1. FC is on the verge of promotion to the Bundesliga: continuity is the recipe

If the first three places in the second Bundesliga were awarded according to sympathy points, Hamburger SV would have bad cards before the last day of the game. Darmstadt coach Torsten Lieberknecht, whose team has already been crowned champions, and Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt have repeatedly emphasized that they would love to climb the ladder together.

This is not only due to the fact that HSV coach Tim Walter presented himself rather rustically in the direct duels on the sidelines: Lieberknecht and Schmidt have known each other since the time when both played in the U-15 national team. Both are down-to-earth, empathetic people who don’t talk loudly. Of course, none of this changes anything about the starting position: In the event of a win or a draw, Heidenheim must hope that Sandhausen will win their last second division home game against HSV. If FCH wins against the Regensburgers who have already been relegated, all the arithmetic games are unnecessary: ​​Heidenheim would rise directly with the lilies, HSV would have to go into relegation.

Also in the opinion of many second division coaches, the two teams, as the most consistent and balanced teams, would also be the deserved climbers. Heidenheim allowed themselves an artificial break on the home straight, when they played 0-0 against Magdeburg and lost in Paderborn, before winning again last weekend: they won 1-0 against Sandhausen. Immediately after the final whistle, there was a strange atmosphere in the Heidenheim Arena.

Last year, the 14,300 spectators would have known after the 90 minutes whether this victory would mean promotion to the first division. But thanks to the decision by the DFL to split up the penultimate matchday this year in order to earn even more television money, the fans of the blue and red had to wait until late in the evening before the HSV win against Fürth also made it clear that only in Regensburg it is decided whether you are promoted directly or have to go into relegation.

In Heidenheim, they primarily focus on down-to-earthness

One expected such a season finish, said keeper Kevin Müller: “I think HSV would like to swap places with us”. And Tim Kleindienst, the designated top scorer with 24 goals, proved that even a fan of horror films can be a balanced, friendly person. “We took one of two important steps,” he said, smiling. The last one will be done on Sunday. That’s how coach Schmidt sees it: “If we do our thing, we don’t need to be interested in anything else.”

Everything seems to have been said about Schmidt. Born in Heidenheim, he grew up 500 meters from the stadium as the crow flies and has already played in the national league for the club (then Heidenheimer SB) that he coaches today. He has been the head coach there since 2007. Compared to the veteran from the Ostalb, Christian Streich (2012) is a rookie coach at SC Freiburg. It is striking that both clubs have had surprisingly lasting success with their recipe based on continuity. In the case of 1. FCH, this season can be broken down into a few superlatives: They have the third-best offensive and the second-best defensive (behind co-promoted Darmstadt) in the league, Heidenheim is the strongest team at home, has the best goal difference and in Kleindienst the Top scorers (24 goals so far).

Up to 5,000 fans of the club from the city of 49,000 will now be in Regensburg. The actual guest block has been sold out for weeks. So everything would be prepared for a lavish ascent celebration. All you have to do is win.