Kristian Baumgärtner: former player and ideal candidate

Baumgärtner, born in Heidelberg on 14 November 1968, began playing football at VfB Wiesloch, went through all youth teams and finally played up front for his home club in the men's Verbandsliga – alongside the current DFB vice president Ronny Zimmermann. After a spell at SV 98 Schwetzingen under coach Raimund Lietzau, where the squad included Günter Hillenbrand (both later became head coaches of TSG Hoffenheim), Baumgärtner moved to SG Dielheim.

The trained carpenter built a life in Dielheim by founding a company with a fleet of vehicles for hire, which he ran from 1993 to 2011, but then wanted to experience playing once more and moved to SV Sandhausen in the Oberliga in 1997, before he finally landed at TSG in the Verbandsliga one year later. As a left-sided midfielder, he helped the club reach the play-offs. Baumgärtner and Co. lost to SV Linx, but one year later, under coach Alfred Schön, they celebrated automatic promotion to the Oberliga. "We won 2-0 at TSV Viernheim on the last day of the season and our better goal difference put us ahead of the second team of SV Waldhof," recalls "Baum" about the memorable victory on the pitch on Lorscher Straße.

Baumgärtner resisted a tempting offer from the newly promoted Bundesliga side SSV Ulm 1846, as he did not want to leave the family-like environment in Hoffenheim. "At the village festival in Hoffenheim, which was always a real highlight, I tapped the beer with Thorsten Müller, Marc Rapp and Nešo Đurić at the bar. These were down-to-earth moments that I really appreciated and didn't want to miss out on."

A broken nose against Bayern

Baumgärtner was also there when TSG played the first match at the Dietmar Hopp Stadium in August 1999 – a friendly against FC Bayern Munich. "However, just five minutes in, it was over for me because I collided with Markus Babbel and broke my nose." The highlight of his career was the successful promotion campaign into the Regionalliga under the new head coach Hansi Flick. On 9 June 2001, Baumgärtner was on the pitch at the final whistle in the Frankenstadion in Heilbronn (a 3-0 victory against VfR). It was the last game of his career. "I still remember the celebrations on the trip home in the team bus," he says, admitting: "After that, we had to accept lower bonuses."

The then 33-year-old's time in the Regionalliga was over due to the pain of a triple break of the metatarsal. "I was still involved in the pre-season, but then I had to stop and hang up my boots." Baumgärtner was given the number 33 shirt as a parting gift – and remained connected to TSG. President Peter Hofmann had asked him whether he would like to take up a role on the board. "We knew each other well, I was already well connected in the region at the time and could imagine doing the job. So I said I would do it."

Bringing the TSG brand to the region

TSG's rise to the upper echelons of German football was already in full swing, so there was plenty for everyone on the board to do. Baumgärtner was already involved in the planning and construction of the new stadium and the training centre in Hoffenheim. Together with Peter Hofmann and then third chairperson Jürgen Feil, he formed a "harmonious board" and got involved on all fronts, for example in the management of the fan relations department together with Mike Diehl and in the development of the children's and youth world.

"We now have 125 fan clubs and over 10,000 members," says Baumgärtner, looking back with pride on the developments of the past years. Since February 2013, he has been working for TSG full-time, developing children's, youth and school programs, visiting 20,000 kids with the Hoffexpress every year, among other things, and thus bringing the TSG brand to the region. "At the beginning, there were just under 20 events a year, and we are now at 140," says the 52-year-old, who wants to continue this job even if he is elected.

In addition, Baumgärtner is involved in the Global United FC climate protection association together with Fredi Bobic, Lutz Pfannenstiel and Rainer Hahn as a member of the supervisory board and in TSG hilft e.V. (TSG helps), which helps support clubs in the region during the coronavirus pandemic, or the "Gee Om project" funded by the Dietmar Hopp Foundation, which promotes environmental protection and climate protection in Namibian schools.

A regular at women's games

Thanks to his several years of work for TSG, the second chairperson can fill entire evenings with anecdotes. For example, when the driver of the fan bus tore off the gear stick on his way home from an away game in Erfurt. "We were stuck on the motorway and couldn't continue. I called Hansi Flick, and he actually turned the team bus around to pick the fans up. They then drove home with the players. It was an unforgettable experience for them." Or the story of the Soccer Center in Raurenberg, which he managed for a while with today's U15s coach Andreas Lässig. "Sometimes our Brazilian pros Luiz Gustavo and Carlos Eduardo came by. They were mad for the Currywurst there."

"It's crazy really," says Baumgärtner, who proudly celebrated the promotion to the Regionalliga yesterday. "In the past, we only knew the European Cup from television. Now we have even played in it a few times. And maybe we can do it now with the women." He hopes that the first team will qualify for the Champions League for the first time. "Baum" is a regular at Dietmar Hopp Stadium when the women are playing. "I see it as a great privilege to have made my hobby a profession."

Presidential office as a matter of honour

Kristian Baumgärtner lives in Dielheim with his wife Ronja, who is also known to most of the academy's talents as a liaison teacher at the Albert Schweitzer School in Sinsheim (nutrition and sport), and their children Noel (21) and Luna (19). He describes himself as a "down-to-earth, sometimes a little too good-natured person who likes to be a point of contact and is always happy to listen".

The death of president Peter Hofmann in September hit him hard. "We worked well and closely together and I also miss him as a friend," says Baumgärtner, who is currently acting as president and who is the club's authorised signatory together with the third chairperson Frank Engelhardt. "For me, this is a matter of honour and something that is close to my heart. I am trying to carry out the office as Peter Hofmann would have and in close coordination with the management of the club." That goes for his election too. Frank Engelhardt will also stand for re-election as a representative for grass roots sport and third chairperson, while Stefanie Kunzelnick (35) will stand for the post of second chairperson. She is head of marketing, communication and fundraising at Anpfiff ins Leben e.V.

Now all that is needed is to find the date for the annual general meeting, which depends on the developments of the coronavirus pandemic. The aim is to have an event in the summer that people can attend in person, for example at the Dietmar Hopp Stadium.