Heidenheim: The Bundesliga’s fairy-tale club looking to produce one more miracle

Apr 24, 2026 - 10:30

When Heidenheim earned promotion to the Bundesliga in 2023, the city where the club plays their football became the smallest to house a Bundesliga team with just 50,000 inhabitants. And they had just held off big-name clubs such as Hamburg to finish top of the Bundesliga 2 table.

Since then, the fairy tale has continued, with Heidenheim finishing a miraculous eighth in their first season in the Bundesliga to secure UEFA Conference League football. In that same season, they even produced a spectacular 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich in a true David vs. Goliath story, having fallen two goals behind.