First friendly defeats of pre-season for U23s & U19s

SATURDAY

U23S & U19S LOSE HEAVILY, U17S COME THIRD IN LANGEN

The U23s played their fourth friendly on Saturday but for the first time this pre-season they came away on the losing side. With their first league game at TSV Steinbach a fortnight away, coach Marco Wildersinn's charges were beaten 5-0 (3-0) by Regionalliga West runners-up Viktoria Köln in Jüllich. They are next in action on Friday, when they face Oberliga outfit 1.CfR Pforzheim in Monsheim for their final pre-season friendly.

The U19s also fell victim to a heavy friendly defeat as they were beaten by A-Youth Bundesliga side 1.FC Köln at the FC Zuzenhausen training ground. Coach Marcel Rapp's side were beaten 7-3 by the Rhinelanders, with Saku Heiskanen, Nathan Malonga and Bleart Dautaj getting the TSG Hoffenheim goals.

The U17s, however, enjoyed more success than their senior age groups at the six-team "Südwest-Master" tournament in Langen, where coach Danny Galm's team managed to finish in third spot. Having beaten SV Sandhausen 3-0 in their opening match, the TSG 2002 year group suffered a 1-0 defeat by 1 .FC Nürnberg that saw them finish in second spot in the group. Hoffenheim's B-Youth Bundesliga team then lost 3-2 to eventual tournament winners Mainz 05 in the semi-final, but subsequently recorded a clear 3-0 victory over SV Wehen Wiesbaden to ensure triumph in the third-place play-off. The top goalscorer in Galm's squad was Armindo Sieb, who scored five goals in the four games.

THURSDAY

NAZARIO JOINS PARANAENSE ON LOAN

TSG Hoffenheim have extended the contract of 23-year-old Bruno Nazario until 30 June 2021. The decision was simultaneously made to loan the attacking midfielder to Brazilian top-flight outfit Clube Atletico Paranaense until summer 2019. Nazario also spent last season on loan in his homeland, where he played for Guarani Futebol Clube in Série B.

WEDNESDAY

U23S & U17S WIN, U19S HELD TO DRAW

The U23s have now won each of their three pre-season friendlies. Coach Marco Wildersinn's charges recorded a 2-1 (0-1) victory over Oberliga side FSV Bissingen, coming from behind at the break to win courtesy of second-half goals from Domenico Alberico and guest player Johannes Bühler.

However, the U19 squad were held to a draw by SV Sandhausen in their first pre-season friendly. The A-Junior Oberliga side from Sandhausen initially took the lead at the FC Zuzenhausen training ground, before Enes Tublik restored parity from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. There were no further goals in the second half and the match ended 1-1.

The U17s, meanwhile, faced the B-Junior Oberliga side SC Freiburg in Iffezheim in a match divided into three lots of 30 minutes. Similarly to the U19s, it was a first outing since pre-season started one and a half weeks ago for coach Danny Galm's charges, but goals from Armindo Sieb, Maximilian Beier and Topaz Kronmüller secured a 3-0 win.

TUESDAY

FITNESS STUDIO NEXT TO THE TRAINING PITCH

Upon completion of the morning training session, the coaching staff lined up a strength session for the Hoffenheim first team in what is a rather unusual fitness studio: TSG have erected a tent next to their training pitch in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in which fitness coach Otmar Rösch and his staff have created a makeshift gym.

COACH AND SUPPORT STAFF ON ALPINE TOUR

On Tuesday afternoon, the TSG Hoffenheim coaching and support staff embarked upon a special excursion that saw them scale the cliffs from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the top of the mountain. "The way up lasted for approximately 90 minutes, but the way back was almost two hours," said Team Manager Timmo Hardung.

U20S TO KICK OFF NEW SEASON AGAINST WETZLAR

The weekend of 19-20 August marks the start of the 2. Bundesliga Women, which this season will be a single nationwide league comprised of 14 teams for the first time. The opening day of the campaign sees the U20s play host to FSV Hessen Wetzlar. Then, on the following weekend, the team coached by Siegfried Becker and Lena Forscht will travel to SV 67 Weinberg. The fixture list is expected to be scheduled precisely on 17 July.

Monday

Fans design stairway leading to South Stand

TSG Hoffenheim fans have taken full advantage of the summer break, using the time to come up with a new design for the staircase leading to the South Stand of Rhein-Neckar-Arena. The fan group Young Boyz 07 carried out the project on their own initiative and put the finishing touches to it over the last fortnight once it had been approved by the TSG management. The steps are now coloured in various shades of blue, with white lettering that reads "Südkurve" (South Stand) and "Hoffenheim".