Last chance saloon - Heidenheim still hoping ahead of Bayern clash

Sometimes all it takes is a little spark to reignite the fire. As precarious as 1. FC Heidenheim’s position is going into the final three matchdays of this Bundesliga season, coach Frank Schmidt is doing everything he can to stop the last glimmer of belief from going out. “We need to achieve something extraordinary in Munich now,” said the 52-year-old ahead of the meeting with FC Bayern on Saturday afternoon. And then he recalled an experience that allows the flickers of Heidenheim hope to burn brighter again. “We’ve done that once before, though.”

He was referring to the DFB Cup quarter-final in 2019, when the Baden-Württemberg club pulled off a stunning 5-4 win at the Allianz Arena. That shock might be ancient history in a sporting sense, but it nevertheless provides Heidenheim with a blueprint for playing in Munich. Schmidt’s side are looking to perform with a similar mentality this time, although the league table is clearly against them. With three rounds left, FCH are heading for relegation from the top flight after two years. 15th place, currently occupied by Hamburger SV with a nine-point advantage and significantly better goal difference, is practically out of reach. Four points separate the basement boys from FC St. Pauli in the play-off place. Now they face none other than the newly crowned German champions in Munich – the task could not be much harder. 

A 2-0 win over rivals St. Pauli last weekend kept Heidenheim’s slim chances of survival alive – and also meant a first clean sheet of the campaign. “It was a really good team performance,” praised goalkeeper Diant Ramaj. “The boys really worked their socks off.” With the team already written off by some, captain Patrick Mainka and Co have played without pressure recently and collected eight points from the last five encounters. After battling to draws against Bayer Leverkusen (3-3) and at Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-2), the 3-1 win at home to Union Berlin provided a boost. The form in recent weeks has provided a little spark to keep the flicker of hope burning.

Schmidt has also made personnel and tactical changes to inject new impetus. Be it 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2 or 5-3-2, the formation has regularly switched. Captain Mainka anchors the defence in front of Ramaj, normally flanked by Jonas Föhrenbach in recent weeks. It’s quite likely that the successful back five against St. Pauli will start again at the Allianz Arena. That would mean Jan Schöppner, who normally plays in midfield alongside ex-Bayern man Niklas Dorsch, dropping into defence again. Julian Niehues is also an option in midfield, while Marnon Busch and Hennes Behrens have established themselves in the wide positions. In attack, Schmidt has the likes of Bayern loanee Arijon Ibrahimovic, Marvin Pieringer, Mathias Honsak and Budu Zivzivadze to pick from. The top scorer is striker Stefan Schimmer with five goals, although he’s often used from the bench.

Whatever the exact line-up, Heidenheim will try their best to avoid the looming trapdoor to the second division. However, if they lose at the Allianz Arena and St. Pauli then win at home to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Sunday afternoon, the dream of survival will be over. But as long as it’s mathematically possible, Schmidt and his team want to cling on to the hope that this spark might yet turn into a fire.