It was curious to see how the Hoffenheim professionals would react to their coach’s announcement: They delivered.
It was not the first time Sebastian Hoeneß had appealed to the attitude and mindset of his team. Before the international break, the 39-year-old had given his professionals, who had previously been too sloppy in Stuttgart (1:3), an urgent talking-to and got them up and tuned up accordingly against Cologne. The result was not only impressive in terms of numbers. “We wanted to show a reaction, and it was very good,” Hoeneß summed up with great satisfaction after the 5-0 win on Friday evening, “it was a good team performance from the first to the last second. The boys had a lot of positive energy on the pitch, a lot of mentality. We lived the basic virtues of football today. That’s the basis for us, that’s what we have to bring on the pitch.”
If this home match had gone wrong under these auspices, and if the team had once again failed to bring its full passion to the pitch, it could have been uncomfortable for Hoeneß. That’s one of the reasons why Hoeneß felt “a mixture of joy, confirmation and relief” in view of his team’s act of defiance. So the head coach once again emphasised what was important to him: “We want to stand for what we showed today, a team that fought for each other and played intensive football. And then can also play good football,” said Hoeneß, who immediately prevented relapses: “That must also be clear to everyone now.”
Hoeneß’ plan had worked in every respect. He had nominated his most aggressive players and, surprisingly for the opponent, arranged them in a 3-4-1-2 formation. “We were gripping from the start and knew what was coming. It worked from the first minute,” said double goal scorer Ihlas Bebou, “now we have to be even more consistent. If we show this greed, we will continue to get our points.”
And convince the audience. Where there had been a rather dull atmosphere in a largely empty arena recently, at least the TSG fans among the 14,309 spectators celebrated their team with standing ovations and chants not heard for a long time: “Oh, how nice it is, you haven’t seen anything like this for a long time. “
