With a tenacious swing of Andrej Kramric’s right foot, the Rhein-Neckar-Arena burst into rapturous applause as Hoffenheim secured their most famous victory in their theatrical history.
A 1-0 victory over champions and colossal giants Bayern Munich was just the peak of a crescendo that had started increasing in volume 19 years ago in the ninth tier of German football.
Although the curtain has yet to be called on this remarkable rise upwards through the football pyramid, with Champions League football now a real possibility for their young manager and old-school team, this result signals the pinnacle in an opera-like story.
Cream always rises to the top, or at least third
Julian Nagelsmann is currently gaining attention as he waves his figurative baton on the touchline. The 29-year-old is the youngest to manage in the Bundesliga since the league’s inception but age has thus far proven no burden on him or the team he manages with such success.
A student of Thomas Tuchel at Augsburg, Nagelsmann has worked wonders to guide this once small-time club to the highest reaches of football superstardom. Since his appointment in November 2016, the German has transformed the fortunes of Die Kraichgauer from relegation candidates to likely Champions League participants.
The recent win over Bayern resulted in further space - 11 points to be exact - between themselves and those looking to occupy a top four spot. A 17-match unbeaten run over the winter and an equally impressive string of results in the last few weeks may just be enough to cement the club’s greatest ever achievement.
The size of this achievement cannot be understated. Rags to riches stories are found in football throughout Europe but few come better than TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s.
Humble beginnings for Hofffenheim
Located in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, the small village of Hoffenheim has just 3,000 inhabitants and their football club seemed restricted to the lower reaches of domestic football.
Hoffenhiem were first placed in the Kreisklasse - the first stop in Germany’s football structure - after the village’s gymnastics and football club formed shortly after the Second World War. They spent decades within that division before a slow rise - as they reached the sixth tier - in the 1990s that coincided with further financial backing towards the end of the century.
After years in a sub-standard stadium, this humble team was plucked out of obscurity by former youth-team striker and billionaire software tycoon - Dietmar Hopp. The 76-year-old has performed miracles for the club and subsequently the area as one of the village’s most successful alumni heavily invested in his boyhood club.
The co-founder of SAP helped fund a move to a brand new stadium - imaginatively called the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion - in the club’s centenary year as he looked to keep the upward trend going and, of course, he did.
Remarkable rise continued
Hoffenhiem flew further up the ranks with back-to-back promotions. Although the project seemed to have stalled upon promotion to the third division, with plans of merging further clubs breaking down and no promotion in sight, Hopp remained adamant that he would guide the club to professional football.
The days of locally sourced players were over as squad upheavals, managerial sackings, changes in identity and plans to move home once again took place midway through the last decade. The club was no longer recognisable as rural roots were replaced by urban ruthlessness.
Much of the criticism directed towards Hoffenhiem is based on the knowledge that their success has been built on financial investment rather than solely relying on careful planning. The anger that some German fans may possess might be better placed towards the likes of Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig instead. Although the former had history prior to their respective cash injection, much of the envy of fans has been because of their previous obscure status.
Borussia Monchengladbach fans chanted "Dietmar Hopp, son of a whore" during a meeting between the two sides in 2008. Hoffenhiem were also voted Germany’s most unpopular club at one point during the noughties but, according to the mayor of nearby Sinsheim, the rise has done well for the local community.
"Football euphoria has been unleashed, even among people who weren't very interested in soccer before," Rolf Geinert told Reuters.
All of the decisions do seem to have been made for the good of the club. The Rhein-Neckar-Arena was said to have brought jobs and prosperity towards workers in the area when it opened in 2009. Big-money transfers such as £8m midfielder Carlos Eduardo and Demba Ba whilst in the 2. Bundesliga seem to have been signed to reach targets rather than for commercial gain.
These signings, along with the likes of Luis Gustavo and Vedad Ibisevic, helped the club to a seventh-place finish in the club’s debut season of Bundesliga football - certainly not an unhealthy position by any stretch of the imagination but, given their start to the campaign, mid table somewhat disappointed in the end.
What disappointed further was the sale of Gustavo to Bayern Munich. Manager Ralf Rangnick, who was with the club since the Regionalliga, did not see eye-to-eye with Hopp despite near £14m profit made on Gustavo alone.
His departure signalled the end to the stability in the managerial position with seven permanent bosses being appointed in the near six years after Rangnick’s departure. Hoffenhiem’s league position has fluctuated in that time period, going as low as 16th in 2013 and now as high as third.
The journey continues
'That is how you apply for the position of Bayern coach!' wrote German publication BILD following the Bayern Munich victory. While nobody would deny the fact that Nagelsmann could manage the champions in the future, it appears definite that both coaches will remain in their current jobs for next season at least.
The aim for this term will be to continue the momentum and mathematically secure a Champions League spot for next season. The overachievers could claim second place from Leipzig but fans and Hopp will be more than content with the small matter of finishing above Borussia Dortmund and securing a top three finish if possible.
Whatever the outcome of this campaign, the journey of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is far from over.