Good to Know
1899 Hoffenheim is a village club. That is well known. Less well known is that the team from the Bundesliga's smallest location has the longest journey to an away match: 745 kilometres to Werder Bremen.
Considering only the 3,266-inhabitant community of Hoffenheim, the TSG replaced the previously smallest Bundesliga town Unterhaching (approx. 22,000 inhabitants) in 2008. Adding the population of Sinsheim, where the TSG play their matches, the total comes to 36,000 — still behind "Haching." Before the Munich suburban club entered the Bundesliga in 1999, the Saarland club FC 08 Homburg with 44,000 inhabitants held the title of "smallest Bundesliga town" for over 20 years.
This rise was made possible by the massive investment in the club and company by SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp. With his financial support, the ascent from Kreisliga A to the Bundesliga was achieved between 1990 and 2008. That is well known. Less well known is that, according to legend, the trigger for Hopp's involvement was a defeat in the relegation match against 1. FC Stebbach (2-4 after extra time) and the club's relegation from the Bezirksliga in 1989.
TSG Hoffenheim's rise was bought with piles of money and expensive signings, distorting competition — that is how many "Hoffe haters" see it. But it is only partly true. Rather, the TSG is a transfer giant from the village with a nose for players who can be sold at a premium. Examples? In the nine years to December 2019, the TSG transferred ten players for eight-figure sums, generating a total of over 245 million euros in fees.
No.PlayerSeason statsTransferred toFee1Joelinton19/20Newcastle€44m2Firmino15/16Liverpool€41m3Demirbay19/20Leverkusen€32m4Schulz19/20Dortmund€25.5m5Süle17/18FC Bayern€20m6Volland16/17Leverkusen€20m7Eduardo10/11Kazan€20m8Gustavo10/11FC Bayern€20m9Wagner17/18FC Bayern€13m10Sigurdsson12/13Tottenham€10mTotal€245.5m Fig. 1.13.2 The ten most expensive player sales by TSG Hoffenheim since the 2010/11 season. Source: Transfermarkt.de
What also rarely makes the media: Hopp played for the club in the 1960s, when it was nothing more than a village team. His attachment is genuine, personal — not a vanity project. He grew up in Hoffenheim and returned as a benefactor.
