Hoffenheim

[axel.foley]

Incredible achivement so far top of the bundesliga after 14 rounds.

For a club that has moved all the way from amature football to the BUNDESLIGA is a great achievemnt .....CAN THEY KEEP IT UP ??

2008/2009 German Bundesliga

CLUB GP W L D PTS GD
TSG Hoffenheim 14 10 3 1 31 17
Bayer Leverkusen 14 9 4 1 28 15
Bayern Munich 14 8 2 4 28 12
Hertha Berlin 14 8 3 3 27 3
Borussia Dortmund 14 6 2 6 24 7
Schalke 04 14 6 3 5 23 9
Hamburg SV 13 7 4 2 23 -1
VfL Wolfsburg 14 6 4 4 22 10
Werder Bremen 13 5 3 5 20 7
1. FC Köln 14 6 7 1 19 -5
VfB Stuttgart 14 5 6 3 18 -2
Eintracht Frankfurt 14 4 6 4 16 -4
Hannover 96 14 3 7 4 13 -12
Arminia Bielefeld 14 2 6 6 12 -9
Borussia M'gladbach 14 3 9 2 11 -12
VfL Bochum 14 1 6 7 10 -6
Karlsruhe 14 3 10 1 10 -13
Energie Cottbus 14 2 9 3 9 -16

Also the leading goalscorer in the bundesliga is from hoffenheim with 16 golas in foourteen matches - Vedad Ibisevic

[pires7]

Possibly, they have their own very very wealthy investor.

[King Ledley]

Incredible achivement so far top of the bundesliga after 14 rounds.

For a club that has moved all the way from amature football to the BUNDESLIGA is a great achievemnt .....CAN THEY KEEP IT UP ??

2008/2009 German Bundesliga

CLUB GP W L D PTS GD
TSG Hoffenheim 14 10 3 1 31 17
Bayer Leverkusen 14 9 4 1 28 15
Bayern Munich 14 8 2 4 28 12
Hertha Berlin 14 8 3 3 27 3
Borussia Dortmund 14 6 2 6 24 7
Schalke 04 14 6 3 5 23 9
Hamburg SV 13 7 4 2 23 -1
VfL Wolfsburg 14 6 4 4 22 10
Werder Bremen 13 5 3 5 20 7
1. FC Köln 14 6 7 1 19 -5
VfB Stuttgart 14 5 6 3 18 -2
Eintracht Frankfurt 14 4 6 4 16 -4
Hannover 96 14 3 7 4 13 -12
Arminia Bielefeld 14 2 6 6 12 -9
Borussia M'gladbach 14 3 9 2 11 -12
VfL Bochum 14 1 6 7 10 -6
Karlsruhe 14 3 10 1 10 -13
Energie Cottbus 14 2 9 3 9 -16

Also the leading goalscorer in the bundesliga is from hoffenheim with 16 golas in foourteen matches - Vedad Ibisevic

Absolute Gun, hopefully Hoffenheim can keep it going...real fairytale story

[Tony Adams]

Possibly, they have their own very very wealthy investor.

yea but it aint like theyre r goin nuts in transfer pick ups, they're r all still relative no names, his investments r goin towards a new stadium and facilities

[Salpigidis]

Ibisevic

EDO

These guys are awesome

[Jay Walking]

The population is only 3000. Great to see

[ForzaChievo]

Hoffenheim, the Chievo of Bundesliga.

[pires7]

Hoffenheim, the Chievo of Bundesliga.

they can kiss my ass! There is already one team with 4 titles from a town of population 99,000

[ruud]

they wont keep it up

[pires7]

they wont keep it up

I can think of a few billion reasons they might

[mustafa_sudzuka]

they wont keep it up

I can think of a few billion reasons they might

BILLIONS
name 5 mate?

[pires7]

they wont keep it up

I can think of a few billion reasons they might

BILLIONS
name 5 mate?

I was refering to the wealth of the investor, yet he want's good for football in the region, has set up a junior academy, training grounds and is helping them build a new stadium with €40 million invested.

[LeBron]

I posted this at the start of the season.........Amazing story......

