Position
Sandhausen's new coach Jens Keller made a successful start last weekend with a 2-1 away win at Borussia Dortmund II. Keller replaced his predecessor Danny Galm as the coach at SVS on 23 October. The 52-year-old has lots of experience and has worked as a coach at clubs including FC Nürnberg, Union Berlin, VfB Stuttgart and Schalke 04. Keller was the manager at the Royal Blues for two seasons (2012/13 and 2014/15) in the UEFA Champions League. He now wants to get to grips with the comeback promotion project at SV Sandhausen. The team from the Electoral Palatinate were relegated last season after eleven years in the second division. After just one win from five third division games, the club management saw their target for the season in danger with the gap to third place growing to seven points. In addition, the team weren't playing "any good football" any more.
The 2-1 victory in Dortmund on matchday 13 saw Keller and his team move up four places in the table with SVS climbing from eleventh to seventh and now they are just four points behind third place. Keller was happy after the match: "I saw the passion the lads showed wanting the win. We’ve picked up three points – that's crucial." Sandhausen were able to come back from going 1-0 down early on at Dortmund with two goals in the first half from Rouwen Hennings and Max Geschwill. SVS sporting director Matthias Imhof talked about a deserved win after the game. "We weren't put off by going behind and we showed character."
The Black and Whites also showed that in the first round of the DFB Pokal. In spite of being behind twice against second division Hannover 96, SV Sandhausen won an exciting cup thriller on penalties. First, a strike by Rouwen Hennings and an own goal from Hannover levelled the 2-0 deficit. The visitors again took the lead but SVS struck back through Tim Knipping just before the end of the 90 minutes. The team from Baden-Württemberg then won 4-2 on penalties.
Personnel
Four experienced players form the backbone of young team. This summer saw the return of Tim Knipping (30, Dynamo Dresden) and Alexander Mühling (31, Holstein Kiel) to the club after playing there earlier in their careers. Mühling also played for Leverkusen for six months in 2014 before moving on to Sandhausen then he played for Holstein Kiel for seven years. This season he has started all 14 games for SVS. Tim Knipping was also a first choice in central defence but he missed Jens Keller's first game in charge due to injury.
Striker Rouwen Hennings is the oldest player in team at the age of 36. Hennings signed for Sandhausen after seven years at Fortuna Düsseldorf. He scored 84 goals (28 assists) in 229 games at Fortuna. Hennings demonstrated his goal threat straight away with four goals and two assist for SVS in association with stalwart Dennis Diekmeier. The 34-year-old captain of SV Sandhausen played 203 Bundesliga games for Hamburg SV and FC Nürnberg and has been a key player at SVS for five years. The defender has recently been sidelined due to a muscle problem. But Diekmeier is now back in training. SVS are only missing defender Lucas Laux (torn cruciate) over the longer term.
Performers
The club from the small place of Sandhausen near Heidelberg battled to stay up in Bundesliga 2 for eleven years. The underdogs were always aware of their role. Passionate defending and a strong team spirit have long been the foundation for the success of this underestimated club. “Anyone who comes to Sandhausen and sees the rural idyll will think you can sail through here even with a fever,” central defender Tim Knipping once said when he was playing for Dynamo Dresden. Sandhausen have shown several times this season that they never give up. They demonstrated their comeback ability in the DFB Pokal win against Hannover as well as in a 3-3 draw in the third division against FC Viktoria Köln. SVS were two goals down at 2-0 and 3-1 in that match too. “Passion, commitment and work rate” are the demands on the team from the new coach Jens Keller. “Everybody can do that regardless of the tactics.”
Problems
Keller wants to see fast transitions in both directions from his team. That has been missing recently. After the 2-1 victory in Dortmund, striker David Otto, with four goals equal top scorer for the Black and Whites alongside Hennings, said: “Today we focussed on play after winning and losing the ball. We have to continue working on that – there’s still a lot to do.” SVS also have room for improvement in terms of converting chances. To date, the players have scored 18 goals in 13 games, an average return. “We miss chances too often,” declared Rouwen Hennings. In addition, the team, in recent years has primarily been involved in relegation battles, must now show they are capable of being creative and competing on the pitch.
Prediction
Of course, the team in seventh place in the third division go into the game against the top team in the Bundesliga as underdogs. Nevertheless, SV Sandhausen showed with the win in the first round of the DFB Pokal that they can hurt teams in higher divisions. SVS still look like a second division outfit. And they want to return to Bundesliga 2 as soon as possible. “We are all impatient,” said sporting director Matthias Imhof, who is looking for a new impetus from Jens Keller and is hoping for “another response from the team.” The coach thinks the squad is “in good shape” and he believes “there is a good chance of challenging at the top of the league again.” The target of going straight back up is top priority for everyone at Sandhausen. A good cup tie against the Bundesliga league leaders on their own turf could give them a real boost.
