Slow burning Hoff

After a patchy set of early results, few people expected Hoffenheim to give Mainz 05 such a comprehensive thrashing in their own backyard last week. An opening day defeat to Hanover may have been followed by victory over champions Borussia Dortmund but the narrow home loss which followed against Werder Bremen suggested that consistency wasn't going to be a word much associated with Hoffenheim this season.

None of the failings which cost them points against Hanover and Werder were evident, however, in Mainz. Hoffenheim played with confidence and at a high tempo against a side known for those things themselves - forcing the Carnival Club into mistakes by employing a high press led by playmaker Roberto Firmino and a rejuvenated Ryan Babel, who both scored in the 4-0 win.

Both Babel and the Brazilian Firmino have been revelations so far this season, operating at the heart of everything that's been impressive in Hoffenheim's embryonic campaign.

"The biggest improvements have surely been made by Ryan and Roberto, because they are the ones scoring goals," Markus Sieger, Hoffenheim club spokesman told Deutsche Welle.

"Babel has found his place in the team and after improving his German, he's able to communicate better with his team mates," Jonas Keinert, who writes on Hoffenheim for 1899aktuell.de, told Deutsche Welle. "He’s a different player. He has adapted physically and mentally to the Bundesliga, benefitted from the club's intense training regime and has gained self-confidence. He believes he can score in every game."

Coaching change

Babel himself has credited Hoffenheim's training regime under coach Holger Stanislawski for getting him into the best shape he's been in since leaving Liverpool in 2010. "We do more advanced training in Hoffenheim, more than I've ever seen in England and we do longer workouts," Babel recently told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "I have never felt so fit."

Hoffenheim watchers are also impressed with Stanislawski’s tactical work. After splitting with longtime coach Ralf Rangnick in the winter break last year, the club had seemed adrift in the season’s second half under Marco Pezzaiuoli. The former St. Pauli man’s new system is turning heads.

"It's a little like the Dutch concept of Total Football where everyone can slip into another position if another player advances or drops back," says Keinert. "There's a lot of movement with players drilled in the tactics of shifting patterns depending on who has the ball and where."

Stanislawski also works to create a nurturing atmosphere, telling his squad that they should concentrate on improving game play rather than simply going after results. Sieger says the mentality is that "If you steadily improve your performance, you will win more games than you lose."

Stripping down

The wind of change that Stanislawski brought south with him from Hamburg has extended well past the squad.

"Stani has helped us to get back to basics, concerning the perception of our club by our own fans, but also by the media. People see us as more down-to-earth than before."

Building a low-key image is, in one sense, easy for Hoffenheim. This is the village club, the one that just 11 years ago was playing in the fifth tier of German football and has only been in the professional leagues since 2007. But their meteoric rise came with some baggage.

Hoffenheim’s leap into the big time in 2008, earning promotion to the top tier after just one season as a pro team in the second division, was heralded as a miracle - but one that was almost all down to heavy investment by owner Dietmar Hopp, earning the club a reputation among fans of other sides as moneybags Johnny-come-lately’s.

In their first season in the first division, the Hoff stormed to the top of the league and stayed there until the winter break. Some pundits were so caught up in the Cinderella tale that they believed that Hoffenheim could win their first championship in their first year playing top flight soccer.

It wasn't to be, however. A serious knee injury to goal-machine Vedad Ibisevic, who topped the league's scoring charts at the mid-way point of that stunning first season, pushed the team into a decline that has never really been stemmed. While they rallied to finish seventh that season - still a very respectable standing for a newly promoted side - the implosion of the championship dream proved to be a chastening affair.

The following two campaigns took on a familiar pattern: Hoffenheim would charge up the table from the first whistle, keeping pace with the lead pack until winter, then swoon. In both seasons, they finish in 11th.

Steady, stealthy assault

Perhaps the omens are better this season as Hoffenheim have started at a more measured pace. After learning to deal with the hype and unmanageable expectation the hard way in their first couple of seasons in the top flight, the club may prosper as a slow-burning phenomenon, picking up points and remaining on the shoulder of the leaders while staying under the radar. Saying that, the 4-0 drubbing of Mainz in week four would have alerted their rivals.

Time will tell, however, if Hoffenheim can temper their own expectations after such a performance. They only need to look at recent history to see that getting ahead of themselves too early can lead to their title challenge going up in flames.

"As in the last three seasons, injuries may be Hoffenheim's undoing," the beat writer Keinert said. "They already have a few players out, which makes it tough - but on the other hand when players like [Gylfi] Sigurdsson, [Tobias] Weis and Ibisevic come back, they'll be much stronger."

"You have to remember that Hoffenheim is the youngest team in Bundesliga in terms of average age so there will be ups and downs," he added. "We've seen the youngsters heads drop after going behind or losing a game. Stanislawski’s job is to improve their mental strength. He's already proved that he can be a good man-manager with the stars, now he has to build up the youngsters."

If he succeeds in that task, watch out - this could be the year Hoffenheim finally makes good on its promise and challenges for Europe.

Author: Nick Amies

Editor: Matt Hermann