SPIELFELD
04/29/2020

Rosen: "We need to make bold decisions"

Alexander Rosen, the director of football at TSG Hoffenheim, has described the expected resumption of the Bundesliga with matches behind closed doors as "an unprecedented challenge", but an opportunity to reflect on "the core of the game" too. "In a way, the coming weeks and months will see the Bundesliga reduced from a gigantic spectacle to almost the 11v11 it originally was," explained Rosen in an interview for the May issue of club magazine SPIELFELD, which will be published on Friday (1 May).

The prospect of "games behind closed doors" has an "almost bizarre feel about it" for him, the 41-year-old said. "I already emphasised a few years ago that we must not stray any further from the original core, namely the game itself." And this at a time when the Bundesliga constitutes an economic sector in its own right with almost 60,000 jobs. "There was one sales record after another and football underwent a rapid development that other industries can only dream of. Higher, faster, further more of everything. Flanked by an equally rapidly changing media world. And suddenly, out of the blue, like everyone else, we find ourselves faced with an unprecedented challenge."

Rosen's statements bear a close resemblance to those of Christian Seifert, the chief executive officer of the German Football League (DFL), who said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper published on Wednesday that he understands the criticisms about the excesses of professional football, and that "a functioning Bundesliga is not a natural state". The TSG Hoffenheim director also emphasised the social responsibility of football: "Football lives off its strong anchoring in the middle of our society a role it can and must be aware of. All persons and market participants involved bear responsibility, but I would like to expressly point out once again that there are currently a large number of problems that are of greater social significance than the challenges of the football business. The task at hand remains to get a grip on the health risks."

TSG Hoffenheim does not have any difficulties adapting to new challenges that could arise from the corona crisis, Rosen declared, adding: "We have pointed out again and again that we have to think sustainably and manage prudently  never with such an unforeseeable event as a pandemic in mind, of course. Now there are existential concerns, the survival of entire clubs and ultimately the league. Not least with our future strategy 'TSG is motion', we have created a broad basis for raising socio-political questions and for acting responsibly, regardless of the sporting results. The 'TSG is motion' strategy also puts TSG Hoffenheim in a position whereby it can react appropriately to an expected change: "Change management is an important keyword. We have to adapt both at TSG and in the entire football industry in the short and medium term and, if necessary, develop new approaches. In doing so, we must not shy away from calculable risks in the future and must continue to make bold decisions," Rosen said.

 

The TSG club magazine SPIELFELD will also be accessible as an e-magazine on the website achtzehn99.de on Friday.

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