Could there be a shock after 20 years at the same club? Long-serving manager Frank Schmidt hints at a major surprise

"To be perfectly honest, I still feel a burning desire to prove that I can succeed elsewhere. Perhaps abroad. Or I might open a tapas bar in Mallorca," Schmidt told Bild.

The football coach, who took charge at Heidenheim in autumn 2007—first on an interim basis, then permanently—did not provide further details.

First, though, came the fight against relegation. "We have to win. Full stop. That's it. Football can be that simple," Schmidt told reporters before Heidenheim's away trip to 1. FC Köln on Sunday.

No sooner said than done: Schmidt's side travelled to Cologne and returned with a 3-1 victory, climbing off the foot of the table for the first time in months. The win marked Schmidt's 100th Bundesliga match in charge of FCH.

The FCH now heads into the season finale level on points with FC St. Pauli and VfL Wolfsburg. Heidenheim host 1. FSV Mainz, while Wolfsburg and St. Pauli meet in Hamburg. A win, coupled with the right result in the other game, could still propel Schmidt's side into the relegation play-off berth. That outcome would be…?

"Staying up would be a miracle. But what kind of person wouldn't believe in that?" Schmidt told Bild. "I'm a Christian, a Protestant. But not an ultra, if I may use football terminology."

Schmidt has guided Heidenheim from the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg to the Regionalliga Süd and then to the 3. Liga, where the club secured promotion to the 2. Liga at the fifth attempt.

After one play-off setback, the club finally reached the Bundesliga as champions at the ninth attempt. In their debut season they finished eighth, securing a spot in the Conference League, and then preserved their top-flight status last term via the play-offs against SV Elversberg.