Football Season Review

№8: Augsburg

Augsburg enjoyed their most successful season in their short Bundesliga history as they finished in eighth place, narrowly missing out a place in Europe on the final day. Augsburg were the form team since the turn of the year last season and coach Markus Weinzierl made a couple of astute signings in the summer, bringing in Halil Altintop and Raul Bobadilla in an attempt to improve his side's creativity upfront. Augsburg started the season on a disappointing note, losing their opening two games and though they followed it by a three-match winning streak, just one point from their next five games saw them drop closer towards the relegation zone. However they hit a rich vein of form midway through the season, propelled by some consistent displays by Andre Hahn, who quickly established himself as the first choice on the right side of the midfield. A run of eight wins and just two defeats in 14 games midway through the season saw Augsburg emerge as serious challengers for a Europa League qualification. However a subsequent drop in form all but ended any hopes of finishing in the top seven and though Augsburg did end the campaign strongly, with four wins from their final five games, Mainz's victory on the final day denied them a place in Europe next season. New signing Altintop proved to be an instant hit at Augsburg, scoring 10 goals, while Tobias Werner and Daniel Baier were also key for Augsburg's excellent form throughout the season. However it was Hahn who was Augsburg's best player this season with the winger top scoring with 12 goals and also chipping in with seven assists. Hahn though has confirmed that he will be leaving the club in the summer and has already completed a move to Borussia Monchengladbach while Marcel De Jong and Andreas Ottl have also left the club. Weinzierl though has a pretty solid base to build on for the next season and a couple of shrewd buys, especially in the attack, should ensure that they have another successful campaign next year.


Player of the Season: Andre Hahn