No. 4 – Gisdol comes, Rosen steps up

The day:April 2nd 2013

The time:14:00 CET

The moment:TSG decided to make a change in the hope of steering the club away from Bundesliga relegation. Markus Gisdol, a former U23s manager in the Kraichgau, took over the reins at Hoffenheim, with the new boss unveiled at a press conference at the training centre in Zuzenhausen. Alexander Rosen also received a new role at the same time. The previous head of the achtzehn99 academy became the head of professional football and later became the sporting director.

The consequence:Gisdol and Rosen put Hoffenheim back on their old course, calling on young players from the club's own youth system. Gisdol only reluctantly talked about avoiding relegation and was more interested in building Hoffenheim's future. The pair have stuck to their guns in 2013/14. Jeremy Toljan, Niklas Süle, Robin Szarka, Patrick Schorr, Andreas Ludwig, Kenan Karaman – all are young players that are a part of the first-team squad. TSG have also defined their own playing style – pressing, high defending and quick counterattacking. Hoffenheim have rediscovered their original course and the team and the club have a distinctive identity once more.