namely defender David Raum, who was part of Germany’s European under-21 winning side. Not only can he defend, but he can certainly get involved in the attack, chipping in with 15 goals for Furth and contributing to their promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
KOLN Last season, Koln barely escaped the drop. After losing to Mainz, who were also in contention for relegation, they had to take on Holstein Kiel, who famously beat Bayern in the DFB-Pokal en route to featuring in the semis for the first time in their history. A 5-2 aggregate win was enough for them to retain their spot, but new coach Steffen Baumgart will naturally know that his team may not be so fortunate this time around. In terms of transfers, they’ve brought in a quartet of players on frees to cover all positions from goalkeeper to forward, so clearly they’re aiming to be as far from the drop zone as possible.
RIGHT, BOTTOM: Sasa Kalajdzic is looking for a break out season
LAST SEASON FINISH: 16TH
LAST SEASON FINISH: 11TH
MAINZ Mainz were another side who performed poorly last season and were spared a potentially unpleasant relegation battle by defeating fellow relegation candidates Koln. But now, Bo Svensson, who orchestrated their renaissance, will have a full season in charge. Svensson’s work was truly outstanding. When he took over, Mainz had earned just six points and looked certain for the drop. However, they ended up picking up a whopping 32 points, including beating reigning champions Bayern, to pull off one of the greatest escapes we’ve seen in German football. With that kind of momentum, there are some expectations to see a better version of Mainz during the 202122 season. LAST SEASON FINISH: 12TH
RB LEIPZIG RB Leipzig made a huge statement of intent with the acquisition of Andre Silva from Frankfurt earlier this year. The Portuguese international was the second-most prolific scorer in the Bundesliga last season behind only Robert Lewandowski, and having lost Timo Werner to Chelsea a couple of campaigns ago, Die Roten Bullen will hope they’ve struck gold with their newest purchase, who cost them €23m. However, they’ve been dealt a big blow in defence with the big-money sales of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate, with the French duo moving on to Bayern and Liverpool respectively. The Bulls have attempted to shore things up by bringing in Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Henrichs from Strasbourg and Monaco, but could selling their star defensive duo come back to haunt them? LAST SEASON FINISH: 2ND
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SOCCER360 SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2021
STUTTGART Stuttgart were certainly one of the more impressive sides last season. Although they lost 2-0 on their final matchday, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s squad still finished in a highly respectable ninth place. They’ll naturally be aiming higher than mid-table this time around, and will hope that players like SerbianAustrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic could have a real breakout season to mean that perhaps a European football spot won’t be an unrealistic goal. LAST SEASON FINISH: 9TH
ABOVE, LEFT: Kevin-Prince Boateng has returned to hometown club Hertha Berlin ABOVE, MIDDLE: Leipzig's Andre Silva celebrates scoring the 4-0 lead from the penalty spot during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart
