“Something special has been created here” said Simon Engelhardt, who is not the only one who recognises TSG Hoffenheim’s huge importance for the region and German sport. The interim First Chairwoman of TSG Hoffenheim is a child of the club and has experienced the enormous development from a village club to an internationally recognised brand up close. In a big double interview with the Third Chairman Frank Engelhardt to mark the club’s 125th anniversary, she emphasised the excellent development of the professional football department. “The GmbH and the first team naturally have a pulling power that extends far beyond the village.” But Simon Engelhardt also highlighted the value that the club and its recreational sports offering have had for the people of the region for 125 years now. “TSG are an important institution for the village of Hoffenheim.”
The special history and the enormous diversity of the club, which has been built up, kept alive and modernised thanks to the energetic involvement of its members, is traced in the commemorative publication to mark the 125th anniversary. Newspaper articles and photos from the founding are included, as are reports from the early days of the club, whose existence came under threat during the two world wars. Also highlighted is the development of Hoffenheim’s footballers, who came together despite great resistance and founded a club in 1921 which ultimately went on to merge with the gymnastics club to become TSG in 1946.
Contemporary witnesses such as Siegbert Hoffmann and Fritz Bartmann, both 84, talked about TSG’s subsequent development. Heinz Seyfert, the club’s record goalscorer and still involved as the first-team’s kit man, told the story of TSG’s remarkable journey from the Kreisklasse to the Champions League, which was made possible by the help of Hoffenheim native and former TSG forward Dietmar Hopp. In a guest article, the SAP founder also emphasised the special emotional relationship with his hometown club and looks back to the early days – when he would receive a jar full of liver sausages for every goal scored – before later supporting the club with “balls, tracksuits and equipment” and ultimately turning it into a leading light of German sport. But today, just as then, the club has always had a very special focus according to Hopp: “The decisive factor for me has always been the fact that TSG Hoffenheim does outstanding youth work.”
The club has stood by that pledge. In their anniversary year TSG, who are now entering their 17th top-flight season, have become the first club in Germany to win the U19 league and cup double, and there are now 75 Hoffenheim-trained players who have played at least one Bundesliga match – an outstanding number. In addition to players such as Niklas Süle, Pascal Groß, Dennis Geiger and the current great hope for the future Max Moerstedt, TSG have also produced coaching greats such as Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann and Domenico Tedesco, and shaped German football in a lasting manner. This development “requires timing, patience, trust – and courage,” declared Managing Director Alexander Rosen in an interview. Women’s football, which has been played in Hoffenheim since 1970 and has been nurtured sustainably in the ensuing years, also now enjoys prominent status in Germany.
However, in addition to the footballers, the recreational sports department has also developed magnificently over the course of the decades. TSG still offer numerous departments for young and old, and remain an important factor in village life, as Third Chairman Frank Engelhardt emphasised: “The most important thing is to maintain the village community. And TSG still make a significant contribution to this, especially with the recreational sports programme.”