The start of the 2013/14 campaign in 2.Bundesliga was certainly one to forget for SC Paderborn. Stephan Schmidt had been sacked, with Rene Muller taking temporary charge. After a lacklustre 12th placed finish the previous campaign, Andre Breitenreiter had been brought in, in the hope that he would change the fortunes of the club, but after just two victories in Paderborn's opening nine matches, they were in 16th place, and another season of disappointment and scathing off relegation appeared to be in store. Four of those first nine games ended in defeat. They would suffer only another four defeats for the rest of the season. Consistency and a fantastic run of form saw the side from North Rhine-Westphalia shoot up the table and secure themselves a remarkable first ever promotion to the Bundesliga; only Koln denied them being champions. They were the second-best goalscorers (only Furth, who finished 3rd, were better in attack) and despite not having the greatest of defences, their ability to get results ultimately got them up.
At the start of this season, unsurprisingly, Paderborn were almost everybody's favourites to be the Bundesliga basement boys; a season to forget, but one in which the fans could enjoy the experience of welcoming the likes of Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen to the Benteler Arena. Yet their extraordinary rise to the top has seen them rise to the summit. Four games into their debut top-flight season, Paderborn top the Bundesliga. Yes Hoffenheim, Mainz and champions Bayern all too have eight points, yet Paderborn's better goal difference highlights what they need to do to survive against Germany's best: goals up front and a tight defence. Elias Kachunga took the honour of scoring Paderborn's first-ever Bundesliga goal, and has gone on to score twice more. If he finds the back of the net on a regular basis, and if Lukas Kruse can keep his sheet clean more times than not, Paderborn will survive with ease. Let's remember that Paderborn could be in an even better position on 10 points (had Mainz's Ja-Cheol Koo not put away an injury-time spot-kick on Matchday One).
They arrived as the unknown, with the underdog mentality, but they well and truly have began with a bang. Yet Paderborn's start provides a sense of deja-vu. A Bundesliga first-timer sending shockwaves through the league? Look at Hoffenheim in 2008/09. With a strikeforce consisting of Vedad Ibisevic, Demba Ba and Chinedu Obasi, Hoffenheim became Herbstmeister (Autumn champions if you're German isn't so good). Injuries swept the all-out attacking side, including to Ibisevic; a serious knee injury ending his season early, having scored 18 goals in the first-half of the campaign. They went twelve games without a win, and eventually finished in 7th position, as the deadly duo of Grafite and Edin Dzeko inspired Wolfsburg to their first Bundesliga title. Although that campaign ended in frustration and the usual "What ifs?", Hoffenheim had arrived and had certainly left their mark.
Now Paderborn are in a similar position, and if they somehow manage to replicate what Hoffenheim did, it would be an even more baffling fairytale. Let's not forget, Hoffenheim got financial backing in their rise through the German league system. Paderborn have been in no such position. Becoming Herbstmeister is still a highly unlikely scenario, and the aim is still ultimately to survive. They now face their first daunting test: how about a visit to champions Bayern? They also face Gladbach and Leverkusen before the next international break. But would it really be a surprise if Paderborn managed to cause more shocks? This is the Bundesliga after all, where unpredictability is its second name. Whatever happens over the next few weeks, and for the rest of the campaign, Paderborn are here to stay. And they are here to compete and beat the best.