FIRST TEAM
10/05/2017

Dennis Geiger – Everything began with the U12s

On August 3rd 2016, at the age of 18, Dennis Geiger was called up to the TSG first-team. The youngster had impressed Julian Nagelsmann and his coaching team during the first weeks of the 2016/17 pre-season and it was decided he should learn from the pros. Twelve months later, Geiger made his debut in the Champions League playoff against Liverpool. Shortly afterwards he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga. His is an archetypal Hoffenheim story.

Geiger has been at TSG since he played for the U12s. He’s also competed at every level for the German national side and has made 12 appearances for Germany U19s. It was at this time that he began to be noticed at TSG. Geiger played a key role as Hoffenheim reached the final of the youth competition in 2015/16. He scored two goals in the semi-final against Werder Bremen and notched another in the final against Borussia Dortmund.

Next summer came the call-up to the first team when the man from Mosbach earned his place in the team’s training camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. “Dennis showed that he deserved to stay. He played without fear and has been very good so far,” said co-trainer Matthias Kaltenbach a few weeks later in TSG’s Bad Häring training camp in Austria.

Development with the U23s

“Dennis has great technical quality and an extraordinary talent that we want to keep on developing. The success of the academy is proven by many of the youth talents from the past, too,” said Alexander Rosen in summer 2016. Geiger racked up more game time playing with the U23s during the 2016/17 season, scoring five goals and making two assists in 25 Regionalliga appearances. He also regularly trained with the first-team during that time. The midfielder then signed his first professional contract in January 2017, running till June 2019.

Geiger took the next big step in his career last summer, taking part in first-team pre-season. TSG’s DFB-Pokal game against Rot-Weiß Erfurt was Dennis’ first competitive appearance for Hoffenheim. He made his first Bundesliga appearance shortly afterwards, in the first game of the season against Werder Bremen. The midfielder has now played in six out of seven in the Bundesliga this season.

Praise from on high

There was big praise from Alexander Rosen after Geiger’s Bundesliga debut: “He was exceptionally good today. He’s been getting ready for his opportunity for a year, playing for the U23s and training very hard. He’s a brilliant footballer and has come a long way physically. It’s always the same question with young talents: ‘Can they do it on the big stage?’ Geiger answered this question with a yes in capital letters.”

Geiger scored his first Bundesliga goal against Schalke 04 on matchday 6. “What I really like about Dennis is his reading of the opponent’s game. There are a lot of big holding midfielders who dominate the game and this is exactly what Dennis did today,” said Julian Nagelsmann. He continued, “He’s unbelievably confident on the ball. He always wants it and is not afraid of making mistakes.”

Dennis is always in the thick of the action. He’s earned his place on the pitch. “He’s an important player for us,” said Nagelsmann, though he reminds, “Dennis will get all the time he needs to develop.” Dennis Geiger is a talent bred in Hoffenheim, who came through the ranks at the club, past the U23s and is now the first team. He’s achieved a lot, but even more remains ahead of him. 

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