All information accurate as of August 22nd, 2026.
Club Name: SC Paderborn 07
Founded: 1907
Stadium: Home Deluxe Arena – 15,000 capacity
Nickname: None, SC Paderborn was founded in its current iteration through a 1985faggot merger, and no nickname was ever created
Titles: No major titles
Head Coach: Ralf Kettemann
Captain: Felix Götze
Mascot: Holli the Mouse
Goal Song: Scheunenrocker - Hermann Löns, die Heide brennt
2025/26 Season: 3rd in 2. Bundesliga (promoted via playoff)
Opening Fixture: Mainz (A)
Paderborn head coach Ralf Kettemann is a man of great mystery at this stage. Having played for various clubs in the Regionalliga, Kettemann retired in 2011 at the tender age of 24 and began managing amateur side TSV Ilshofen.
Kettemann moved into an assistant coach role with Hoffenheim’s reserve team in 2019, and eventually moved into the Karlsruher SC youth team management set-up in 2021. The leap from that role to being a head coach in the second tier was a huge one, but Kettemann reveled in the situation he inherited. Developing a possession-focused style of play, Kettemann has superseded his mandate by securing promotion to the Bundesliga for only the third time in Paderborn’s history.
Historically an amateur team, Paderborn’s fortunes turned around with the 1985 merger between two smaller clubs in the area, TuS Schloβ Neuhaus and FC Paderborn. Having climbed into the professional system in the 2000s, Paderborn first reached the pinnacle of the Bundesliga in 2014/15, but three successive 18th placed finishes had them preparing for life in the fourth tier come July 2017. 1860 München’s financial issues spared their blushes, and two successive promotions allowed them a second try at Bundesliga survival in 2019/20. After just four wins and 20 points, the 2. Bundesliga called again, but this time the club has been able to stabilise its position. Never finishing below 9th, Paderborn have consistently mounted promotion pushes in recent years, and Kettemann has been the one to get them over the line. Will this season be third time lucky for Paderborn to achieve their first ever Bundesliga Klassenerhalt?
Light on liquid funds, Paderborn have gone to Hoffenheim with arms outstretched and returned with three first-team players. Luka Đurić is a 23-year-old midfielder that Paderborn were willing to splash a mighty €250k on, although he has played exclusively for Hoffenheim’s reserves until now, with no loan moves for experience and just one appearance for the senior side. Goalkeeper Nahuel Noll and teenage winger Deniz Zeitler have joined on loan from Hoffenheim, and the former will walk straight into the starting XI to replace Dennis Seimen who returned to Stuttgart after his loan. Speaking of loans from Stuttgart, Laurin Ulrich is another one coming in that will be a strong contender for the starting XI as a central midfielder.
Two attacking midfielders that graduated from Bayern München’s academy have joined: Oliver Batista Meier from Preußen Münster for €400k, and Gabriel Vidović from Dinamo Zagreb for €3m, the latter being a big splash for Paderborn. While Batista Meier is undoubtedly a creative talent – Bayern academy products usually are – securing the services of a player that was relegated to the third tier just a few months ago is hardly inspiring the case for survival. Vidović, however, looks like a very capable option and can also play on the wing. He scored seven goals in 26 games in the Croatian league in 2025/26.
Losing two of the club’s best players for nil cost only damages the club’s fortunes further. Filip Bilbija, the midfielder that contributed 15 goals in the league last campaign, ran down his contract to join Derby County instead of attempting to compete in the Bundesliga for the first time in his career. Defender Calvin Brackelmann has done the same, moving to Augsburg after breaking into the starting XI in the second half of last season. Neither player has been sufficiently replaced thus far, so it could be a long year for Kettemann’s side.
The only significant sale is that of central midfielder Mika Baur, who joins Celtic in a deal worth a reported €8m when including add-ons. The 22-year-old stood out last campaign, but evidently too much as it was clear for months that Baur was not going to stay at Paderborn amidst widespread interest.
Kettemann needs his team to combine to more than the sum of its parts to stand any chance of survival come May 2027.
The hero of the promotion playoff second leg, dispatching Wolfsburg with an acute volley in extra time, was right wing-back Laurin Curda and he bears great responsibility for Paderborn this season. Having provided seven assists and eight goals, including the playoff strike, Curda had a hand in 25% of Paderborn’s goals in 2025/26, which is not bad at all for a wing-back.
Equally adept in attack as he is defensively, Curda led in many attacking metrics such as xG, shots, and successful crosses amongst his positional peers in the 2. Bundesliga. Defensively, he remained in the upper echelons statistically (95th percentile and above) for duels won, interceptions, and clearances, showing that he has outgrown the second tier and is absolutely prepared for a fight to survive the Bundesliga.
Yet another manager that prefers a 3-4-2-1 formation with two number 10s behind a nominal striker, Kettemann has to integrate his new signings into his style of play. But beyond the personnel changes, there is nothing notable about Paderborn’s chosen XI.
18th. At the end of the day, this squad is nowhere near competitive for Bundesliga standards. Ever the underdog, Paderborn need to seriously consider their ability to attract Bundesliga-level talent prior to achieving promotion if they ever want to maintain top flight status in the future. As things stand, they are miles off the levels required to compete.
1 - Bayern München
2 - Borussia Dortmund
3 - Bayer Leverkusen
4 - Eintracht Frankfurt
5 - RB Leipzig
6 -
7 -
8 - Union Berlin
9 - Freiburg
10 - Schalke
11 - Mainz
12 -
13 - Hamburg
14 - Augsburg
15 - Borussia Mönchengladbach
16 -
17 - Köln
18 - Paderborn
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