Marco Kurz: “It's important to establish a sense of community”

To start with, there will be intensive discussions held with his closest co-workers. Kurz has brought Günter Gorenzel with him, his assistant from his time at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Julian Nagelsmann, who assisted interim manager Frank Kramer, also remains among the coaching staff. “It was Marco's expressed wish that we found a second assistant manager who knew the club well and Julian has proven his expertise in a short space of time”, explained Müller.

Training to resume on January 2nd

Training for the TSG first team will begin on January 2nd, one day earlier than originally planned. “We don't have any more time to lose“, said Kurz. The short-term goal is to stay in the top division, ideally without having to endure a play-off match. To do that, TSG have to overtake one of the sides above them in the table. In the mid- to long-term, Kurz wants to return to the virtues that 1899 Hoffenheim stand for: fresh and fast-paced football. In terms of how he plans to do it, the new manager has one clear answer: “It's important to establish a sense of community. We have to do it not just within the team, but with the fans and everyone associated with the club as well.”

The first problem to deal with is the high number of goals conceded. “It's about making the players feel more self-assured. We have to find the right tactics as well as having good positional play. The lads need a clear plan for every situation.” There's a lot of work waiting for the new TSG coaching team after the short winter break. Things get more meticulous after January 2nd. “I'll give the lads their peace until then and after that they'll certainly be seeing a lot of me”, explained Kurz with a smile. The first team will no doubt find the sense of community they need for the second half of the season after their week-long training camp in Portugal (6th-13th January).