First game, first win – TSG beat Leuven

Markus Gisdol's men were on their way to victory early on after goals from Tarik Elyounoussi (3') and Roberto Firmino (8'). The Bundesliga side's ability to quickly turn defence into attack left the Belgian team short of answers for a long time. Hoffenheim had more of the ball and more chances. Most impressive were Elyounoussi, Firmino and Sebastian Rudy, all of whom pulled the strings.

In the second half, Gisdol, as he had done in the summer, sent a completely different team onto the pitch. Koen Casteels stayed in goal but all 10 outfield players were substituted. In the 53rd minute, Stefan Thesker had to be brought off (Kevin Akpoguma replaced him) with a suspected ankle ligament tear.

Contented manager

In the second 45 minutes, Hoffenheim controlled the game, hardly leaving the opposition with a chance. In attack though, TSG lacked the same vigour that they possessed in the first half. No surprise really after six intensive days of training.

Markus Gisdol was pleased with his side's performance: “We managed to keep the opponents away from our goal for nearly the whole 90 minutes. In the first 20 minutes, we looked particularly good turning defence into attack.”

Sweating like the Bundesliga

Before the game, the team had a 10am training session that lasted nearly an hour. A small pitch with a focus on ball control and a nine-on-nine game proved to be a strenuous session, and one that was similar to that of a pre-Bundesliga game session.

All of this took place under the watchful eyes of Germany's U16 manager Stefan Böger. Hoffenheim's Niklas Süle and Akpoguma were both runners-up with Böger in the 2012 U17 European Championship.

Böger saw Niklas Süle return to team training after his calf issue, as did Anthony Modeste after his thigh bruise. Jeremy Toljan (calf bruise), Sven Schipplock (Achilles problem) and Sejad Salihovic (thigh hardening) were all spectators for the friendly though.