Who Is Hoffenheim?
Bundesliga Surprise Has Big Plans, Sparks Memories of Kaiserslautern
Oct 19, 2008
A glance at the leaderboard in the German Bundesliga features a name many football fans have never heard off - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The club from the tiny town of about 3,300 residents near Mannheim has stormed through the German soccer system. But its goals are not lofty for this season - its first in the top flight.
SAP Co-Founder Hopp Helps Former Club
Dietmar Hopp - a co-founder of SAP, the world's fourth-largest software manufacturer - has supported his childhood club financially since 1990. But in 2005 Hopp decided to increase his backing immensely and the club became much more professional.
From Third Division To Bundesliga in Two Seasons
Coach Ralf Rangnick, who led Schalke to second place in the Bundesliga and the German Cup final in 2005 and coached first division teams in Stuttgart and Hannover, was hired in 2006 to lead the team in the third league - the Regionalliga. Hoffenheim directly earned promotion to the second division in Rangnick's first season by finishing second. In 2008, Rangnick guided his team to a second-place finish in the second division, securing promotion from the Regionalliga to the Bundesliga in just two seasons.
High-Scoring, Quick Start Sparks Enthusiasm
Rangnick's 2008-09 team won its first two games and five games all told along with a draw for a league-best 16 points going into action Sunday. And the promoted side has done it with an offensive style which has produced at least three goals in four games - including three of the last four. The key has been Bosnian Vedad Ibisevic, who has tallied a league-best nine goals while fellow attacker Demba Ba of Senegal has added five and Bosnian midfielder Sejad Salihovic four goals.
Praise From Others
And Hoffenheim has impressed its opponents. Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf, whose team needed to score five goals to win 5-4 at home, told the German sports magazine Kicker following the game on September 27: "I think they can play for one of the international spots. They are really playing a style which gets noticed."
Hoffenheim Remains Grounded
Rangnick, however, does not want to hear any talk about international play next season. His goal remains staying as far away from the relegation zone as possible - currently 11 points better than Energie Cottbus. "We do not consider ourselves a contender. And there is no reason to bring in extra pressure," the coach told Kicker following Saturday's 5-2 win at Hannover. In fact, four of Hoffenheim's five wins have come against teams ranked 12th or lower in the standings. And they have only collected one point in games versus Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart.
Kaiserslautern Comparison Unavoidable
As much as Rangnick wants to avoid the talk, it remains impossible in Germany not to think about Kaiserslautern's magical first season back in the Bundesliga in 1997-98 when legendary coach Otto Rehhagel led the promoted Lautern to the Bundesliga title - the first time a promoted side won the league crown. According to Kicker, seven promoted teams have secured a spot in Europe the following season since the beginning of the Bundesliga in 1963 -Hannover (1964-65), Bayern Munich (1965-66), Wuppertal (1972-73), Stuttgart (1977-78), Werder Bremen (1981-82), Bochum (1996-97) and Rehhagel's Kaiserslautern (1997-98).
Future Plans in Place
Big hopes or not for 2008-09, Hoffenheim has big plans for the future. The team currently plays its home games at Carl-Benz Stadium in nearby Mannheim. But the club plans to move into its newly-built soccer-only Rhein-Neckar Arena in Sinsheim for the 2009-10 campaign. The stadium will hold 30,000 spectators - a spectacular number considering Hoffenheim only has about 3,300 residents. And club patrons also are planning an 80,000 square foot, 40-acre training and club center for about 20 million dollars. Club leaders want to make sure fans know who Hoffenheim is for some time.
