TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

1899 Hoffenheim

Full name

Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft
1899 Hoffenheim e.V.

Nickname(s)

Hoffe

Founded

1 July 1899

Ground

Rhein-Neckar-Arena
(Capacity: 30,164)

Owner

Dietmar Hopp

Chairman

Peter Hofmann

Manager

Ralf Rangnick

League

Bundesliga

2009-10

Bundesliga, 11th

Home colours

Away colours

1899 Hoffenheim is a German football club based in Hoffenheim, a suburb of Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg. In 2007 the club decided to adopt the use of the short form name 1899 Hoffenheim in place of the traditional TSG Hoffenheim. A fifth division side in 2000, the club made a remarkable advance to the top-flight Bundesliga in 2008 with the financial backing of alumnus and software mogul Dietmar Hopp.

1 History
2 Players
- 2.1 Current squad
- 2.2 Players out on loan
3 Staff
4 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II
5 Stadium
6 Honors
7 Notable players
8 Former coaches
9 Former Personnel
10 Recent seasons
- 10.1 TSG Hoffenheim
- 10.2 TSG Hoffenheim II
11 References
12 External links

History

The modern-day club was formed in 1945, when gymnastics club Turnverein Hoffenheim (founded 1 July 1899) and football club Fußballverein Hoffenheim (founded 1921) merged. At the beginning of the 1990s, the club was an obscure local amateur side playing in the eighth division Baden-Württemberg A-Liga. They steadily improved and by 1996 were competing in the Verbandsliga Nordbaden (V).

Around 1990, alumnus Dietmar Hopp returned to the club of his youth as a financial backer. Hopp was the co-founder of software firm SAP and he put some of his money into the club. His contributions generated almost immediate results: in 2000 Hoffenheim finished first in the Verbandsliga and was promoted to the fourth-division Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. Another first place finish moved the club up to the Regionalliga Süd (III) for the 2001–02 season. They finished 13th in their first season in the Regionalliga, but improved significantly the next year, earning a fifth place result.

Hoffenheim earned fifth and seventh place finishes in the next two seasons, before improving to fourth in 2005–06 to earn their best result to date. The club made its first German Cup appearance in the 2003–04 competition and performed well, advancing to the quarterfinals by eliminating 2. Bundesliga sides Eintracht Trier and Karlsruher SC and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen before being put out themselves by another 2. Bundesliga side, VfB Lübeck.

Negotiations to merge TSG Hoffenheim, FC Astoria Walldorf, and SV Sandhausen to create FC Heidelberg 06 in 2005 were abandoned due to the resistance of the latter two clubs, and the failure to agree on whether the new side's stadium should be located in Heidelberg or Eppelheim. Team owner Hopp clearly preferred Heidelberg, but could not overcome the resistance of local firm Wild, which had already reserved the site of the planned stadium for its new production facilities.

2006-2008 - Major investments and promotion to the Bundesliga

In 2006, the club sought to improve its squad and technical staff by bringing in players with several years of Bundesliga experience, most notably Jochen Seitz and Tomislav Marić, and by signing Ralf Rangnick, former manager of Bundesliga teams SSV Ulm 1846, VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96, and Schalke 04, to a five-year contract. The investment paid off in the 2006–07 season with the club's promotion to the 2. Bundesliga after finishing 2nd in Regionalliga Süd.

The 2007-08 season was Hoffenheim's first season in professional football. After a weak start with three losses and only one draw in the first four games, the team's performance improved remarkably and Hoffenheim climbed from 16th place on matchday four to second place on matchday 23. The team managed to defend their place until the end of the season, having scored 60 points after matchday 34. As a result of their second place finish they received automatic promotion to the 1. Bundesliga, the highest German tier in football, after just playing in the 2. Bundesliga for one season.

2008 - Bundesliga

The 2008–09 season was Hoffenheim's first season in the German top division. With the performance of strikers Vedad Ibišević, Demba Ba and Chinedu Obasi the newly-promoted Hoffenheim managed to climb to the top of the table quickly, winning the "Herbstmeister" (Autumn-Champion) title with 35 points after 17 matchdays. Ibišević scored a total of 18 goals in 17 matches, being the Bundesliga's leading goal scorer after the first half of the season. Hoffenheim's fast and offensive playing style (42 goals in 17 matches) was praised by the German and international press, experts even believed Hoffenheim could win their first championship in their first year playing top flight football.

