The 2022/23 season begins in the Bundesliga – and with it the big tremors. At Hertha, with climbers and almost relegated – an overview.
They don’t like to talk about 1. FC Union at Hertha BSC, you can understand that. Union has had the same coach and success for many years, you can’t say the same about Hertha. If it is unavoidable that Herthaners have to talk about their city rivals, they rarely call him by name. They prefer to say “Köpenick”, like the district in which Union is based.
Sandro Schwarz, 43, has been a Hertha BSC coach for a few weeks. Berliner is not black, but he understood that with Hertha and Union. A few days ago, Schwarz was supposed to talk about the Bundesliga opener and the opponent. Schwarz didn’t say the name of the club, he just called it “Köpenick”.
No easy task awaits Black in Berlin. In the past season, stories about Hertha often had a mocking tone, staying in the league was only possible through relegation. Now the coach is new and the squad is more balanced, but in the DFB-Pokal Hertha was unlucky and was knocked out against second division side Braunschweig.
Forecast: Of course there are hopes for a season without worries, but the reality of Hertha from Berlin should also be the relegation battle in the Bundesliga in 2022/23. After all, it will be enough to stay up in the league.
VfB Stuttgart – many question marks before the start
At the end there was jubilation. VfB Stuttgart just barely managed to stay up in the Bundesliga last season, not many thought it was possible. Before the last day of the game, Stuttgart was three points behind Hertha, and in the end the Berliners had to be relegated. In Stuttgart they stormed the square and poured beer over themselves.
And now? Two and a half months have passed and in Stuttgart they hope that the drama and worries will not be repeated in the new season. Optimism never hurts, but neither does a sense of reality: VfB have lost a regular player in Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest) and the whereabouts of top performers Borna Sosa and Sasa Kalajdzic are uncertain. The squad hasn’t gotten any better.
Forecast: Much will depend on whether Sosa and Kalajdzic stay in Stuttgart. Without them, VfB would find it very difficult to leave two or even three teams behind in the table.
FC Augsburg – only the coach ensures a spirit of optimism
In Augsburg they once again proclaimed a new beginning. Nothing should be reminiscent of the past season, at the end of which it was just enough to stay up. The conflict between sports director Stefan Reuter and coach Markus Weinzierl, who announced his departure after the last game on television. Of football, which so often looked timid and sometimes haphazard.
The new coach at FCA is Enrico Maassen, 38, who most recently coached Borussia Dortmund’s reserves in the 3rd division. Football there was never haphazard and seldom timid, and in Augsburg they now hope that Maassen can do the same in the Bundesliga. It won’t be easy.
The squad is one of the weaker in the Bundesliga – and it hasn’t really gotten any better. An example: Michael Gregoritsch, Augsburg’s top scorer last season, is now playing in Freiburg. Ermedin Demirovic went the opposite way, having scored two goals in the league in 2021/22.
Forecast: Football in Augsburg will change, yes. Even if this project is made more difficult by the loss of key player Niklas Dorsch (broken metatarsal). But FCA will have to tremble to stay up until the last day of the game.
Werder Bremen – again and again Werner
Ole Werner’s record, 34, is impressive. At the end of 2021, Werner took over the coaching position at Werder Bremen and since then has averaged 2.3 points per game, which was enough for promotion. Werner will not be able to keep this average in the Bundesliga, in Bremen they will be able to get over it.
Of course Werder is more than just the coach Werner. After the promotion, Bremen signed players like Niklas Stark, Amos Pieper or Jens Stage, they will strengthen the team in the medium term. And the top performers Niclas Füllkrug, Marvin Ducksch and Marco Friedl stayed with Werder. It’s looking good for everyone who sticks with Bremen.
Forecast: Werder Bremen will not be completely free of relegation worries, but which climber can do that? In the end, however, Bremen no longer has to tremble, they stay up in the league with ease.
Schalke 04 – Questions, not just about Terodde
The record was of course impressive: last season Simon Terodde scored 30 goals in 30 games, but that was in the 2nd division. Terodde has always liked to score there. Terodde now plays with Schalke in the Bundesliga, and the goalscorer is a bit like his employer. One wonders: can they do that?
At Schalke, of course, they’re counting on Terodde’s goals, and they’ve also signed Sebastian Polter, who scored ten Bundesliga goals for Bochum last season. Nevertheless, sports director Rouven Schröder says: “The year will be elementary difficult.” You don’t want to contradict him.
Forecast: Schalke has to tremble for a long time, but manages to stay up. Also because Terodde shows that he can do Bundesliga very well.
VfL Bochum – Realism Anne Castroper
They can do realism in Bochum. Some time ago, coach Thomas Reis was asked what was possible for VfL Bochum, who surprised so many times last season as a promoted team, in the new season. Reis said he was expecting one “brutally difficult year”.
From now on, Reis has to do without the goals of Sebastian Polter and without the moments of surprise from Milos Pantovic, the two highly talented central defenders Armel Bella-Kotchap and Maxim Leitsch are also gone. Philipp Hofmann, Philipp Förster or Ivan Ordets first have to prove that they are suitable as substitutes. And it won’t be easy for Bochum otherwise either.
Forecast: There is no such thing as a blatant outsider like Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth before, the newly promoted Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen bring more individual quality with them. Bochum will have to tremble. It would be a big surprise if VfL managed to stay up again.