In terms of empirical resources, in order to fight for promotion in the secondary league, some "lift" regulars undoubtedly have an advantage, so every new face is definitely not easy to come by! Following Heidenheim, who was relegated in the middle of the stream after last season's promotion, the Bundesliga once again ushered in the 58th "new classmate" this season: Holstein Kiel, nicknamed "White Stork" or "Die Störche", although the Bundesliga home was forced to draw 1-1 by third-place Dusseldorf at home on Saturday, it was still enough to open the opponent with 5 points in the remaining round of the league, lock the first two direct promotion qualifications, and together with the "touchdown" of St. Pauli on Sunday, they both agreed to see each other in the Bundesliga!
The inscription "von 1900" on the team signage shows that Holstein Kiel has been in the army for 123 years and became German champion in 1912. However, by the time of the first season of the Bundesliga in 1963/64, they had already fallen into the competition in the second division, and even just 11 years ago they were still rolling in the fourth regional league, until they had firmly occupied the upper middle and upper echelons of the Bundesliga in recent years, and even played in the relegation play-offs twice as the third runners-up in the Bundesliga.
Holstein Kiel has been in charge of promotion for most of the season with an excellent away record (11 wins in 16 games, stronger than at home) and attacking "multi-point blossoming" (18 players scoring goals, the highest number in the Bundesliga), although they almost missed again in the final stage, and finally completed the task in the final 21 round. Among them, the team has Japanese and South Korean players such as Masaya Okukawa and Lee Jae-effective in recent seasons, and this season also acquired striker Machino Shuto from Shonan Lihai, because he is from the "hometown of ninjas" Iga Prefecture and celebrates with ninjutsu seals from time to time, he has also handed over two goals so far; Another up-and-coming player is Lewis Holtby, who has played for Schalke 04, Tottenham and Fulham, and the three-time German national team star has a team-high seven assists at the age of 33, making him a key contributor to promotion: "I am extremely satisfied and proud to be part of the jubilant state. ”
As for the "Skull Pirates" legion, St. Pauli, led by 31-year-old young coach Fabian Hürzeler (Fabian Hürzeler), beat the bottom team Osnabrück 3-1 at home on Sunday, and 66 points from 33 games also officially locked the first two direct promotion qualifications, returning to the Bundesliga after 13 years, and winning the next game can be crowned the king of the Bundesliga. Of course, what is more significant is that they will play in a higher league for the first time next season than their old rivals Hamburg, on the other hand, the latter is bound to "stand still" in third or fourth place in the German second division for the sixth consecutive season, and old teams such as Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 can only wait for the comeback next season.