Incredible Hoffenheim fights on as surprising Bundesliga frontrunners

By Nick Bidwell, Special to SI.com, World Soccer

Hoffenheim is trying to become the first newly promoted club to win the Bundesliga since Kaiserslautern 11 years ago. AP

As ascents to the footballing summit go, that of 1899 Hoffenheim takes some beating, more state-of-the-art cable car than rope and crampons. A year ago, the club based in a micro-conurbation in the southwest of Germany was mid-table in the Second Division, eight points off a promotion slot. Twelve months later, Hoffenheim topped the Bundesliga at the winter break, albeit only on goal difference from Bayern Munich.

Can Hoffenheim repeat the feat of the Kaiserslautern (1997-98), the last newly promoted team to win the Bundesliga? It's far from impossible. They have the firepower -- 2.47 goals per game -- fearlessness, decent squad depth, a canny coach in Ralf Rangnick and, last but by no means least, the financial clout of backer Dietmar Hopp, the computer billionaire whose deep pockets were again put to use with the recent acquisition of German international keeper Timo Hildebrand from Valencia.

The Hoffenheim fairy tale doesn't have universal appeal. Many German fans are creatures of tradition and see 1899 -- which almost two decades ago was in the eighth tier -- as a synthetic creation of a sugar daddy. However, 1899 certainly enjoys greater respect these days. Its status as title rival to Bayern, the team the rest of the land love to hate, automatically makes it more sympathetic. So does the youthful enthusiasm of a side with an average of 22.6 years and an adventurous attacking style.

An excellent pressing game means the team is never on the back foot for long, and once in possession, goes straight for the jugular. The credo here is to get forward as quickly and as often as possible. Short, staccato forward passes and lightning off-the-ball movement lay the foundations. The brilliant finishing ability of front-line trident Vedad Ibisevic -- the league's top scorer with 18 goals -- Demba Ba and Shinedu Obasi is the glorious payoff. (Though with Ibisevic out for the season with a torn ACL, Hoffenheim will find the Bosnian St. Louis University alum difficult to replace.)

Hoffenheim played with its usual panache and total lack of inferiority complex in the big match of the autumn championship, away to Bayern in December. Rangnick's side was easily the more technically assured team and dominated for long spells, yet still lost 2-1, Luca Toni firing home an injury-time winner after Hoffenheim left back Andreas Ibertsberger inadvertently diverted the ball into his path with a lunging tackle.

It can be a cruel game. Bayern's star midfielder Franck Ribéry admitted as much: "Hoffenheim gave us more problems than any other team this season. I take my hat off to them. They play the ball around superbly and are obviously very hungry."

Despite going home pointless from the Allianz Arena, Hoffenheim at least has the far from insignificant consolation that it has the mighty Bayern rattled. So much so that the latter has already begun to verbally snipe at the small-town pretenders, hoping to unsettle the upstarts with the sort of psychological warfare they are simply not used to. Bayern vice president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge provocatively asked where the top-flight new boys had been hiding themselves for most of their 100-year existence, while always abrasive general manager Uli Hoeness dug out the megaphone for a series of controversial comments and put-downs.

"Despite the global economic crisis, Herr Hopp still has a few euros left," sneered Hoeness. "We have to take him and his club seriously. We're up against a billionaire. Their players are paid a lot more than we think."

Bayern may feel that the six-week winter break has fallen at just the wrong time. Following a decidedly shaky start to the campaign, a period in which new coach Jürgen Klinsmann unsuccessfully experimented with a 3-5-2 system and his team plumbed the depths with a 5-2 loss at home to Werder Bremen, it suddenly regained its touch, finishing the year with an 11-match unbeaten run.

The decision to go back to a 4-4-2 set-up has helped, as have the goals of Toni and strike partner Miroslav Klose, and the often unsung midfield play of the Brazilian Zé Roberto. What really has done the trick, though, is the return to full fitness of Ribéry after he missed the early part of the campaign with an ankle ligament injury. Without the little French maestro, Bayern is just not the same team, bereft of ideas, creativity and changes of tempo.

A mere two points behind the leaders are Hertha Berlin and Hamburg, the former very much a surprise participant in the title race. Tenth in each of the two previous seasons, Hertha's penny-pinching transfer budget and lack of star quality in the ranks appeared to rule out optimism. Full marks then to Swiss boss Lucien Favre for making it a competitive force.

Defensively, Hertha is an exceedingly strong unit -- only 20 goals conceded so far -- and its hunches have paid off spectacularly in the loan market, with clever Brazilian midfielder Cícero (ex-Fluminense) and rambunctious Ukraine attacker Andriy Voronin, on loan from Liverpool, much to the fore.

When Dutch playmaker deluxe Rafael van der Vaart strode off into the Real Madrid sunset last summer, many predicted a prompt downturn for Hamburg and new coach Martin Jol. Not so. Jol has instilled greater tactical flexibility and has his charges fighting like tigers every week. No, they are not the most attractive to watch, but they have a habit of coming through when the pressure is on, with Croat attacker Mladen Petric often the match-winner.

Honorable mentions must also go to Bayer Leverkusen, a young, vibrant team built to attack if not to shut up shop, and Borussia Dortmund, which has improved by leaps and bounds under charismatic new coach Jürgen Klopp.

The awards for underachievement belong to Schalke and Bremen, who find themselves in the unfamiliar league position of seventh and eighth, respectively. For the relegation spots, Mönchengladbach, Bochum, Cottbus, Karlsruhe and Bielefeld seem the most in peril. What would they give for a Dietmar Hopp?

This article originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of World Soccer magazine. To subscribe, click here.