TSG midfield – technical centrepiece of the team

Kerem Demirbay’s last-minute strike in stoppage time to equalise against Köln sparked wild celebrations as TSG knew that they had secured European football for next season. The players unleashed cheers of joy in front of the travelling away fans alongside the coaches and staff. In those final few seconds, Hoffenheim realised their dream of reaching Europe to ensure their place in the club’s history books. Demirbay could hardly contain his excitement: “What happened after that goal is indescribable. The whole team sprinted towards me and everyone was jumping on top of me. It was an incredible feeling.”

It did not take long however for the players to make clear their feelings on their performance. The team was already at each other’s throats over how they had played that night. “I think that highlights to an extent how we’ve approached things this season. We are rarely completely satisfied, we always want to do better,” said Demirbay as he gave an interesting insight into the mindset of the team. That desire for success which head coach Julian Nagelsmann and captain Eugen Polanski demand, have brought the team together and has been an essential component in what they have achieved this season as a group.

Attractive football and success combined

The Hoffenheim midfield really is the machine of the team but is also technically excellent. Street footballers like Nadiem Amiri or Demirbay are almost impossible to get the ball off and what is more, they always want the ball at their feet. Rudy, who for Amiri is “the most elegant footballer I have ever played with,” has shined with his vision and ability on the ball. Demirbay and Amiri are always full of surprises for their opponents and sometimes even their teammates too. Moreover experienced players like Eugen Polanski and Pirmin Schwegler provide strong back-up if the balance in the middle is not quite right. A squad with so much depth has enabled TSG to deal with long-term injuries such as that of Lukas Rupp, whose dribbling skills contributed hugely to Hoffenheim’s dominant performances and played a huge role in the first half of the season before picking up his knee injury.

Although Hoffenheim’s strength in defence is only possible with the disciplined work provided by the midfield, those in the centre of the park for TSG also have some impressive statistics to their name. Indeed twelve goals and 25 assists from “Hoffe’s” playmakers is a record that any strike pair would be proud of. Numerous goals from distance as well as being clinical from set-pieces have come from the midfielders in the squad. Moreover Demirbay’s thunderbolt in Munich, Rudy’s goal against Ingolstadt and Amiri’s long-range strike in Mönchengladbach are just some of the outstanding moments they provided with their incredible technique and precision this season.

To watch such skill has made this campaign a very exciting one for the fans and impressed most opposition. All this has allowed Hoffenheim to connect two things together this season, playing attractive football and achieving success. Nagelsmann will be hoping that these values will provide for yet another superb season of football at Hoffenheim next year.