Hoffenheim enjoy health, wealth and happiness under Hopp

For most of last season we heard how Hull was the largest city in Europe never to have tasted top-flight football. Now, of course, they are joint-top of the Barclays Premier League (for the time being at least).

Over in the Bundesliga, 1899 Hoffenheim are also joint-top. And it is a fair bet that, with a population of about 3,000, this borough of Sinsheim, in southwestern Germany, is the smallest town in the top tier of any leading league.

A fairytale? Yes. . . if your definition of fairytale allows for German software moguls who invest some £80 million in their local club. For Hoffenheim’s rise has been facilitated by their sugar daddy, a man named Dietmar Hopp. In 1972 he co-founded a company called SAP AG that went on to become Europe’s biggest computer software producer. Today he has a personal fortune of more than £2 billion and, according to Forbes magazine, he is the 698th richest person in the world. He chose to invest in Hoffenheim in part because, in the 1950s, he played centre forward for their youth side.

And that alone rather sets him apart. If he were just another billionaire looking for a plaything, a publicity vehicle or an “investment” (funded by borrowing huge amounts and then saddling the club with the debt), he could have taken a short cut by putting his money into a Bundesliga club. Instead, he picked the club closest to his heart – even though, at the time, they were in the eighth tier of the German pyramid – and brought them along slowly. It took Hoffenheim 18 years to make it to the big time.

“I am the exact opposite of Roman Abramovich,” he says. “I wanted to build something that would last and, to do that, you have to go slowly.” Indeed, most of his early investment was in youth football. He brought in highly regarded coaches and built a state-of-the-art training ground. When they reached the third tier, he turned to Ralf Rangnick, a big-name manager whose CV includes the likes of Hannover 96, VfB Stuttgart and Schalke 04 (for comparison’s sake, it would be a bit like Glenn Hoddle taking over at Cheltenham Town).

After banking on local players, he turned to foreigners for the final push: Hoffenheim’s squad includes 13 overseas players, although Hopp is proud that the backbone remains German and they have the youngest team in the league. Next year, they will move into the 30,000-seat stadium Hopp built. At the moment, they groundshare with Mannheim.

Not everyone is happy with Hopp’s involvement in the game. He has been accused of buying success and he claims to have been threatened by supporters of Borussia Dortmund (whose club statute and vast membership make them the antithesis of Hoffenheim).

But, thus far, it is hard to see Hopp’s influence as anything but benign. While he has bankrolled the club to a fair degree, he has not gone overboard in terms of wages, opting instead for the “crawl before we walk, walk before we run, run before we fly” philosophy.

He believes that Hoffenheim can be self-sustaining and, given their place in a populous region starved of top-flight football (Karlsruhe, the closest top-flight club, are 40 miles away), he is convinced they have enough of a catchment area to survive. To judge by the 13,200 season tickets sold, he may have a reasonable case.

Of course, there is always the risk, as with any wealthy investor, that he may lose interest or pass away and that without his funding Hoffenheim would tumble back down the football pyramid. But if that were to happen, at least the club will be left with a new stadium and a world-class training ground. Which is far more than the legacy left by others who “have lived the dream”.

As billionaires bankrolling clubs go, Hopp appears a more desirable figure than a number of the folks who have passed the “fit-and-proper test” in the Premier League, let alone in Serie A or La Liga.

[El Pocho Lavezzi]

Great story.

Ibisevic on fire, they also have one of the best free kick takers in the world imo, Salihovic.

Hopefully they can keep it up, would be great to see. In the early 1990's, they were in the 8th division in Germany. Fantastic story.

[ruud]

its funny people condone this investor with hoffenheim

but dont condone it for chelsea, man utd or liverpool

[Judge Judy]

its funny people condone this investor with hoffenheim

but dont condone it for chelsea, man utd or liverpool

different though, the investor of the Hoff is trying to develop football in that region and isn't signing average players for 10 times their worth.

[Salpigidis]

they wont keep it up

they will. They are billionaires. They only have a small squad atm. They are going to buy more players once they have shown they can stay in the Bundesliga, They wanted more players but they expected to make Bundesliga in like 4 years time or so when their stadium was finished.

