Bundesliga
“Nagelsmann can’t be replaced one to one” – Dietmar Hopp
While Hoffenheim’s rise to the Bundesliga can be attributed to its owner Dietmar Hopp, it was his decision to appoint Julian Nagelsmann as first-team coach in the 2015/16 season that took the club to the next level. Now Hopp is faced with the tough decision of how to replace TSG’s most successful Bundesliga coach.
Ahead of the 2018/19 season, it was announced that Nagelsmann would be leaving Hoffenheim at the end of the campaign to take over at league rivals RB Leipzig. Hoffenheim are yet to announce who will succeed the youngest head coach in Bundesliga history, but Hopp has told the Frankfurter Rundschau that Nagelsmann “can’t be replaced one to one”.
Since taking over Hoffenheim at the age of 28 in February 2016, Nagelsmann’s impact on the club from the town of Sinsheim has been immeasurable. Succeeding Huub Stevens with TSG 17th in the table, he guided the team to safety. In his first full season in charge, Hoffenheim qualified for Europe for the first time in their history and then the UEFA Champions League group stage the year after.
Hopp, himself a former Hoffenheim youth player, also spoke of the “consistency on and off the pitch” that the Sinsheimers have enjoyed in recent years, particularly during Nagelsmann’s time at the club where they have emerged as top-four candidates in the Bundesliga.
Prior to his appointment as first-team coach, Nagelsmann was in charge of the club’s U19s having progressed through the youth ranks. It’s a path now frequently taken in German football, including the likes of Schalke boss Domenico Tedesco and Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner, and one of which Hopp is immensely proud.
Watch: Nagelsmann and Tedesco: The Bundesliga's new wave of coaches
“Look up and down the professional leagues in Germany at how many players and coaches there are who came through us,” Hopp stated. “Our work in Zuzuhausen [the home of the club’s training ground] is now of worldwide interest,” which doesn’t just include the coaches themselves but the technological advancements, including the giant video wall on the training pitch and the Footbonaut.
As for the identity of the man Hopp will entrust the reins of his club from 2019/20, that remains to be decided. He did, however, narrow down the possibilities by suggesting he wishes to continue the trend of youthful coaches at Hoffenheim and in the Bundesliga. “We definitely won’t be bringing in an old seafarer,” the club’s decision-maker announced.