The new signing who's come full circle

Friday evening saw the new signings make their first appearance in a TSG Hoffenheim shirt against SpVgg Unterhaching − but for one of the summer arrivals, it was not a new experience. Vincenzo Grifo previously played in Hoffenheim between 2012 and 2015, making 12 Bundesliga appearances for TSG.

Now he's back. "It feels a little bit like coming back home," he said. "I still have very vivid memories of my first Bundesliga match at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena (editor's note: 3-3 draw with Greuther Fürth). I can hardly put into words how pumped I am to be getting ready for the new season here, in the vicinity of my hometown," the midfielder added.

"It's a lot of fun for me"

Grifo made an immediate impact in the 3-0 victory over Unterhaching, striking the upright with a spectacular free-kick on the half-hour mark. The Pforzheim native's performance impressed Sporting Director Alexander Rosen, who said: "I guess I needn't say much about Vince's technical qualities, his love for the game and the extraordinary power of his shots."

The 25-year-old has now been among his Hoffenheim team-mates and coaches for the last fortnight and he's been impressed with the first sessions and training camp overseen by Julian Nagelsmann. "You can see that he comes up with a lot of things that not every coach does. Especially when it comes to tactics, but exercises and principles as well. I've got on fine so far. It's been a lot of fun for me, because a lot of the training is done with the ball."

Dreams of playing for Italy

Vincenzo Grifo has experienced a lot in the past few years. The midfielder was a regular fixture for TSG in the Bundesliga during the 2012/13 campaign but failed to make the breakthrough and was sent out on loan to Dynamo Dresden and FSV Frankfurt, before completing a permanent switch to SC Freiburg in 2015. "Back then I was competing against the likes of Roberto Firmino and Kevin Volland, but I was so young. I've matured since then and time has showed me that I still have a lot to learn. When you make 12 Bundesliga appearances at the age of 18, you perhaps start to think that you have to play every game. But that's not how it works," said Grifo as he recalled the events of five years ago.

Now he wants to cement his place at TSG and take the next steps of his career. While doing so, he will be pursuing another long-term goal: "I have an Italian passport and have previously played for the Italy U20 and U21 teams, which I enjoyed. For me, it's a lifelong dream to play for the Italian national team. That's why I think it's really cool that we're playing in the Champions League and that I can use that platform to draw attention to myself."