Tohumcu: “The club means a great deal to me”

“Umut Tohumcu delivers. He has established himself within our squad and is definitely a regular.” TSG head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo recently heaped plenty of praise upon the 19-year-old midfielder, who is undergoing a rapid development. Tohumcu moved to the Kraichgau as a 13-year-old, progressed through the youth ranks and has finally matured into a Bundesliga player this season. “The club means a lot to me. I spent my entire youth here and grew up here,” declared Tohumcu in his first major SPIELFELD interview.

His start in Hoffenheim was not easy, having moved into the boarding school at the age of 13. “I experienced a lot of new things to begin with, but after two months it totally got to me,” said the 19-year-old, who went on to admit that he often called in sick to school on Mondays after training-free Sundays in order to be able to stay with his family for an extra day. As a “family-oriented person”, things became easier for him when he moved in with a host family.

Tohumcu was recently called up by the Germany U21 team, but he is also eligible to play for Türkiye. “My parents come from Türkiye and I feel both Turkish and German. There are two hearts beating in my chest,” confessed Tohumcu. The midfielder has not yet made a decision in favour of one country.

The 100th issue of SPIELFELD also explains how the TSG magazine came about in the first place. Numerous other features also celebrate the milestone. Anton Stach answers questions in the ‘No comment’ section, women’s striker Melissa Kössler is profiled and activist Marcus Urban is interviewed about homosexuality in football. All that and much more can be found across 120 pages.