Ralf Rangnick and his Hoffenheim team is the talk of the German Bundesliga, sitting atop the league one-third into the 2008-09 season while leading the league in scoring with 27 goals. The 22 points is one better than Bayer Leverkusen and two ahead of Hambug.
Why Should We Be Favorite?
Hoffenheim went into its most recent encounter on Wednesday at Bochum as at least favorites for odds-makers. Head coach Rangnick would have nothing of it, telling the German television station Premiere before the game: “I don’t see why we should be considered favorite. Last year we were in the second division ad the year before that we were in the third division.
Offense Finally Kicks In
Hoffenheim gave up an early goal by Dennis Grote in the second minute in falling behind on the road. And Bochum – mired in the middle of a tough relegation fight already – refused to give up any ground and made life difficult for Rangnick’s short-passing game.
But Hoffenheim finally solved the Bochum back line and the floodgates opened with Demba Ba knotting the game after 64 minutes. Vedad Ibisevic continued his superb season by converting a penalty on 70 minutes and just a minute later Carlos Eduardo completed the three-goal rush in seven minutes.
Four Straight Wins, Slowly Gaining Real Respect
The victory was the fourth straight for Hoffenheim and fifth in the past six games. And Rangnick’s scoring machine has scored at least three goals in all but one of those six contests. And slowly the team from a small town of about 3,000 residents in western Germany is gaining respect. And there is even talk around the country whether Hoffenheim could shock the nation and become the second promoted team to win the title, following Kaiserslautern in 1997-98.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of defending German champion FC Bayern Munich, said he was impressed after Hoffenheim thrashed previously league leader Hamburg 3-0 last weekend. “Every team ahead of FC Bayern in the standings deserves our respect. And they have the respect of Bayern.”
Others Also Impressed With Hoffenheim
Hamburg defender Joris Mathijsen told Premiere after the loss against Hoffenheim: “I don’t know what they ate. They were clearly better than us.” And Stefan Effenberg, a former German international and captain of Bayern Munich’s Champions League victory in 2001 – was extremely impressed. “Everyone knows it is not easy in Bochum, especially when you are behind. They showed that can forget about trailing and just play their game. It is now one third of the season through and they deserve a big compliment.”
Players Say Why Not to Title Talk
Hoffenheim players have responded fondly to questions about whether they want to win the title this year. Three weeks ago, Ibisevic told Premiere: “Yeah why not. We are playing strong and playing our game. Let’s just see what happens.” Andreas Beck added on Wednesday to Premiere: “What we have done so far is very orderly. We are having fun and we are hungry. Let’s just see what happens. We’ll see what happens.”
Hoffenheim Bosses Calm
Rangnick laughed off talk of winning the title, telling Premiere after the Bochum win: “We are taking all of this with amusement. We are staying grounded. We are not concerned about the lead. We don’t care about May (the end of the season). We only care about the next game.”
And Hoffenheim manager Jan Schindelmeiser added at the Hamburg game: “We recognize that we are in first place. But that is not what is important for us. We want to stay on our plan and continue to develop. Of course we are surprised that the success has come so quickly. But we knew that the guys we have are very talented and willing to learn and improve.”
