BERLIN (AP) – Little-known Heidenheim has seemingly come out of nowhere to reach the Bundesliga, a remarkable success for a town of just 50,000 inhabitants in the south of Germany.
Two injury-time goals were enough for Frank Schmidt’s team to clinch promotion as second-division champion on Sunday.
Heidenheim will be the 57th team to play in the Bundesliga since the league’s formation in 1963.
Twenty years ago it was playing at fifth-tier level as part of Heidenheimer Sportbund, a local sports association that has 25 departments today including baseball, boxing, fencing, swimming, tennis and gymnastics.
The current-day football club Heidenheim was formed in 2007 when it separated from the Sportbund as a stand-alone entity under the auspices of the German football league.
Schmidt took over as coach that same year. He has since become the longest-serving coach in German professional football.
