That’s how the past season went
Seventh place was the best position for Aue since 2011. At home, the Saxons acted as strong as a bear. 37 points were scored because even the promoted Bielefeld could not come close. Only two teams were better. The highlights included a spectacular 4: 3 against 1. FC Nürnberg, one of the most exciting games of the season in league two, and a 3: 0 over Hamburger SV. As well as it went at home, it went just as badly outside of the Ore Mountains. Aue was a welcome guest. The “Veilchen” only managed to win on the first and last day of the match. In between there were 15 long games without a threesome.
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Overall, the season in Lößnitz Valley was calm: After starting with two wins and the unusual kicking of the current Braunschweig trainer Daniel Meyer, Aue was quickly in a safe area. At the “half-time of the season” you could even look up from sixth place. Stuttgart in third was only four points away. The second half, however, was moderate. The Schuster-Elf got only two points more than relegated Dresden – and only thanks to a lucky win in Regensburg. Otherwise you would have ended up on the relegation place in the second half of the season.
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Who is coming, who is going?
Three central defenders left the club: Jacob Rasmussen (AC Florence), Marko Mihojevic (PAOK Saloniki) and Dominik Wydra (Braunschweig). The Dane Rasmussen had a market value of 2.8 million euros at “Transfermarkt” in April 2020, at Mihojevic, according to “Kicker”, Aue is said to have had a purchase option of 800,000 euros – too much for the FCE, not just because of Corona. Left-back Dennis Kempe (Wehen Wiesbaden) and center forward Matthias Daferner (Dynamo Dresden) also left. The contract with left-footed Robert Herrmann was surprisingly canceled. The “Veilchen” awarded him to third division Kickers Würzburg. There he struck, got twelve points scorer in 31 games and even rose to the 2nd division.
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Especially in defense, the club reacted to the departures and brought in center-back Florian Ballas and left-back Gaetan Bussmann (EA Guingamp / FRA). Ballas was most recently the captain of the second division relegated Dynamo Dresden and is now the third former kicker of the Saxon arch-rival after Sören Gonther and Pascal Testroet, who were once retired from SGD. Coach Dirk Schuster wanted to bring the ex-Mainz Bussmann to Darmstadt three years ago. What he values about the 29-year-old Frenchman is his flexibility. Aue signed the Bosnian Ognjen Gnjatic (Korona Kielce / POL) for the defensive midfield. Curious: the 28-year-old has not yet scored a single goal in 227 competitive games. At Aue, the youngest newcomer is responsible for this anyway: After the bitter DFB-Pokal-Aus at the regional league team Ulm, Saxony brought Ben Zolinski, an attacker from Bundesliga relegated SC Paderborn. He contributed nine goals in 32 games to their first division promotion in 2019. Last season he made 28 appearances (three goals).
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The trainer
After the talents Domenico Tedesco, Hannes Drews and Daniel Meyer, the Saxons relied on an experienced returnee from August 2019: Dirk Schuster is a “child of the East”. Born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, at the age of 52 he is not only the oldest second division coach, but also one of the most experienced with over 600 games as a player and coach alongside Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt. His style of play is similar to how he was once a defensive player in Cologne and Karlsruhe, among others: combative, aggressive, strong in duels and defensive. After Aue – see the home balance – no competitor drove with pleasure last season.
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What critics accuse him, however, is a certain one-dimensionality. When Aue is back, just to be seen again at the cup failure in Ulm, then the team lacks a “plan B” with a playful approach. This is especially noticeable when you are away. There is a lack of creativity, speed and power. FC Erzgebirge prefers to react with a shift game and like to leave the action to the opponent.
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The goals
Seventh place was a remarkable placement for Aue. But they cannot be measured by this. Because of Corona, they are driving a tough austerity course in the Ore Mountains, the players grumbled at announced salary cuts. This course is a sporty risk, but financially indispensable. Managing directors Michael Voigt and boss Helge Leonhardt only spend what they have. There is no place for hara-kiri.
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The whereabouts of the new U21 national striker Florian Krüger is not yet entirely certain, who would bring the Auern a nice sum, but also sporting worry lines. If he or technician Jan Hochscheidt, whose knee hurts again and again, coughs, Aue will quickly develop pneumonia.
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In the fifteenth year of the second division, the “Gallic village” Aue is once again about staying up. Dreams of the Bundesliga, as they were appropriate after the successful preliminary round of the preseason, are far away at the club, which as BSG Wismut Aue belonged to the GDR Oberliga between 1951 and 1990 and thus set the record. The cup defeat in Ulm seriously disturbed the anticipation for the season. In view of this, a difficult opening program and a small and old squad, there is more fear of the last second division bastion in the East.
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