1899 Hoffenheim have wasted no time on their way into the Bundesliga.
Last season 1899 finished second in the Regional League South to win promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
A 5-0 win over SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Sunday has now made sure that 1899 will play in the Bundesliga next season, thanks to a second-place finish in their first ever 2. Bundesliga season.
bundesliga.de explains Hoffenheim's success and introduces the small village.
The village: Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim lies in the region Kraichgau and is a district of the city Sinsheim in South-West Germany. More popular cities in the proximity include Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Heidelberg. The village itself has less than 3,500 inhabitants, making Hoffenheim the smallest village ever to boast a Bundesliga club.
The patron: Dietmar Hopp
He is undoubtedly the main reason for Hoffenheim's rise to the Bundesliga: Dietmar Hopp. One of the founders of software company SAP, Hopp is considered as one of the richest Germans. A former lower-league player for Hoffenheim, Heidelberg-born Hopp financially supports 1899. The billionaire also supports young talent in golf, ice hockey and handball. His Dietmar-Hopp-Stiftung, founded in 1995, is one of the biggest foundations in Europe. Its tasks are medicine, education, social institutions and youth sports.
The coach: Ralf Rangnick
49-year-old Rangnick is an old acquaintance of the Bundesliga, having already coached VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96 and FC Schalke 04 in the top flight. He led Hanover into the Bundesliga in 2002 in a season that saw 96 score a 2. Bundesliga record 93 goals. He led Schalke 04 into second place and into the DFB Cup final in 2004/05. His move to Hoffenheim was announced on June 22, 2006 - and he has guided Hoffenheim from the Regional League to the Bundesliga in just two seasons.
The "magician": Bernhard Peters
Peters (R, with Ralf Rangnick) established a reputation in field hockey, guiding the German national team to two World Championships in 2002 and 2006. The German football fans got to know Peters when German national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann put him forward for the job of DFB sporting director in 2006, but that never materialised. Instead Peters moved to Hoffenheim on October 15, 2006, being appointed as Director for sport and promotion of young players.
The future: the Youth Academy
It has never been the club's policy to rely on experienced and costly stars. 1899 have invested a lot of money in a youth academy instead. Success seems to be just around the corner: the Under-19s and Under-17s already play in the respective Youth Bundesliga.
The veteran: Francisco Copado
He is one of the experienced exceptions every young team needs: Francisco Copado. The versatile midfielder had already played Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga football for Hamburger SV (1993 - 96), Tennis Borussia Berlin (1998 - 2000), SpVgg Unterhaching (2000 - 05) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2005 - 06) when he made the move to Hoffenheim in August 2006. He has played a big part in the two promotions, scoring 24 goals in two seasons and leading the younger players.
The boost: new signings
1899 had problems to get going this season, picking up just a single point from their first four matches. The club reacted and brought in three additional players in late August: Chinedu Obasi, Demba Ba (pictured) and Carlos Eduardo. The three have played a big part in Hoffenheim's rise up the standings. Strikers Ba and Obasi have scored twelve goals each, Carlos Eduardo has been pulling the strings in midfield.
The marching-through: number six
Hoffenheim are the sixth club to have done the "marching-through" from the third flight into the Bundesliga. The other five clubs to have reached the Bundesliga with two successive promotions had been TSV 1860 München (1993, 94), Fortuna Düsseldorf (1994, 95), Arminia Bielefeld (1995, 96), 1. FC Nürnberg (1997, 98) and SSV Ulm (1998, 99). And guess who coached SSV Ulm nine years ago in three quarters of their promotion season: Ralf Rangnick.
The new stadium: from January 2009
1899 played in the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion this season, but the arena - holding just 6,350 spectators - will be too small for Bundesliga football. The construction of a new stadium, called Rhein-Neckar-Arena and situated in Sinsheim, is already under way. The stadium will host 30,500 fans and shall be completed in early 2009. Home matches during the first half of the Bundesliga season are likely to be played in Mannheim's Carl-Benz-Stadion.
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