Bundesliga has been infamous for coming out with great stories. This is a look at the very youngest coach in the game. At 28 he was called on to save TSG Hoffenheim from certain relegation. Not only did he succeed but after his appointment in February of 2016 he led his club on a run that was only surpassed by Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich into safety.
Hoffenheim has, during the 2016-17 season, flown under the radar. RB Leipzig has been earning the attention of the league while TSG has been able to play without attention.
Looking for some reason to believe? Nobody in Germany this season has taken more points off of Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim earned a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 victory over the champions this campaign.
With a late 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt Hoffenheim and Julian Nagelsmann ensured that it will be the big table of the UEFA Champions League for next season.
All that stands between playing in the group phase and running the gauntlet of the playoffs is an away match at Borussia Dortmund.
But taking one step back to look at this marvel and it baffles the mind.
Julian Nagelsmann has much the same squad as last season. They brought in Sandro Wagner from Darmstadt for a small sum after selling Kevin Volland to Bayer Leverkusen for around 18 million.
This philosophy of a quick counter attack under time constraints is one that has found a glaring hole that some teams have not figured out.
Sure Niklas Sule and Sebastian Rudy both are headed already to Bayern at the end of the season, but in recruiting good talent to a team that does not have the history of a Frankfurt or Stuttgart is the carrot of the Champions League.
His stock is “super hoch” at the moment, and there are lots of questions as to what will happen in the future.
Much will coming down to this away match with Dortmund this Saturday, May 6th, as the third place in the Champions League and the group stage will be all settled.
But take nothing away, Julian Nagelsmann has created this environment in Hoffenheim which should inspire those of other teams in the Bundesliga and lower down to aspire to be the best version of themselves.
