Football Season Guide

Hoffenheim have been unable to really fulfill their potential since arriving in the Bundesliga but arguably just surviving in mid-table has been a form of success. The manager who led them up to this point, Ralf Rangnick, has now departed but whether or not Holger Stanislawski can take the team a step further remains to be seen. The squad has been boosted by a handful of loan players returning and with no one really leaving, with the exception of David Alaba, the arrival of Casteels, Johnson and Schipplock are designed to compliment a squad already in place rather than hugely change things. Stark is an excellent ´keeper while the defence in front of him contains several internationals including Beck who is now surely looking to push forward with a big campaign to secure a transfer abroad. The team changed formation all too often last season so deciding on a final line up between 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 is likely to help matters but so too would Ibisevic returning to his form of a few years ago when he was absolutely prolific. Hoffenheim are a decent side but even playing at their best, reaching the top five may be one step beyond them just yet.