Plaques of honour with hearts as a farewell to SV Heimstetten. © Patrik Stäbler
Seven players and the coach say goodbye to SV Heimstetten: The relegated team from the regional league is facing a major upheaval.
Heimstetten – If you want to know how big the upheaval at SV Heimstetten will be in the summer, you only need to look at the sidelines before the last game of the season of the relegated Regionalliga. Because there were no less than eight framed jerseys leaning against the board - for seven players and a coach, all of whom draw a line after this season.
The outgoing coach is Christoph Schmitt, who will be replaced by his assistant Roman Langer, but will remain with SVH as sporting director. In this role, Schmitt is also responsible for squad planning, which is "a big challenge" in view of the many departures, as the 37-year-old admits.
Because the outgoing kickers are by no means only supplementary players, but also several top performers. For example, Emre Tunc, the team's second-best scorer this season with seven goals, who is drawn to Türkgücü Munich. Also painful for SVH is the loss of central defender Jasper Maljojoki, who leaves the relegated club as well as ex-Rosenheim player Alexis Fambo.
Sam Zander, who has made 28 appearances this season – even one more than Yannick Günzel – also says goodbye. The 26-year-old defender, who was once trained in the youth of FC Bayern Munich, has been playing for SVH since 2018 and is now taking a break from football. Meanwhile, reserve goalkeeper Moritz Knauf is moving to FC Deisenhofen, junior Ben Biton is moving to the USA, and striker Florian Roggermeier, who is on loan from Unterhaching, will no longer play for Heimstetten.
This large number of departures alone will force SVH to be active in the transfer market during the summer break. Three new additions have already been confirmed, says Schmitt, who does not want to name any names yet. "And I hope that one or two more will be added in the next few days." In addition, the personnel upheaval also represents an opportunity for those "who have not played so often so far," says the coach. He emphasizes: "We are confident that we will be able to put together a strong squad for next season despite the many departures."