[pires7]

its funny people condone this investor with hoffenheim

but dont condone it for chelsea, man utd or liverpool

different though, the investor of the Hoff is trying to develop football in that region and isn't signing average players for 10 times their worth.

true, he was a junior at the club so that puts him as a 50-60 year supporter, plus he has been there for 18 years now in charge, through 8 divisions so you could hardly say he not just a sensible investor who loves the club.

[ForzaChievo]

I posted this at the start of the season.........Amazing story......

Hoffenheim enjoy health, wealth and happiness under Hopp

For most of last season we heard how Hull was the largest city in Europe never to have tasted top-flight football. Now, of course, they are joint-top of the Barclays Premier League (for the time being at least).

Over in the Bundesliga, 1899 Hoffenheim are also joint-top. And it is a fair bet that, with a population of about 3,000, this borough of Sinsheim, in southwestern Germany, is the smallest town in the top tier of any leading league.

A fairytale? Yes. . . if your definition of fairytale allows for German software moguls who invest some £80 million in their local club. For Hoffenheim’s rise has been facilitated by their sugar daddy, a man named Dietmar Hopp. In 1972 he co-founded a company called SAP AG that went on to become Europe’s biggest computer software producer. Today he has a personal fortune of more than £2 billion and, according to Forbes magazine, he is the 698th richest person in the world. He chose to invest in Hoffenheim in part because, in the 1950s, he played centre forward for their youth side.

And that alone rather sets him apart. If he were just another billionaire looking for a plaything, a publicity vehicle or an “investment” (funded by borrowing huge amounts and then saddling the club with the debt), he could have taken a short cut by putting his money into a Bundesliga club. Instead, he picked the club closest to his heart – even though, at the time, they were in the eighth tier of the German pyramid – and brought them along slowly. It took Hoffenheim 18 years to make it to the big time.

“I am the exact opposite of Roman Abramovich,” he says. “I wanted to build something that would last and, to do that, you have to go slowly.” Indeed, most of his early investment was in youth football. He brought in highly regarded coaches and built a state-of-the-art training ground. When they reached the third tier, he turned to Ralf Rangnick, a big-name manager whose CV includes the likes of Hannover 96, VfB Stuttgart and Schalke 04 (for comparison’s sake, it would be a bit like Glenn Hoddle taking over at Cheltenham Town).

After banking on local players, he turned to foreigners for the final push: Hoffenheim’s squad includes 13 overseas players, although Hopp is proud that the backbone remains German and they have the youngest team in the league. Next year, they will move into the 30,000-seat stadium Hopp built. At the moment, they groundshare with Mannheim.

Not everyone is happy with Hopp’s involvement in the game. He has been accused of buying success and he claims to have been threatened by supporters of Borussia Dortmund (whose club statute and vast membership make them the antithesis of Hoffenheim).

But, thus far, it is hard to see Hopp’s influence as anything but benign. While he has bankrolled the club to a fair degree, he has not gone overboard in terms of wages, opting instead for the “crawl before we walk, walk before we run, run before we fly” philosophy.

He believes that Hoffenheim can be self-sustaining and, given their place in a populous region starved of top-flight football (Karlsruhe, the closest top-flight club, are 40 miles away), he is convinced they have enough of a catchment area to survive. To judge by the 13,200 season tickets sold, he may have a reasonable case.

Of course, there is always the risk, as with any wealthy investor, that he may lose interest or pass away and that without his funding Hoffenheim would tumble back down the football pyramid. But if that were to happen, at least the club will be left with a new stadium and a world-class training ground. Which is far more than the legacy left by others who “have lived the dream”.

As billionaires bankrolling clubs go, Hopp appears a more desirable figure than a number of the folks who have passed the “fit-and-proper test” in the Premier League, let alone in Serie A or La Liga.

The Chievo story>>>>> Hoffenheim story.

Chievo did it all without a wealthy investor.

