Bundesliga: Meet FC KAi??ln And Paderborn, The New Boys In Town

We all know Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but part of the fun of watching club football is the annual rotation, meeting new clubs and saying goodbye to those that just werenai??i??t good enough. As we look forward to seasonai??i??s start, letai??i??s get to know the Bundesliga new boys: FC KAi??ln and SC Paderborn 07. Both sides are from North Rhine Westphalia, better known as the home of heavyweights Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen, but the similarity ends there. One is a Bundesliga stalwart, the other a total unknown; one hails from one of Germanyai??i??s largest, most cosmopolitan cities; the other from a town most have never heard of until now.

FC KAi??ln

Manager: Peter StAi??ger

FC KAi??ln are one of the Bundesligaai??i??s more storied sides: the first ever Bundesliga champions, the home club of Lukas Podolski and Harald Schumacher, and the unfortunate holders for the record for the longest goal drought in Bundesliga history (1034 minutesai??i??in 2001/2002). In recent years, however, they have consistently bounced between the first and second tiers. Returning to the top flight after a two-year absence, they will be hoping, once again, that they can turn this upward trend into a more permanent presence in the Bundesliga.

KAi??ln won the second tier comfortably last season, conceding only 20 goalsai??i??13 less than the next best defense. In 21-year-old Timo Horn, they boast a talented, home-grown goalkeeper who has won the Fritz Walter award for best young player alongside the likes of Mario GAi??tze and Emre Can. To shore up their defense for the top tier, theyai??i??ve brought in young Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas on loan. The 21-year-old Czech international played only two times for Jose Mourinhoai??i??s side last year, but was hugely impressive in both appearances. Making his Premier League debut in the crucial game against Liverpool at the end of the seasonai??i??forever remembered for Steven Gerrardai??i??s slipai??i??he was instrumental in frustrating Luis Suarez and the ferocious Liverpool attack. If he can do the same against the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus, FC KAi??lnai??i??s chances of staying up look much better.

On the other end of the pitch, KAi??ln have added Kaiserslauternai??i??s Simon Zoller, who scored 13 goals and set up another two in 28 games last season. He will join veteran Patrick Helmes in attack. Helmes, who has previously played for VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen, will bring Bundesliga experience and will hope to replicate his form from last season, which saw him score 12 goals and set up six. Unfortunately for KAi??ln, however, Kazuki Nagasawa, one of their best players last season, suffered a serious injury to his knee in pre-season training and is sidelined indefinitely.

SC Paderborn 07

Manager: AndrAi?? Breitenreiter

SC Paderborn shocked Germany when, on the last day of the season, they won promotion to the top flight for the first time in club history. A mid-size city of less than 150,000 inhabitants, Paderborn is located about 100km east of Dortmund and gets its name from Germanyai??i??s shortest river, the Pader, which is only about 4km long. Their stadium, the Benteler Arena, is the smallest in the Bundesliga, with about 15,000 seats, but boasts 1,900 bicycle parking spacesai??i??more than any other club by some distance. This is perhaps to make up for the fact that Friday evening matches are banned there due to neighborhood complaints.

While they stand a serious risk of becoming this seasonai??i??s Eintracht Braunschweig, Paderborn possess something last seasonai??i??s whipping boys lacked: goals. They scored 63 goals on their way to the top last yearai??i??the second highest in the second tierai??i??and in Mahir Saglik and Alban Meha have two potent attackers who will hope to replicate their form in the top flight. Meha, an Albanian international, scored 12 goals in 24 starts last year, while Saglik struck 15 times in 22 starts. Paderborn have also brought in Borussia Dortmund prospect Marvin Ducksch on loan to bolster the attacking options, and the young striker will be hungry to prove himself after finding minutes few and far between in JA?rgen Kloppai??i??s side.

Much of Paderbornai??i??s success last season was built on these clever loan signings from top-tier clubs. Importantly for their survival chances, theyai??i??ve managed to permanently the services of many of these loanees, especially striker Elias Kachunga from Borussia MAi??nchengladbach and central midfielder Marvin Bakalorz from Eintracht Frankfurt. These players fit well in manager AndrAi?? Breitenreiterai??i??s fast, attacking style, though it will be interesting to see if they maintain this mentality in the top flight, where many smaller teams sit deep against bigger sides.

Theyai??i??ll kick off their season against cash-heavy RB Leipzig in the first round of the DFB Pokal, and have as gentle a start as they could hope for in the Bundesliga, taking on Mainz, Hamburg, KAi??ln, and Hannover before taking on Bayern, Gladbach, and Leverkusen. The 53rd club to play in the Bundesliga, SC Paderborn face a stiff challenge to ensure that this wonai??i??t be a one-season wonder. Will they be more like Mainz and Augsburg or go down like Braunschweig and Greuther FA?rth?