High as they flew, hard as they fell: promoted Hoffenheim stormed to the “autumn championship” in the Bundesliga in 2008. The last team to do that as a newly promoted side had been Kaiserslautern in 1997, and they went on to become champions. Hoffenheim did not. After an incredible run under coach Ralf Rangnick, with eleven wins, only four defeats and 35 points from 17 matches, plus the best home record in the temporary venue in Mannheim, came the crash.
Hoffenheim managed only 20 points in the second half of the season and ended up seventh with 55 points, outside the European places. To this day, that remains the worst final placing ever recorded by a Bundesliga autumn champion.
