Football Season Review

№9: Hoffenheim

A disappointing campaign for Julian Nagelsmann in his final season in charge of the club as Hoffenheim finished well below expectations of another fight for Champions League qualification, just about managing to stay in the top half of the Bundesliga table. A leaky defense contributed to a poor start for Hoffenheim who could manage just six wins in the first half of the season though that was enough to help the club remain in the hunt for a European qualification spot. A revival in form after the winter break saw Hoffenheim lose just two times until midway through April but just when it looked they were gathering steam for one final push in the top four race, a return of just one point from their final four games meant they finished seven points adrift of the fourth spot. Attack was not a problem for Hoffenheim who scored the most number of goals outside of the top two and Kramaric and Belfodil both managing to breach the 15-goal mark and the duo were supported by Demirbay and Joelinton who played key roles in the attack. It was at the back where problems persisted for Hoffenheim as they conceded over 50 goals and could only manage just five cleansheets over the course of the season. Former assistant manager Alfred Schreuder has been announced as the successor for Nagelsmann and the Dutch coach will have a minor rebuilding job to do with Demirbay and Nico Schulz both completing big money moves to Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund respectively while the arrival of Ihlas Bebou will not fix what has been a porous defense this season


Player of the Season: Andrej Kramaric