As Bundesliga debutantes FC Ingolstadt entered the previous season with Ralph Hasenhuttl having won the second division the previous year. As it often goes with those new Bundesliga clubs it’s a tricky enterprise to navigate.
That team, with American Alfredo Morales, shocked many by not just staying up in the first division, but finishing a respectable mid table position of 11th. The finish would be the best for a promoted side since Eintracht Frankfurt who finished sixth in 2012-13 and the best for a Bundesliga debutante since Hoffenheim in 2008-09.
The way in which this was accomplished was in the playing style laid out by Hasenhuttl. That style was convincingly a defense first mentality. While effective at keeping the opposition off the scoreboard, the Bavarian club complimented the sturdy defense with an efficient in terms of offensive effort with a good amount of goals scored from set pieces. That was Hasenhuttl’s formula for success last season.
This season will be a different sort of challenge.
Gone is the aforementioned manager who made the last season possible. Hasenhuttl was attracted to the riches of coaching RB Leipzig. Other losses that will be deeply felt is the loss of half the defense with keeper Ramazan Ozcan and defender Danny da Costa to Bayer Leverkusen and Benjamin Hubner to Hoffenheim.
With reinforcements for the new season comes firstly a new manager in Markus Kauczinski. During his time at the helm of Karlsruhe he led the former Bundesliga club back from the third division at the first time of asking. That was followed by good fifth, third, and seventh place in the second division. Having to work with less this seems to be a fit for the long term, especially given the upward trajectory of Kauczinski.
As for reinforcements, Marin Hansen is more than likely to play the backup keeper role while Orjan Nyland takes up the first team gloves. Florent Hadergjonaj is seen as a like for like fullback replacement for da Costa. Hauke Wahl will be looked to in filling the role left by Hubner being sold.
Beyond the like for like replacements which come from the Second Bundesliga, Eredevise, and Swiss Super League are signings Sonny Kittel and Nico Rinderknecht from Eintracht Frankfurt. Each of these give the squad a bit of midfield depth that will perhaps give more options when injuries hit.
With a poor pre-season and just scrapping by in the first round of the DFB Pokal against third division side Aue things are hard to tell if this sophomore season will be good or ill for this Bavarian squad.
Prediciton: This side will take a couple rungs on the ladder down but find that on the last match of the season that they will have done enough for a third season in the Bundesliga
