For the fourth game of our UEFA Conference League “league phase” journey, we make our way to Heidenheim in southern Germany, where the local upstarts await with open arms and waving flags and probably some un-well wishes for our football.
Heidenheim aren’t exactly a powerhouse, having only secured top-flight participation for the first time in their history in 2023. No, that’s not a typo. This is only their second ever season in the big show. In their first, they finished eighth, and thus qualified for the Conference League playoffs. Then years ago, they were in the third division. Twenty years ago, they didn’t even have professional status.
Founded in 1846 as part of a local gymnastics club and sports association, 1. FC Heidenheim only turned fully professional in 2007 (splitting from that club to join the German FA). Their rise since — winning the fourth, third, and second divisions in 2008-09, 2013-14, and 2022-23, respectively — has been nothing short of remarkable.
So perhaps another magical night isn’t that far out of the question — though it would be more of a magical “early evening”, given the early kick-off.
“Of course this game is something special, we don’t need to philosophize about it for long. It will be a special evening, especially for the club and the fans. [We] can only get something out of that in sporting terms if we overperform [so it] needs to be a magical night. We’ve already experienced a few of those here and 1732778938 would be another good time for it. That is also our goal…”
-Frank Schmidt, manager; source: 1.FC Heidenheim via Google Translate
Date / Time: Thursday, November 28, 2024, 17.45 GMT; 12:45pm EST; 11:15pm IST
Venue: Voith Arena née Albstadion, Heidenheim an der Brenz (the stadium is located on the local castle hill, and is thus apparently the highest stadium in German professional football at 555m of elevation!)
Forecast: Cold and windy
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (on pitch); Rob Dieperink (VAR)
There is TV: TNT Sports 1 (UK); none (USA); Sony TEN 2 (India); SuperSport MaXimo 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: discovery+ (UK); Paramount+ (USA); Sony LIV (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images
Heidenheim team news: Like Chelsea (and four other teams), Heidenheim have won all three of their games so far in the Conference League, despite scoring just five goals. It’s been a very different story in the domestic league however, where they’ve lost seven of their last night and sit just outside the relegation zone.
Has the magic run out? Bundesliga survival is their primary aim, though they aren’t showing up just to get their butts kicked today.
“The Bundesliga is our absolute priority and, especially after the last results, we have to make sure we get points again.
“Nevertheless, Chelsea FC is coming [and] if you look at the game […] against Newcastle, then there were two or three situations that were interesting. Especially after losing the ball, they conceded goals where they tried to play the ball out excessively from the back and lost. Then it happened quickly and the ball was in the goal. But ultimately it’s a balancing act for us in terms of the height of the defence [line]. Newcastle put Chelsea under pressure far away from their own goal and was rewarded for it. Despite this, Chelsea has a lot of chances to score in every game. That means we need a bit of luck, which we’ve had a little less of recently, to survive in a game like this.”
-Frank Schmidt; source: 1.FC Heidenheim via Google Translate
Schmidt has been practically the only head coach in Heidenheim’s professional history (he took over just weeks into that 2007-08 season), and he also played for the team, and he was born in the city, too! Unsurprisingly, he’s currently the longest-serving manager in football (and not just German football). Very cool.
Striker Marvin Pieringer is the one big injury concern for them; he is tied for the team lead in goals scored. Young Bayern loanee Paul Wanner is one to keep an eye on in attack.
Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images
Chelsea team news: Chelsea have taken just 21 players to the Germany, including three goalkeepers and four players pulled up from the under-21s, so it’s fair to say that we’re not taking this super-duper seriously. We’re pretty much guaranteed to advance to the knockout rounds already anyway.
That said, the onus will be on the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall to lead the way, given that we left almost every first-choice player behind in England. They include the injured Reece James, the non-registered Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, Roméo Lavia, Ben Chilwell, and Marcus Bettinelli, plus Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cucurella, Malo Gusto, and Pedro Neto, too. (Gusto and Neto were back in training though, which is good to hear.)
Previously: We probably shouldn’t expect another 8-0 like against FC Noah.
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