Key Figures
Dietmar Hopp: everything changed for TSG Hoffenheim in
Dietmar Hopp: everything changed for TSG Hoffenheim in the tiny village of Stebbach on 4 June 1989.
the tiny village of Stebbach on 4 June 1989. Hoffenheim lost 4–2 after extra time to FC Stebbach and were relegated to the Kreisliga after a disastrous season. One of the roughly 1,000 spectators on that village pitch is said to have been Dietmar Hopp. A few days later, the future SAP giant’s co-founder invited club president and then team organiser Peter Hofmann to his office and announced that he wanted to support his beloved club.
Small shirt donations became major investments that eventually put the club back on its feet. Hopp’s money took the club through the Regionalliga and into professional football. Peter Hofmann later admitted: “Without Dietmar Hopp we would never have played in the second division, the Bundesliga or the Champions League.” Hopp invested around 350 million euros in the club, including the arena in Sinsheim and the training and club centre in Zuzenhausen.
Ralf Rangnick: the “architect of success” arrived in
Ralf Rangnick: the “architect of success” arrived in 2006 and managed to take Hoffenheim from the third tier to the Bundesliga in just two seasons.
2006 and managed to take Hoffenheim from the third tier to the Bundesliga in just two seasons. After promotion to the second division came an immediate march into the Bundesliga. After four and a half successful years, though, the relationship ended in a row.
The trigger was the sale of Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich in winter, a deal Rangnick did not want to accept. He fought to keep the player, but Hopp wanted to strengthen the club’s finances. Rangnick had already spent many millions on new players in his spell, but Hopp now set new priorities.
Those conflicting philosophies brought about a split.
Vedad Ibišević: the Bosnian striker scored Hoffenheim’s very
Vedad Ibišević: the Bosnian striker scored Hoffenheim’s very first Bundesliga goal.
first Bundesliga goal. On the opening matchday of August 2008, in a 3–0 away win at Energie Cottbus, he struck after 18 minutes. In October he was named Footballer of the Month, then became autumn champion with Hoffenheim and led the scoring charts with 18 first-half goals before a cruciate ligament tear struck.
The dream of the top-scorer cannon vanished just as the dream of a title did. Without Vedo, TSG were only half as good. After recovering, he also delivered Hoffenheim’s first Bundesliga hat-trick, in a 5–1 home win over Hertha in September 2009.
Roberto Firmino: the Brazilian attacker secured a 1–0
Roberto Firmino: the Brazilian attacker secured a 1–0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on 16 April 2011 with his first Bundesliga goal.
home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on 16 April 2011 with his first Bundesliga goal. When he moved from Brazil to Hoffenheim, the local Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung called him a sporting misfire and the four million euros paid to Figueirense overpriced. Yet he quickly became both comfortable in Sinsheim and invaluable on the pitch.
Over four years he scored 38 goals in 140 Bundesliga appearances, often from midfield. His speed and eye for goal turned him into Hoffenheim’s most valuable attacker. When Liverpool came calling, he moved to England.
The 41 million euro sale was then Hoffenheim’s biggest transfer ever, and sporting director Alexander Rosen later told Spiegel that the club depended on transfers like that to generate revenue and secure economic sustainability.
Julian Nagelsmann: Hoffenheim was the place where the
Julian Nagelsmann: Hoffenheim was the place where the youngest success coach in Bundesliga history first stepped fully into the spotlight.
youngest success coach in Bundesliga history first stepped fully into the spotlight. As a youth-team coach, he became the youngest U19 championship-winning coach in 2014 at the age of 26. In 2015 the board announced that he was intended to replace Huub Stevens as first-team coach for the following season. When the Dutchman had to step aside in February 2016 for health reasons, the trainee took over early.
At the moment of signing, he had not even completed his coaching education. It did not stop him succeeding: in 13 matches, the 28-year-old led a team that had been five points adrift of 16th place to safety with tactical flexibility and growing home strength. A season later he guided Hoffenheim to fourth and the Champions League playoffs.
In 2018 he took them directly into the Champions League with third place. Under Nagelsmann, Hoffenheim played in Europe for the first time and generated record revenues.
Key Figures — Update 2020–2026
Sebastian Hoeness took over Hoffenheim and led the club in steady fashion.
Sebastian Hoeness took over Hoffenheim and led the
Sebastian Hoeness took over Hoffenheim and led the club in steady fashion.
club in steady fashion. His greatest merit: stability after the Nagelsmann era. In 2023 he moved to VfB Stuttgart, where he went on to produce a sensational season.
Andrej Kramaric continued to write himself into club
Andrej Kramaric continued to write himself into club history.
history. The Croatian became TSG’s record goalscorer in the Bundesliga and kept delivering world-class moments — including four goals in a single game against SC Freiburg.