TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
Rhein Neckar Arena
16-12-12
The club where everything is not as it first appears
At first glance, Hoffenheim is your standard lower end Bundesliga club. Not one of the giants of the games, but in the next group, playing in a modern stadium. But this club is different, very different, even when compared to clubs suh as Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
The modern day story of TSG Hoffenheim started in the mid 90's when on field success saw it rise from the 8th to 5th tier of the German league system. But the real story started as late as 2000 when it started to be bank rolled by former youth player and SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp. I appreciate that many find the whole thing distasteful, but for once, more by luck than judgement, everything appears to have been done without harming any other clubs. Admitably that is not for the want of trying, mergers, moving the club to Heidelberg and initial ground share with Manheim are all part of the story. But the fact is, there were no mergers nor relocation (the new stadium is one stop on the S-Bahn from Hoffenheim).
If I'm honest, the stadium is the least impressive of those I have visited in the Bundesliga. A single tier on three sides, its capacity of 30,150 results more from the sizeable safe standing behind one goal and the overall narrowness of the seating, than the size of the structure. But the approach is impressive, with it perched on a hill over Sinsheim and the roof is a lttle different once inside.
Much to the enthusiasm of the announcer, the game was sold out....the first for a couple of years. But, as with everything to do with this club, all is not as it first appears. The sell out was more to do with the size of the travelling support than anything else. Yellow shirts were in the majority in the home stand I was in, and there were several thousand throughout the other home sections.
With the recent approval of new crowd sanctions by the DFB, the fans protests were stepped up. The 12 minute and 12 second 'silence' was extended to the whole game, and the occaisional chants of support from the home fans were more than drowned out by anti DFB chants from the visiting sections. Approximately half the away fans located in their safe standing section only entered the bowl after 12 mins and 12 secs and very few banners or flags (except protest banners) were visible.
Dormund ran out easy winners, but German football is currently more than who wins 3 points. I really hope the fans succeed, but I am beginning to fear the worse.
The modern day story of TSG Hoffenheim started in the mid 90's when on field success saw it rise from the 8th to 5th tier of the German league system. But the real story started as late as 2000 when it started to be bank rolled by former youth player and SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp. I appreciate that many find the whole thing distasteful, but for once, more by luck than judgement, everything appears to have been done without harming any other clubs. Admitably that is not for the want of trying, mergers, moving the club to Heidelberg and initial ground share with Manheim are all part of the story. But the fact is, there were no mergers nor relocation (the new stadium is one stop on the S-Bahn from Hoffenheim).
If I'm honest, the stadium is the least impressive of those I have visited in the Bundesliga. A single tier on three sides, its capacity of 30,150 results more from the sizeable safe standing behind one goal and the overall narrowness of the seating, than the size of the structure. But the approach is impressive, with it perched on a hill over Sinsheim and the roof is a lttle different once inside.
Much to the enthusiasm of the announcer, the game was sold out....the first for a couple of years. But, as with everything to do with this club, all is not as it first appears. The sell out was more to do with the size of the travelling support than anything else. Yellow shirts were in the majority in the home stand I was in, and there were several thousand throughout the other home sections.
With the recent approval of new crowd sanctions by the DFB, the fans protests were stepped up. The 12 minute and 12 second 'silence' was extended to the whole game, and the occaisional chants of support from the home fans were more than drowned out by anti DFB chants from the visiting sections. Approximately half the away fans located in their safe standing section only entered the bowl after 12 mins and 12 secs and very few banners or flags (except protest banners) were visible.
Dormund ran out easy winners, but German football is currently more than who wins 3 points. I really hope the fans succeed, but I am beginning to fear the worse.