Fun Facts
That 1899 Hoffenheim is supported by Dietmar Hopp is common knowledge among German football fans. Less well known is this…
Hoffe and the goalkeepers: Tim Wiese was the unwanted passenger at 1899 Hoffenheim; Tom Starke was the fans' favourite. TSG coach Markus Babbel apparently saw things differently in summer 2012 and chased the keeper away. Starke moved to Babbel's former club FC Bayern München, where he sat on the bench or in the stands until his retirement — winning six Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League along the way. A dream career from the substitutes' bench.
The stand-in Kevin: Dortmund, May 18, 2013. For 1899 Hoffenheim, the final match of the season at BVB was do or die. Borussia led 1-0 for a long time — which would have meant relegation for "Hoffe." Then came an incredible turnaround from the visitors' perspective — in just five minutes! Sejad Salihovic (77') first converted a penalty for 1-1. Then BVB keeper Roman Weidenfeller was sent off, and substitute goalkeeper Kevin Großkreutz had to come on — an outfield player in goal. Hoffenheim scored again to win 2-1 and survived.
Pioneer of goal-line technology: On October 18, 2013, Bundesliga history was written in Sinsheim. Because of a hole in the net, Leverkusen's Stefan Kießling's header went into the TSG goal through the side netting. Nobody could explain it — Kießling celebrated half-heartedly, the Hoffenheim players stared at each other in bewilderment, and referee Felix Brych never received the information that millions of TV viewers already had. The "phantom goal" became the catalyst for introducing goal-line technology in the Bundesliga.
Kevin almost alone at the top: A Hoffenheim player holds the record for the fastest goal in Bundesliga history. Kevin Volland, who moved to Leverkusen in 2016, beat Bayern München goalkeeper Manuel Neuer just nine seconds after kick-off on August 22, 2015. Only Leverkusen's Karim Bellarabi (2014 in Dortmund) scored equally fast.
Hoffe's first international is Marvin Compper: The centre-back was nominated and selected by national coach Joachim Löw just once — for the 1-2 loss against England on November 19, 2008 in Berlin.
Only once in first place: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have finished a season in first place just once in their recent history: in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in 2000/01. The jump from the Regionalliga to the 2. Liga came as runners-up in 2007, and the same applied to the Bundesliga promotion in 2008.
Julian Nagelsmann: Julian Nagelsmann took over as head coach of TSG Hoffenheim's first team in mid-February 2016. He was exactly 28 years, six months and 15 days old — the youngest head coach in Bundesliga history (as of December 2019). Though only if you exclude Bernd Stöber, who served as 1. FC Saarbrücken's interim coach for one match in 1976.