"Hoffe mentality set us apart"

Alexander Rosen, the final away game of the season ended 1-1 in Bielefeld on Saturday. TSG had already ensured they would be in the Bundesliga next season, while Arminia were still fighting for points to avoid relegation. How did you see the game?

"It was a difficult and intense game for us. There was a lot on the line for Bielefeld, but we held strong for 90 minutes. A draw was fair. One special aspect of the match was Andrej Kramarić's record-breaking goal. With the opener in the fifth minute, he struck his 19th goal of the season hit, beating Vedad Ibisevic's record from the 2008/09 season. I know that it means a lot to Andrej to have made club history.  That is why he then thanked all those who accompanied him on this journey. 

The next game up is against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, then the 20/21 season will be consigned to the history books. This is a season that can be described, not only because of the coronavirus, as the most extraordinary in the history of the Bundesliga...

"...and as a very, very challenging one. The last one and a half years have been extremely demanding on everyone as a result of the pandemic. As a club and a league, we were grateful to be able to play at all thanks to the politicians and thanks to the DFL's hygiene concept. And yet the season provided us with plenty of negative surprises, which repeatedly saw us face major hurdles and demanded a lot of us. But thanks to the great morale and the enormous commitment of everyone at the club, we always took up the challenges and didn't get desperate. The many cases of Covid, the almost uncanny bad luck with injuries that plagued us throughout the season, the heavy burden of the packed schedule – all of which we managed together as a team. Despite the many obstacles, we remained calm, believed in ourselves, kept going and we will finish the league in mid-table. Ultimately, that is not what we had hoped for before the season. However, given the circumstances, it is respectable. Thanks to our "Hoffenheim mentality", we really fought for it. And so we are already heading into our fourteenth season as a Bundesliga team.

So what is the plan for the final home game?

"We'll give it everything we've got one more time against Hertha BSC. Both teams can play with freedom. We want to build on our good form from recent weeks and stay undefeated. However, we have to cope with major personnel challenges again. In Baumann, Hübner, Bičakčić, Nordtveit, Richards, Stafylidis, Akpoguma, Geiger and Baumgartner, we will again be missing a lot of players. But we want to go into the summer break with feeling good." 

Meanwhile, German football is going through a difficult phase. Among other things, the DFL had to overcome the corona crisis and all its effects on sport and the economy. The DFB is experiencing a historic crisis of leadership.

"In this context, I would like to pay a great compliment to the DFL. The way the situation was handled for all of us during this time was exceptional. For this pandemic, there were no experiential figures to fall back on, no routines, no operating instructions at all, and yet we managed to play the season entire season and create a kind of blueprint for other leagues and industries. This was not a matter of course and was life-saving for many clubs and their employees.  On the other hand, the image of the DFB – the world's largest individual sports association – is devastating. There is the leadership crisis you mentioned – a really undignified debacle that has severely damaged football in recent months. Meanwhile, the great worries of the many amateur clubs in this country due to coronavirus remained unanswered. 

A current topic of discussion at the DFB is the age limit for referees. Here too, it seems that the necessary foresight is lacking. 

"It is time that the isolated statements that have recently been made, speaking out against the age limit for referees in general, and especially in favour of at least one more season of an exceptional referee like Manuel Gräfe, are orchestrated and that the league stands up with one voice against this official madness. There are probably only a few subjects on which all the protagonists, i.e. players, coaches and sports directors, share the same opinion. Unfortunately, this bureaucratic decision fits into the self-portrait of what is apparently an irreparably divided association. It's about using the best in the league, at all levels. Young people can orient themselves around these best people, and they can learn from them. This applies not only to the performance, but also to the attitude that a man like Manuel Gräfe has demonstrated even off the pitch for years. You have to scratch your head when a man is put on ice at the peak of his performance just because he has arrived at an imaginary time threshold set in a bygone era. It is testimony to the lack of sovereignty and meritocracy that an association of this size and stature should radiate.  This decision fits right in with its disastrous public image. You may not believe what and how much you can do wrong in an organisation in such a short space of time. And you can evidently do so still full of conviction. These are events that are demonstrably harmful to football. It's time for more working together and less personal agendas and jostling for position.  It is important to act in the spirit of football – the motto has to be 'unite, not divide'."

If you had one wish, what would be it?

"I would wish that the divisions and hatred in our society will decline and that we will come together to tackle and overcome the extraordinary challenges of this time on all levels. In my opinion, much more emphasis must be placed on the perspective of younger people. Of course, we are all yearning for more freedom again. So many industries and people are suffering mentally, physically and financially from the consequences of this pandemic. For football and sport in general, I hope that spectators will be allowed to enter the stadiums again. Sharing the joy and emotions with our fans really makes the difference. We are all really missing that."