Thesis: An Austrian Coach Leads His Club into the Champions League

Jonas Pamperl:

I don't know when the roles have ever been so clearly distributed in recent years. Yes, Bayern will be champions - and not even by a narrow margin.

The question, related to the Bundesliga, is rather: What record will they break next? The goal record was pulverized last season with 21 goals, the offensive trio collectively achieved 104 scorer points, etc.

The chances are good this year that Bayern will remain unbeaten for an entire Bundesliga season. This would make them the second club after Leverkusen.

Even with an injury crisis, I see no chance for the record champions to be caught. Whether the season will be a success depends anyway on their performance in the Champions League.

Florian Gabriel:

Even though I would gladly argue against it for the sake of league excitement, I lack any arguments. Bayern's offense is unstoppable within the league and is unrivaled in Europe.

In recent years, especially due to Bayer Leverkusen's phenomenal season under Xabi Alonso, there was the impression that the gap between the record champions and the competition was shrinking.

However, since Vincent Kompany took the helm in Munich, this gap has become as wide as it hasn't been in a long time.

First place in the Bundesliga is therefore already decided before the opening match. The battle for the Champions League spots will be exciting. This year, many teams like Dortmund, Leverkusen, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and perhaps Frankfurt will compete for the top 4.

Florian Gabriel:

In a "normal season," two of the four possible CL spots are already taken by FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. That leaves only two tickets – and several teams, including Leverkusen, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and Frankfurt, are fighting for them.

Among the Austrian coaches, Christian Ilzer with TSG has the best chances. Last season, they missed fourth place by only one point, and Andreas Schicker has once again worked thoroughly on the squad over the summer.

The problem, however, is less the quality of TSG than that of the competition: I see Stuttgart another step above Hoffenheim.

And Leverkusen and Leipzig also have individually better teams in my opinion. However, both clubs have undergone another major upheaval. Furthermore, their coaches Carles Martinez and Martin Demichelis, respectively, are still inexperienced in the league. This could be an opportunity for the well-established Hoffenheim side.

For Adi Hütter and Eintracht, a CL qualification would probably border on a masterstroke. Last year, the club had its problems, they lost an important defender in Brown, and the new signings are more a promise for the future than for immediate CL participation.

Jonas Pamperl

As Flo correctly described, the first three places are probably taken. However, I cannot completely rule out this thesis.

This is partly due to Ilzer and the good work he's doing in Sinsheim. Despite the triple burden, I trust Hoffenheim to surpass last season's performance. And who knows: maybe the German clubs will even perform so well internationally that a fifth CL spot emerges. And I certainly trust Ilzer's team to reach fifth place.

For Hütter's Eintracht, an international starting spot with the current squad and the mixed preparation would already be a success. I don't expect SGE to even get a sniff of the CL places here.

Hence my hot take: At least one Austrian will make it into the Champions League – and that will be with Leipzig. I don't think much of Martin Demichelis; he will be dismissed during the current season. Then Oliver Glasner, who also gets shown the door by Evangelos Marinakis, will take over. And the former successful Palace coach will then lead the "Red Bulls" into the "Champions League".

Jonas Pamperl:

I have to disagree there. While Paderborn's chances are probably marginal, Elversberg could very well manage to stay up.

Heidenheim recently showed how smoothly the first season of a newly promoted team can go. The new signings Francis Onyedika, Noel Futkeu, and Luca Sirch look promising.

Even in the 2. Bundesliga, SVE showed that they can do more with limited resources.

Additionally, two established teams, Union Berlin and Werder Bremen, could slip into the relegation zone. I expect the third promoted team, Schalke 04 with Miron Muslic, to have a – relatively – calm promotion year. Or at least I hope so.

Florian Gabriel:

Promoted teams are usually the top favorites for immediate relegation in their first year. Yet, in the end, it often hits completely different teams: Or who would have thought at the beginning of last season that VfL Wolfsburg would be relegated to the second division?

I believe, similar to Jonas, that only one promoted team will be relegated in the end: I also most expect Paderborn to be that team. Schalke is too experienced, and Elversberg has developed strongly.

For me, among the established forces, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Köln will primarily be found in the relegation battle.

Florian Gabriel:

I would undoubtedly wish it for him. Christoph Baumgartner was last season, alongside Yan Diomande, who moved to Real Madrid for 135 million euros, the outstanding player at RB Leipzig. With 13 goals and nine assists in 33 league games, he was the "Red Bulls'" top scorer.

However, his severe thigh injury, which cost him the World Cup, will likely keep him sidelined for large parts of the first half of the season. A comeback before November is probably not realistic. And even then, the attacking player will likely be brought back into match rhythm slowly rather than quickly.

For "Baumi," the main priority is to regain his form. Because when he has it, he is indispensable for both Leipzig and the ÖFB team.

To answer the thesis: Yes, I believe he will achieve the most scorer points among all ÖFB legionnaires. Baumgartner will still score in double digits in 2026/27, whether there are many other Austrians who can achieve that remains to be seen. Hot candidates: new Hoffenheim signing Patrick Wimmer, Konrad Laimer, and Michael Gregoritsch.

Jonas Pamperl:

First and foremost, one can only wish "Baumi" as successful a return as possible. But if he only returns in November, he will – firstly – not be at 100 percent immediately, and – secondly – he will have already missed a third of the Bundesliga season.

That's why I'll just say now: He will not be the ÖFB's top scorer in the German top flight this season.

In my opinion, the best candidate for this is Konny Laimer, who incredibly contributed to twelve goals as a right-back last season. I rate Bayern even stronger, so why shouldn't Laimer also be able to improve?

Gregoritsch should also not be underestimated; he achieved nine scorer points in just 17 Bundesliga matches in 2025/26. "Gregerl" was quite efficient and largely a regular starter. Although he also starts the new season as a regular, Rodrigo Ribeiro (who now joined permanently for 5 million from Sporting) is chomping at the bit behind him – I expect him to get more and more minutes as the season progresses.