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André Breitenreiter becomes coach of TSG Hoffenheim

Dhe TSG 1899 Hoffenheim has a new coach. As the Bundesliga club announced on Tuesday, André Breitenreiter will take over the ambitious club for the new season and should lead it back up after the crash in the second half of the season. The 48-year-old former coach of the Swiss champions FC Zurich is the successor to coach Sebastian Hoeneß, from whom the team parted last Tuesday after missing out on the European Cup places. Breitenreiter signed a contract up to and including June 30, 2024.

The former professional knows the league: Breitenreiter was promoted to the Bundesliga in 2014 with SC Paderborn and in 2017 with Hannover 96. In between, he coached FC Schalke 04. After a break between 2019 and 2021, he was hired in Zurich and led FC to the title. His contract there actually ran for another year.

Wide riders prefer offensive football

“André Breitenreiter is a very ambitious coach who fits in perfectly with TSG with his attacking style of play,” said Hoffenheim’s sporting director Alexander Rosen. Breitenreiter was quoted as saying: “Your principles of being offensive, courageous, flexible and active absolutely match my idea of ​​the game, so I’m looking forward to our future together and my return to the Bundesliga.”

FC Zurich lost 3-2 in the last game of the season in Lucerne on Sunday, but of course the title was still celebrated. In a picture published on Twitter, Breitenreiter beamed into the camera with the championship trophy in his hand. During the game, the Swiss newspaper “Blick” reported that Breitenreiter’s farewell in Zurich was “a done deal”.

With nine games without a win at the end of the season, the Kraichgauers had lost a place in the European Cup in ninth place. Before that, TSG had even been on course for the Champions League. Hoeneß was no longer expected to restart, and there was speculation for a short time that former Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl would be hired.

At the TSG general meeting on Saturday, majority owner Dietmar Hopp had expressed clear criticism. “I think there is no doubt that we had to draw conclusions from the coaching position and beyond,” said the 82-year-old.

The missed Europa League participation would cost Hoffenheim around 20 million euros, the missed leap into the Champions League “much, much more”, calculated Hopp. “The economic situation is still comparatively solid. Probably also because, as the majority owner, I never took any profits. ”The Hoffenheim team had become financially independent of the billionaire in recent years due to high transfer income.

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