Dedes and Wagner begin Pro Licence course

With 17 participants, the 71st course to acquire the Pro Licence, the highest licence level in the German coaching system, started on Monday at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt. Among them: the two TSG coaches Theodoros Dedes and Vincent Wagner. Over the coming months, the two coaches from Hoffenheim will complete a total of 700 learning units, divided into around 15 attendance and application phases.

"The exchange with the other participants as well as the experience and tips from the coaches will be very valuable for my further development as a coach, both in terms of personality and expertise. I am very grateful for this opportunity and the support from TSG," said Dedes about his participation in the Pro Licence course, adding: "The double burden of responsibilities as coach at the club will certainly present a challenge, but I'm really looking forward to the coming months."

Theodoros Dedes has been head coach of TSG Hoffenheim's women's Bundesliga team since June 2024. From 2019 to 2022, the 34-year-old was in charge of the women's team at SV Meppen and celebrated promotion to the Bundesliga twice with his team. In the summer of 2022, Dedes moved to men's 3. Liga club SV Waldhof Mannheim, where he served as assistant coach for two years.

U23 coach Vincent Wagner joined TSG from Rot-Weiss Essen in the summer of 2022 and led "Hoffe zwo" to a third-place finish in the Regionalliga Südwest in each of the two seasons he was in charge  - a position that TSG's U23s had only achieved once in the previous twelve years. The former RW Essen and KFC Uerdingen player began his coaching career as U19 assistant coach at FC Kray (2014-17) before joining TSG via VfL Bochum (2017-18), MSV Duisburg (2018-21) and RW Essen.

"At the age of 23, I had already obtained my amateur sports C licence, and now I'm looking forward to the final stage of training to become a football coach," says Wagner. "I learnt this trade from the ground up and have worked towards this goal for 15 years. It makes me proud to have made an impression in the selection process and to now be part of this small, select group," added the 38-year-old. "A big thank you to those responsible at TSG for their support along the way. It gives me a very good feeling that while I'm away I can rely on a really good coaching staff and a team with strong character. I love continuing my education and am looking forward to the inspiring exchange with the other pro licence candidates in the coming weeks and months."

The participants in the 71st Pro Licence course:

Niko Arnautis (Eintracht Frankfurt), Theodoros Dedes (TSG Hoffenheim), Markus Fiedler (VfB Stuttgart), Alexander Hahn (Holstein Kiel), Roberto Hilbert (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), Florian Kästner (FC Carl Zeiss Jena), Ralf Kettemann (Karlsruher SC), Lars Kornetka (ÖFB/ Austria men's national team), David Krecidlo (VfB Stuttgart), Dennis Schmitt (Eintracht Frankfurt), Christian Tiffert (zuletzt Chemnitzer FC), Saban Uzun (SV Lafnitz), Eva-Maria Virsinger (VfL Wolfsburg), Sandro Wagner (DFB/men's national team), Vincent Wagner (TSG Hoffenheim), Heiko Westermann (FC Barcelona), Sabrina Wittmann (FC Ingolstadt)