In a quasi-home game against the struggling team from Sinsheim, VfB aims to get back on track. We spoke with Niko Beck, deputy head of the sports department at the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, about the current situation at TSG Hoffenheim.
With the Red Stripe: Hello Niko, and thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions. With their 3–1 win in Bremen, Hoffenheim has extended their lead over the relegation playoff spot to seven points. Was that already the decisive moment in the relegation battle and for TSG securing their place in the league?
Niko: I’ll go out on a limb and say: Yes. TSG has a much stronger squad than their competitors at the bottom of the table. The only real question has always been whether a squad built for European competition—despite all its issues—can handle the pressure of a relegation battle. Can they do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? We don’t know. But we do know that “Hoffe” managed it on a cold, rainy afternoon in Kiel (smirks). And that’s why, in the weeks following their match against VfB, they’ll pick up enough points from games against Bochum, Heidenheim, St. Pauli, and Augsburg.
Coach Christian Ilzer took over in November from former VfB coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was still on the bench in the first-leg match. So far, he has recorded three wins and three draws, lost six matches, and Hoffenheim was also eliminated from the cup by Wolfsburg. In the Europa League, they managed one win in four games. What’s your interim assessment of him?
Mixed. You definitely couldn’t speak of the famous “new coach effect.” The “Ilzer project” has always been and still is at a crossroads. If the results don’t come, then naturally, all his methods will be viewed critically in the locker room—regardless of occasional promising performances and statistical improvements. Some of the new coaching staff’s rather extravagant motivational techniques have even raised eyebrows. The sidelining of Florian Grillitsch, one of TSG’s longest-serving players, before his last-minute departure in early February was another example. I’m curious to see if Ilzer can turn things around in the long term. I’d wish it for the club, which desperately needs some continuity, as well as for Ilzer himself. The Austrian coach is very open and authentic in his dealings with the media.
It feels like half of Sturm Graz moved to Hoffenheim with Ilzer, and sporting director Andreas Schicker also came from the Austrian champions to the Kraichgau. At the start of the season, fans were already voicing concerns about these personnel decisions, and recently, Andrej Kramaric and Dennis Geiger publicly expressed criticism. How precarious is the internal situation at Hoffenheim?
There’s tension—sometimes more, sometimes less. Right now, things seem to have calmed down a bit. Kramaric and Geiger’s comments were probably partly made in the heat of the moment. Kramaric, in particular, went a bit too far after the 5–0 defeat in Munich. Geiger’s statement was often taken out of context—he explicitly said that new players will struggle if the team keeps putting in performances like that. He wasn’t so much criticizing the transfer policy as pointing out how the club’s resources don’t match
Still, such statements were unwise and didn’t sit well with those in charge. On that note, I’d recommend the RNZ interview from last week with Markus Schütz, the chairman of the management board. A little reading tip. 😉
Back to football: How does Christian Ilzer have his team playing?
Much more intensively and risk-taking than his predecessor. He wants his players to play quickly and vertically and, as Ilzer repeatedly emphasizes in every interview, “bring energy to the pitch together.” However, when a team is as insecure as TSG has been in many of the 17 matches under the 47-year-old, that can quickly look chaotic and sound like empty clichés. Earlier, I mentioned statistical improvements—they do exist, such as the number of high-intensity runs, defenders bypassed, or box entries. But, of course, we’re going in circles: So far, this has rarely translated into points.
Looking at the numbers, Hoffenheim concedes a lot of goals—yet they are more dangerous in attack than one might expect from a team in 15th place. Where do you currently see their strengths and weaknesses?
Defensive instability is certainly the biggest issue in Zuzenhausen. It was already a problem last season when they conceded 66 goals—the fourth-most in the league—despite finishing seventh. Maybe we can put it more abstractly: Sometimes their biggest weakness is also their biggest strength. You never quite know what you’re going to get from this team. And neither does the opponent (laughs).
How much do injuries to players like Oliver Baumann, Ozan Kabak, or Grischa Prömel weaken the team right now?
Glad you mentioned it—of course, those injuries hurt a lot. Add the departures of Wout Weghorst and Maxi Beier, along with Ihlas Bebou’s injury, and you have a spine of the team that’s been ripped apart. The painful injury to national team goalkeeper and captain Baumann was the tip of the iceberg. Sure, the club put itself in a tough spot last summer to some extent. But there were also many things beyond their control.
In the winter, Hoffenheim signed Gift Orban—whom VfB was also interested in and who scored against Bremen—from Lyon, along with Leo Østigård from Stade Rennes. How do you evaluate the transfer window?
In addition, they brought in two young prospects, Erencan Yardımcı (23) and Bazoumana Touré (18), and signed Jakob Busk as a new backup goalkeeper. So, for a winter window, TSG was quite active. Not to mention that, besides Jacob Bruun Larsen moving to VfB, Grillitsch, Tim Drexler, Mergim Berisha, and Attila Szalai also left the club, at least temporarily. I think they handled it well. The departures were crucial because players with high expectations but no real future at the club can be toxic for the team atmosphere. Leo Østigård has quickly proven he can help the team. Gift Orban hasn’t fully convinced yet, but he’s scoring goals.
Last season, VfB fans turned the game in Hoffenheim into a home match. Can we expect the same on Sunday evening, or is the club trying to counteract this?
Yes, we can expect that again. And the club would do something about it if they could. But when you sell 20,000 tickets without including the away fans, how are you supposed to prevent a lot of opposing jerseys in a stadium that holds 30,000? Personally, I don’t think it’s a huge issue. I believe the players would rather play in a great atmosphere with a packed house than in front of fewer away fans. Plus, the Südkurve (Hoffenheim’s home support) tends to respond with even more energy when a large away crowd is present. They make plenty of noise nowadays, too. So, I’m looking forward to Sunday.
Finally, your prediction for the lineup and the result?
I’m not making lineup predictions anymore with so many injuries and illnesses. But maybe—for the first time ever—Ilzer will be able to field the same back four in two consecutive games. That would be a step in the right direction. Whether it’ll be enough for a 2–2 draw? 😉
Note: This interview was translated from German via ChatGPT
Picture: © Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images