Prass: "We need to become better"

Not only did Alexander Prass move from reigning Austrian double-winners Sturm Graz to TSG Hoffenheim in the summer of last year, but he also passed up the opportunity to play for the Graz outfit in the Champions League this season. Nonetheless, Prass has not regretted the move to Germany for a second. "When you have won the cup twice and the league once with Sturm Graz, then the question arises: What else is there? You start to think: It's gone so well, for the club and for myself – if I have the opportunity to move, then I really have to take it. Because you never know what's going to happen. If the team – and you personally – are no longer playing so well, the demand is suddenly very low or maybe non-existent. You have to be realistic and honest: I cannot really achieve anything more here, so I should use the momentum and take the next step."

However, it has not yet gone as planned on a sporting level for the 23-year-old and TSG in the first half of the season. After 15 rounds of matches, Hoffenheim are in 15th place. The aim is for an improvement in the second half-season – thanks in part to the philosophy of new TSG coach Christian Ilzer. "I believe that if everything is working really well after a certain period of time, if the automatisms settle into place, then a lot is still possible in the table. But we simply need to make sure we improve via more training and our matches. For one thing is clear: we need to get better."

Prass, who can be deployed on the left flank and in central midfield too, already knows Ilzer and managing director for sport Andreas Schicker from their years together in Graz and regards the duo highly: "Christian Ilzer has a clear plan and has the strength not to deviate from it, even when things are not going so well. I like that: define clear objectives, have a clear plan – and at the same time don't neglect the human element. That applies equally to Andreas Schicker as the managing director for sport. He is someone whom you can approach with any problem. Andi is very normal, straightforward and someone who is very honest and doesn't make promises that he can't keep. I really appreciate that. They've both remained very human."

It was not always foreseeable that the Austria international would make it as a professional footballer. Prass was unhappy at Linzer ASK in his youth and dared to make the move to the Red Bull Salzburg boarding school aged 11: "It's certainly not normal for players to go to boarding school at such a young age and be away from home. But it was my wish at the time. I wasn't happy at all at LASK in Linz. I then told my parents: 'Either I do this or I quit football completely.' I remember the first time I travelled the 150 kilometres to Salzburg by train on my own. My mum was standing on the platform, waving – and I shed a tear or two. When I look back, it was extreme."

Also in the January issue of SPIELFELD, the TSG Hoffenheim club magazine: an A to Z look back over 2024 at the club, a profile of Heidelberg basketball player Paul Zipser and an explanation of the new TV contract.