There was no surprise against Bayern, but TSG’s interim conclusion is positive. Coach Breitenreiter is satisfied with the squad – and is particularly praised by his boss.
Sinsheim (dpa / lsw) – The expected defeat against industry leader FC Bayern was no longer a big issue at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday. Instead, sports director Alexander Rosen sat in the Sport1 double pass and spoke about the ambitious plans of the Kraichgauer. “The position in the table isn’t that important to me right now. It’s important to me how we present ourselves. We’re going forward and we’re brave,” said Rosen on Sunday. He is happy that a TV report states that TSG is currently “only” in seventh place. This shows how excellent the work is. “We’re in good shape,” Rosen said.
But the work in front of 30,150 spectators was not enough for the Munich and former coach Julian Nagelsmann. “You can’t defend everything. We didn’t hit the punch. I can’t blame my team. That can quickly end 0:5, 0:6,” said head coach André Breitenreiter after the 0:2 thanks to goals from Jamal Musiala and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Breitenreiter believes that the fact that this did not happen is primarily due to the strength of character of his team.
So far, the duo Rosen and Breitenreiter have harmonized. In the summer, the latter followed the hapless Sebastian Hoeneß, who had to leave after two years. “He’s an excellent football coach with a lot of energy. He immediately transmitted the spark. There’s a lot of closeness there. He hits the spot with every single player,” Rosen praised his coach. Europe is a logical goal for TSG, which was missed last season after a miserable final sprint.
“I think it’s fantastic how the colleagues from Freiburg and Union Berlin still manage to talk about staying up, while they more or less want to sing the international business into us,” put Rosen into perspective. League leaders Union and cup finalists Freiburg are currently ahead of TSG in the table. “I can say that we will do a lot to ensure that we can do what we have done three times in the past six years, namely to be there internationally.”
The well-deserved 0:2 against Bayern, who were superior especially in the first half, should be ticked off as quickly as possible. “In Cologne, commitment and attitude must be just as good, so we have to be even stronger in the tackle there and do our best. Our entire development process is good, it’s going in the right direction,” said goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who thwarted further chances. Despite the defeat, the conclusion was “actually positive”. Previously there had been two clear victories against newly promoted FC Schalke 04 – first in the league, then in the cup.
The level of play and the offensive, in which Vice World Champion Andrej Kramaric came on again after an injury on Saturday, give courage for the final sprint to the World Cup (November 20th to December 18th). “We also saw against Bayern that we always get chances. We have to put the game behind us now, become more effective and determined – and then do better next week in Cologne,” said Grischa Prömel, who, like Christoph Baumgartner, played in the offensive line is.
