Who Are Hoffenheim? A Deep Dive into Tottenham’s Europa League Opponents
This coming Thursday (23 Jan), Tottenham will travel to Germany to face TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in their penultimate UEFA Europa League match in the League Phase, with kickoff at 5.45pm GMT.
With the visitors one place away from advancing to the Round of 16, a win is needed to alleviate pressure on Ange Postecoglou following a torrid run of form.
The match is available to watch live on TNT Sports 2, with radio coverage available on BBC Radio London’s DAB platforms.
Ahead of this clash, here is all you need to know about Hoffenheim and what to expect from the German side.
Who are Hoffenheim?
A name that has become increasingly familiar in Europe over the past few seasons, Hoffenheim were initially formed as a gymnastic club for the small village of Sinsheim, all the way back in 1899.
Also known as Die Kraichgauer (The Kraichgauers, Kraichgau being part of the same Baden-Württemberg region), they have been mainstays of the Bundesliga since promotion from the second-tier in 2008.
Not without controversy, much of Hoffenheim’s rise can be attributed to businessman Dietmar Hopp, a former Youth player with the club and co-founder of worldwide software firm SAP, whose investment brought the club all the way from the fifth-tier Verbandsliga Baden to eventual European football.
They play at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, which holds a total capacity of 30,150 – more than the population of the town it is situated in. The ground has hosted two German national team matches, four games at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and even an exhibition outdoor ice hockey match in 2017.
Many have criticised the club’s financial backing throughout the years, especially in a German system that stipulates a so-called ‘50+1 rule’ preventing investors from maintaining a majority share in a club, which they have only been required to partake in since Hopp gave up his majority share in 2023.
In 2020, Bayern Munich fans unfurled a banner aimed at Hopp during a meeting between the two clubs: the players ultimately refused to finish the match, and passed the ball around amongst each other until the referee blew for a 6-0 away victory.
Their first appearance in a UEFA competition came in 2017, when they reached the Champions League Playoff Round following a fourth-placed finish in the league. Despite losing to eventual finallists Liverpool, they were assured of the Europa League Group Stages and even picked up their first win in Europe against İstanbul Başakşehir of Turkey.
The following season, they went one better and secured automatic qualification to the Champions League Group Stage, where they were paired with Manchester City, Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk, and eventually went out without a single win.
2020/21 brought their first Knockout appearance after they topped their Europa League group, but eventually bowed out to Norwegian side Molde FK 5-3 on aggregate in the Round of 32.
This season has marked their first appearance against Europe’s best since 2021, but it has not been plain sailing so far; just one win in their first six, against Dynamo Kyiv, has left them on the verge of being knocked out of the competition altogether.
Despite never facing Tottenham previously, there are a few links between the two: Ryan Sessegnon and Gylfi Sigurdsson are among the players to have worn the shirts of both.
The form
Hoffenheim have sputtered throughout their Bundesliga campaign so far, losing half of their 18 games and only picking up four wins; two against bottom side Holstein Kiel.
Current manager Christian Ilzer arrived in November 2024 following the sacking of his predecessor Pellegrino Matarazzo, and has struggled to gain momentum so far: despite a remarkable comeback to beat RB Leipzig 4-3 in his opener, as well as a late draw with Borussia Dortmund, he has ultimately lost four from eight so far, including a 5-0 evisceration at Bayern Munich.
Goals have been a struggle so far, with top scorer Andrej Kramaric netting just 7. Hungarian forward Adam Hlozek – bought in from champions Bayer Leverkusen for €18 million – has scored five.
Much of this can be attributed to the summer departure of Maximilian Beier to Borussia Dortmund for €28,500,000, the prolific striker scoring 16 for Hoffenheim last season.
Ilzer himself arrived from Austria after completing a league-and-cup double with Sturm Graz in 23/24, qualifying them for the Champions League for the first time in 24 years as a result.
The threats
Hoffenheim are currently 26th in the UEFA Europa League table, a point behind the position required to qualify for the knockout stages. As such, the onus will be on them to deliver in front of their home support.
As mentioned, their attacking threats consist of Kramaric, Hlozek – who scored twice in their 3-1 win over Holstein Kiel last weekend – Max Moerstedt, who was represented Germany at U18 level and came from the Hoffenheim Academy, and Bosnian international Haris Tabaković.
The likes of Anton Stach, captain goalkeeper Oliver Baumann and Mërgim Berisha have already made appearances for the German national side, with plenty more garnering caps at Youth level.
There is also plenty of experience running through the side, including Czech stalwart Pavel Kadeřábek and Austrian playmakers Florian Grillitsch and Alexander Prass.
One area of concern will be their injury list: the likes of Togolese forward Ihlas Bebou, former Liverpool defender Ozan Kabak and Christopher Lenz are all unavailable for the class, with new signing from Lyon and apparent Spurs target Gift Orban ineligible to play.
The result
Ultimately, Ange Postecoglou’s fortune rests upon whether or not Hoffenheim can deliver a performance that gained them European football to begin with.
Hoffenheim were on a nine-game winless run before victory on the weekend – despite their opponents being evergreen to the Bundesliga and propping up the table, it will give Christian Ilzer’s side confidence going into this crucial tie.
With a tricky away tie to Anderlecht next week their final match, and a big Bundesliga meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt sandwiched in between, this marks the beginning of a week that could define Hoffenheim’s season.