SC Paderborn 2025/26 season preview: Is Kettemann the right man to finish Kwasniok's project? | OneFootball

Since 2017, there have been only two coaches at the helm of Paderborn. However, like they did with Steffen Baumgart back in 2021, Köln succeeded in pursuing Lukas Kwasniok as they prepare for their comeback to Bundesliga.

The Polish-born coach couldn’t achieve a promotion to Bundesliga with Paderborn. However, his attack-minded playing style provided the side from North Rhine-Westphalia a great platform to build on for the future.

How was their 2024/25?

And, he was close to matching Baumgart’s feat of leading the club into the promised land last season. After a rollercoaster 5-3 win over Kaiserslautern, Paderborn climbed to third in the standings with only a couple of months left in the season.

What followed was disappointing, both on and off the pitch. First, they slipped into seventh following three successive defeats. The results improved after that, but Kwasniok announced he’ll be leaving for the Billy Goats after the end of the season.

The fourth-placed finish was the best return in his four-year spell at the Home Deluxe Arena, but they clearly had the potential to do one better. It's now the responsibility of an inexperienced coach to build on that promise for the 2025/26 campaign.

The Coach

That man is the 38-year-old Ralf Kettemann. His only managerial experience in first-team football will take us back to the 2018/19 season, where he was a player-coach at TSV Ilshofen … in the fifth-tier.However, he had an impressive campaign last time out in his fourth and last season with Karlsruhe U19. They reached the quarter-final of the German championship after topping their groups in the first two rounds, and he also helped them to a first DFB-Junioren-Vereinspoka final appearance in nearly two decades. Still, the challenge will be a lot different in 2. Bundesliga.

Transfers

If you look at Paderbon’s transfer activity, it’s clear to see the influence of Kettemann. They’ve signed four players in total from the youth teams of Freiburg (2), Hannover and Wolfsburg. It was also visible from their marquee signing.

Lucas Copaldo, who is the nephew of Hasan Salihamidzic, had a fruitful season on loan at 3. Liga side Energie Cottbus last season. Paderborn signed the 21-year-old on a permanent basis from LASK for an undisclosed fee.

The other marquee transfers are the loan deal to bring the 19-year-old goalkeeper Dennis Seimen from VfB Stuttgart and the free transfer of Nick Bätzner. The former Wehen Wiesbaden winger was one of the only two players who had double-figure assists in 3. Liga last term.

Paderborn’s new #9 will hope to fill the void left by the departure of Aaron Zehnter, who had 12 assists in 2. Bundesliga last term. Paderborn earned close to €10 million from the transfers of Zehnter (Wolfsburg) and Ilyas Ansah (Union Berlin) to Bundesliga clubs.

Pre-season preparations

Paderborn concluded their test games for the new season with a narrow home defeat (2-3) to the newly-promoted Premier League club Leeds United. Before that, they beat fellow 2. Bundesliga side Hannover 4-3 in a 180-minute friendly, which gave both teams a chance to see every player for a full 90 minutes.

Predicted XI

Seimen; Scheller, Götze ©, Brackelmann; Curda, Castañeda, Engelns, Obermair; Bätzner, Bilbija, Copado

Kettemann only used 16 players in last Saturday’s final friendly, however. As things stand, there will not be much change from last season’s team. Seimen, who was playing 3. Liga football with Stuttgart II last term, will be the starting goalkeeper. Bätzner and Copado are the other new faces in Paderborn’s projected lineup.

There is a change of guard, though. Kettemann took away the captain’s armband from Raphael Obermair to give it to Felix Götze. The younger brother of the 2014 World Cup final hero only joined the club a year ago.

Fixture list

Paderborn will be involved in one of the standout 2. Bundesliga fixtures of the opening weekend. Holstein Kiel are their guests at the Home Deluxe Arena after their immediate return to Zweite. Their first away game will be against SC Preußen Münster, who avoided relegation against the odds last time out.

Their final two games of the season will see them face Karlsruhe and Darmstadt right after a clash against Elversberg, who nicked the playoff spot off of them last season.

Expectations & Prediction

Despite the managerial change, Paderborn will start the new season with a chunk of their last season's squad still at the club. It’s hard to know what to expect from the young coach, but they’ll surely aim to stay around the top once again. The excitement is still palpable at one of the well-run German clubs.