However, Hoffenheim suffered a devastating blow during the winter break when Ibišević tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a training match against Hamburg. Because of the serious injury Ibišević was unable to play for the second half of the season. Hoffenheim was now deprived of their biggest offensive threat and additionally had to deal with a fair number of other injuries and suspensions. As a result of their heavily debilitated squad Hoffenheim failed to build on their successful first half of the season. After not winning in 12 consecutive matches, Hoffenheim was dislodged from the top and dropped out of the top five down to ninth place. At the end of the season the team however recovered and ended their negative streak with three wins and one draw in the last four games. Hoffenheim eventually finished seventh with 55 points and a goal difference of +14 - still a respectable result for a newly promoted team.

In the 2009-10 season Hoffenheim further improved their squad by signing midfielders Maicosuel and Franco Zuculini, as well as experienced defender Josip Šimunić. Alumnus Hopp expected a position within the top five and a qualification for the UEFA Europa League at the end of the season. Indeed, Hoffenheim enjoyed success at the beginning of the season and remained in the top five for several weeks. However, the club again suffered from a large number of injuries and suspensions in the second half of the season and only won four of the 17 matches. The club finished on a disappointing eleventh place with 42 points and a goal difference of +2. Coach Ralf Rangnick was criticised in public for the poor results of his team, yet his contract was extended for two more years in May.

Criticism

Dietmar Hopp's financial support, which transformed Hoffenheim from a local amateur club into a competitive Bundesliga club, has been strongly criticized by other clubs, fans and by some in the German press. Commonly, the club is mockingly called 18.99 € Hoppenheim or simply Hoppenheim since the club's recent success is based on the large amount of money invested by Hopp. The main points of criticism are the club's lack of "tradition" and a proper fan base, as the club is an historically insignificant side from a village of just 3,300 inhabitants.

Players

For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2010 and List of German football transfers winter 2009–10.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Daniel Haas
2	DF	Andreas Beck (captain)
3	DF	Matthias Jaissle
5	DF	Marvin Compper
6	MF	Sebastian Rudy
7	MF	Boris Vukčević
8	DF	Christian Eichner
9	FW	Demba Ba
11	MF	Gylfi Sigurðsson
14	DF	Josip Šimunić
15	FW	Peniel Mlapa
16	FW	Kai Herdling
17	MF	Tobias Weis
18	FW	Prince Tagoe
19	FW	Vedad Ibišević
20	FW	Chinedu Obasi

No.	Position	Player
21	MF	Luiz Gustavo
23	MF	Sejad Salihović
25	MF	Isaac Vorsah
26	DF	Andreas Ibertsberger
27	GK	Ramazan Özcan
29	FW	Adam Jabiri
30	GK	Jens Grahl
31	MF	Andreas Ludwig
32	DF	Robin Neupert
33	GK	Tom Starke
34	FW	Denis Thomalla
35	DF	Kevin Conrad
37	DF	Manuel Gulde
39	MF	Pascal Groß
40	FW	Christoph Hemlein
42	DF	Philipp Klingmann

Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.		Position	Player
22		DF	Jukka Raitala (to Paderborn 07 until 30 June 2011)

Staff

Sport:

Ralf Rangnick (Head Coach)
Peter Zeidler (Assistant Coach)
Marco Pezzaiuoli (Assistant Coach)
Tomislav Marić (Assistant Coach)
Achim Sarstedt (Team Manager)
César Thier (Goalkeeper Coach)
Zsolt Petry (Goalkeeper Coach)
Rainer Schrey (Fitness Coach)
Hans-Dieter Herrmann (Mental Coach)
Marcel Lucassen (Technical Coach)

Management:

Jan Schindelmeiser (Manager)
Jochen A. Rotthaus (Geschäftsführer)
Bernhard Peters (Youth Coordinator)

Scouting

Christian Möckel (Head Scout)

Medical

Dr. Pieter Beks (Team Doctor)
Peter Geigle
Michael Grau-Stenzel (Physiotherapist)
Simon Stadler (Physiotherapist)
Heinz Seyfert (Kit Manager)