[King Ledley]

Hoffenheim >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chievo

[delfino_1936]

Hoffenheim >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chievo

can't agree there

Chievo's story >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pretty much anyones

[pires7]

Hoffenheim >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chievo

[barbarez01]

Hoffenheim >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chievo

[Juventino]

Chievo did not have all this money and resources to compete with the big clubs. What they had was the will to win, heart, and a smart coach.

This is a side who outshone city rivals Verona, went to the San Siro in December 2001 and beat the league leaders Inter 2-1 (Corradi scored the winner IIRC) and lead for 6 weeks. All on a budget this Hopp guy would have in change. Then the Chievo player Jason Mayele died in March, but they still were such a tough nut to crack. And then they finished in the UEFA Cup positions. And it was no one hit wonder, with another couple of solid showing in the following seasons.

When they beat Fiorentina 2-0 in round 1 everybody was shocked, we simply did not expect that depsite Fiorentina being a shadow of the side from seasons prior. They went to Turin in round 3, lead 2-0 vs Juve before eventually losing 3-2 in a thriller. They were a team showing guts, determination, wee willing to fight for the shirt with a tactical understanding brought together by Gigi Del Neri.

It was a truly great story.

But the season is still young, so let's see how Hoffenheim continue.

[Piola]

Chievo did not have all this money and resources to compete with the big clubs. What they had was the will to win, heart, and a smart coach.

This is a side who outshone city rivals Verona, went to the San Siro in December 2001 and beat the league leaders Inter 2-1 (Corradi scored the winner IIRC) and lead for 6 weeks. All on a budget this Hopp guy would have in change. Then the Chievo player Jason Mayele died in March, but they still were such a tough nut to crack. And then they finished in the UEFA Cup positions. And it was no one hit wonder, with another couple of solid showing in the following seasons.

When they beat Fiorentina 2-0 in round 1 everybody was shocked, we simply did not expect that depsite Fiorentina being a shadow of the side from seasons prior. They went to Turin in round 3, lead 2-0 vs Juve before eventually losing 3-2 in a thriller. They were a team showing guts, determination, wee willing to fight for the shirt with a tactical understanding brought together by Gigi Del Neri.

It was a truly great story.

But the season is still young, so let's see how Hoffenheim continue.

Had a smaller population to boot! Quartiere of Chievo has only 2,000 people I think. They competed with the bigger club from their city and won out and are now building themselves a solid fanbase out of it.

A_mac can probably confirm.

[El Pibe D'Oro]

I thought they were owned by David Hasselhoffenheim?

[Juventino]

I thought it was 3k. Meh, 2 or 3, still impressive either way.

[pires7]

All this with a team to gladden the heart of Arsène Wenger, whose home village of Duttleheim is less than 100 miles away. Most of Hopp's €200m (£163m) investment has gone on developing infrastructure such as stadiums – they are playing at Mannheim while another new ground, seating 30,000, is being constructed – and the youth academy. The record signing cost €8m (£6.5m) and most players are either home-produced or cheaply acquired young rejects. The team's average age is 23, similar to Arsenal's, while the philosophy is grounded in a moral code even more principled than Wenger's.

Hopp said after he became wealthy: "I pondered the idea that as a rich man I carry a certain social responsibility." Thus the targeting of his investment not just in his old club, but in an academy that is as focused on producing mature young men as it is footballers. "It's not just about football but also about culture and education," said Hopp. "The ones that aren't destined to become pros ought to have a good education and train for a proper job."

There is also a football aspect to recruitment. General manager Jan Schindelmeiser explained: "Our player selection process is subordinate to our style of football. We don't buy 30-year-old-players who can't handle our pace." This is somewhat revolutionary in Germany where, for decades, there has been a belief that teams need a controlling figure, like Franz Beckenbauer or Steffen Effenberg, to dictate the often slow tempo.

[Piola]

Best footballing billionaire. No question.

BTW is Wenger part-German??

[pires7]

He might be, born in Strasbourg few km from the border, which has at times been a part of what is now known as Germany, plus the town in most likely Bilingual. Lot of trade went on between nearby cities as pertol was cheaper in Germany and the french would bring over food etc to swap.

Wenger has a degree in engineering and a Master's degree in economics = Lol