SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
History: SV Sandhausen were founded in August 1916. After club activities had been temporarily halted on account of the war, SV Sandhausen subsequently established themselves in the North Bavarian amateur leagues and won several titles at amateur level. However, their biggest success came not all that long ago: in 2012, SVS were promoted to the Bundesliga 2 and have since been a permanent fixture in German football's second tier. Sandhausen found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle for vast swathes of last season, but an eight-match unbeaten streak ultimately saw the Hardtwald club keep their place in the division on the final day of the season.
Stadium: The BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald had a clay pitch when SV Sandhausen moved into the ground in 1951, and it was not until 10 years later that grass was first laid. Since the 1987/1988 season, the SVS stadium has been modernised step by step. Once the club achieved the biggest success in their history in 2012, the Hardtwald-Stadion had new requirements to fulfil. Within the space of several months, a standing area was built and the main stand was expanded. The ground now has a capacity of 15,414.
Coach: Uwe Koschinat is the man in the dugout at SVS. The 48-year-old football tactician began his coaching career at TuS Koblenz, initially as a player-manager and then – once he had finally hung up his boots – as an assistant coach to Uwe Rapolder, Petrik Sander and Milan Sasic. His first job as a head coach came slightly further north up the Rhine at Fortuna Cologne. Koschinat oversaw 290 matches involving the club from the Cathedral City, before bringing his seven-year stint with Fortuna to an end and taking over the hotseat in Sandhausen.
Personnel matters: With an average age of 28.3 years, Sandhausen have an experienced squad. The most experienced heads include captain Dennis Dieckmeier, Rúrik Gíslason and Gerrit Nauber, who joined Sandhausen from MSV Duisburg in the summer transfer window. The Black & Whites only signed players on free transfers prior to the start of the current season, with Aziz Bouhaddouz one of the new faces through the door at the Baden-based club. The Morocco striker will be a familiar figure to supporters of SVWW, having previously made 27 appearances for the Red & Blacks in the third tier during the 2011/12 campaign.