"Nobody is bigger than the club"

It is time for change – the quartet of managing directors made that clear in their interview with SPIELFELD. "We have set out as a management team to give this club a clear direction and identity again – in sporting, economic and organisational terms," said Dr. Markus Schütz, the Chairman of the Board, who continued: "Yes, this path is challenging, but it opens the door to something bigger. Sometimes, we have to say goodbye to the familiar – out of conviction for the greater good." Schütz added: "It is crucial that we always make our decisions for the good of TSG. Nobody is bigger than the club."

According to Managing Director for Sport Andreas Schicker, the objective is to re-establish "a very attractive style of play" – to which end the Austrian believes it is necessary to rejuvenate the squad. This is a clear requirement for the shareholders, in any case. "We have to take a new path – and stick to it. The majority of the TSG players must be able to take the next step here and view the club as a springboard again," said Schicker.

The goal of these changes is for TSG to once again be able to generate transfer surpluses, which Managing Director for Finance Frank Briel regards as essential. "We need to operate more intelligently again and must make the correct decisions. We additionally need to get closer to the revenue levels of our competitors through our activities on the transfer market."

A goal off the pitch is also to become more accessible. Tim Jost, the Managing Director of Marketing & Sales, formulated a clear objective in this regard. "We currently have around 11,000 members – our goal is to double that number by 2027 if possible. To achieve this, we have to go out there, be active and listen."

Also in the June issue of SPIELFELD, the official TSG Hoffenheim magazine, there's a profile of rising star Bazoumana Touré, the departing duo of Fabienne Dongus and Martina Tufeković speak about their time at TSG, and Sportfreunde Lauffen, the winners of the club competition and Hoffenheim's opponents in a friendly in July, are introduced as part of the "Our neighbours" series.