From 5th Tier Football to European Football, The Story of FC Heidenheim
Everyone loves a football underdog story, and Heidenheim might be the best example of that in world football right now.
In the small city of Heidenheim, located in southern Germany with a population just shy of 50,000, a footballing dream has come to life. FC Heidenheim’s rise from the 5th tier of German football to competing in the Bundesliga is nothing short of remarkable. What started as a modest club with limited resources struggling to compete and be ambitious has defied the odds to reach Germany’s top flight, even taking a step into Europe. This week on Football Latest, we will dig into the story of how a club from a humble town took on the giants of German football, making one of the most exciting stories in football right now.
This story really begins with a player called Frank Schmidt, who joined Heidenheim in 2003 and was a successful defender and leader for the club for the following 4 years. In his first season, he captained them to promotion to the 4th division of German football, the highest tier that the club had ever been in. This commanded him instant and massive respect from players and fans alike, but nobody expected his or the club’s insane trajectory. In 2007, Schmidt decided to retire, but it would only be a few months time until he made a return to the club.
When the club became without a manager a few months after Schmidt decided to retire, they though his leadership skills that he had demonstrated with the club would be able to be transferred into being their manager. So only months after retirement, Frank Schmidt was back at Heidenheim, this time as their manager. In 2009, Schmidt secured Heidenheim promotion to the third tier of German football, taking his side officially into professional football for the first time in the club's history.
Despite not having the big money that other clubs in that division at the time, in 2014, Heidenheim won the 3rd division of German football ahead of big money RB Leipzig. At this time, Frank Schmidt was still Heidenheim’s manager in his 7th year of management at the club. After spending 9 more years fighting and competing in the 2nd division, Schmidt’s Heidenheim team found themselves on the final day of the 2022/23 season in 2nd place of the division, 3 points below league leaders Darmstadt and 1 point above Hamburg. Hamburg had beaten SV Sandhausen by 1 goal at this point, however, Heidenheim were losing 2-1 to Jahn Regensburg going into the 90th minute of their match. They needed two goals to win this match and secure automatic promotion after 9 years fighting in this division, and those two goals came in the most dramatic way possible: in the 93rd and 99th minute of this unbelievable game.
Heidenheim were officially promoted to the Bundesliga in 2023, meaning that as both manager and captain, Schmidt had taken his team from the 5th to the top tier of German football in 20 years, a ridiculous achievement for any club. As ridiculous as this is, most pundits and analysts thought that Heidenheim would go straight back down to the second division in the 2023/24 season, however, there was another chapter of the story that seemed completely inconceivable at the start of the season, which was instant qualification for Europe in their first season in the Bundesliga. They finished 8th place that season, qualifying for the Europa Conference League, with Schmidt becoming the longest tenured head coach of a single club in German football history. Right now, they have won both of their opening games in the competition, equal on points with billion pound club Chelsea.
This is probably the most exciting underdog story in world football right now, and the full story hasn't even been written yet. If you have enjoyed reading about it, then make sure to subscribe for free by entering your email below: