Holstein Kiel very nearly managed to win back-to-back promotions as they fell at the final hurdle, losing in the promotion play-off against Wolfsburg.
It was a cruel way for Kiel to finish the season as they had played incredibly positive and attacking football throughout. The club ended as the top scorers in the league by a margin of 10 goals, but just fell short against a more experienced Bundesliga side in the end.
Markus Anfang made very few changes to his team for this season, and that was evident in how well the squad worked together. Kiel won 8 of their first 11 matches of the season as they became one of the early pacesetters.
However a run of 11 games without a win between late November until early March meant they dropped behind the leaders and they were unable to recover.
It is hard to look past the club’s three top scorers for their top performers this season. Marvin Ducksch, Dominik Drexler and Kingsley Schindler were unknowns before the season, but together scored 42 goals, more than 6 teams managed altogether.
Those players could well be tough to keep hold of now with clubs surely having realised the ability they possess.
Kiel will go forward into next season knowing that teams will play differently against them than has been the case so far. They also have an additional obstacle as the mastermind of their last two campaigns, Markus Anfang, has been poached by recently relegated Bundesliga side Köln.
Former Bayern München youth team coach Tim Walter will take over and only time will tell whether he proves to be as successful as his predecessor.
