Coach gone, finally happy: this Bundesliga star is Vini Jr.'s spirit animal | OneFootball

At Bayer Leverkusen, quite a few players are currently experiencing their own personal football renaissance. But none are playing their way back into the spotlight quite like Jonas Hofmann.

Yes, that Jonas Hofmann, who last season was stored away in a tightly locked box on the Bayer stands.

The Jonas Hofmann who, at 33 years old, suddenly seems as if someone has reset his sporting spirit to Werkself mode.

Hofmann and Vinícius Júnior United in Thought?

That Hofmann can shine again like this in the late autumn of his career is something few observers would have expected. Yet, ironically, this resurgence fits perfectly with a much more prominent figure in European football: Vinícius Júnior.

His allegedly frosty relationship with former Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has been making the rounds in almost every newspaper on the continent for weeks. Vinícius is even said to be making a contract extension dependent on resolving this relationship.

And so, for exactly this reason, Hofmann is currently something like Vinícius’ Bundesliga brother in spirit: He’s truly happy now that Alonso is no longer his coach.

Because what didn’t work at all under Alonso is suddenly working remarkably well under the new boss on the sidelines. But let’s take it step by step.

352 Minutes of Pure Frustration

The record for the 2024/2025 season looks absolutely devastating from Hofmann’s perspective. He played just 352 minutes, less than four full games. And yet, the two goals and one assist he managed in that limited time were actually quite solid.

How much his relationship with Alonso had suffered became clear in the summer. Hofmann spoke unusually openly with the 'Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger' about the lack of communication from his coach.

He could accept if a coach viewed things critically, but then he expected those things to be addressed. "A coach shouldn’t wait more than two weeks to do that," he said at the time, making no secret of the fact that he had almost considered a transfer under Alonso.

The disappointment was palpable. After all, just under two years ago Hofmann was still on the fringes of the German national team’s starting eleven and was one of Bayer’s most important protagonists in the first half of the double-winning 2023/24 season.

But overnight, he no longer played a role under Alonso. The entire previous season, he said, he would "pack in a box" that he never wanted to open again.

Champions League Misjudgment with Consequences?

When Alonso moved to Real Madrid in June, Hofmann sensed a new opportunity: Erik ten Hag came out of his sabbatical and arrived in the Rhineland with plenty of ball-possession idealism. And Hofmann, an intelligent, strong-passing player for the so-called half-spaces, seemed a perfect fit on paper.

But at first, everything went differently: an injury during pre-season, a lack of rhythm, and a coach who was dismissed after just two Bundesliga games. Especially bitter: Hofmann didn’t even make the Champions League squad. Now, as he’s flourishing again, that decision seems quite absurd.

"The decisions were made at the time and unfortunately, that’s just how it is now," managing director Simon Rolfes said meaningfully on Tuesday.

A Comeback Like a Dream

But Hofmann didn’t let this setback get him down. After ten Hag’s brief stint, Bayer surprisingly turned to former Danish national coach Kasper Hjulmand. For the midfielder, this decision turned out to be a stroke of luck both athletically and personally. The two know each other from their time together at Mainz, and Hjulmand greatly values Hofmann’s tactical flexibility.

This was immediately evident on the pitch: After eleven matchdays, Hofmann has already collected more minutes (377) and more scorer points (two goals, two assists) than in the entire previous year. Most recently, he was in the starting eleven twice and scored both times.

Hjulmand himself was full of praise after the recent match in Wolfsburg: "He is super clever and can play many positions. He anticipates very well and is very good both offensively and defensively. Huge praise for Jonas."

For weeks now, Hofmann has been a permanent part of the well-oiled Bayer machine, which recently won four competitive matches in a row. Especially as the right wing-back in the five-man defense, he’s making a strong impression.

📸 Neil Baynes - 2025 Getty Images

Suddenly Important Again

For a player at this age to come back from obscurity to the starting eleven of a Bundesliga top team is anything but a given. This is especially true for a squad like Leverkusen’s, which was once again flooded with high-speed talents this summer.

But Hofmann is currently showing impressively what he is still capable of. Above all, he’s showing just how much of a difference a coach can make when he truly understands his player.

Because the veteran is once again just as underrated as he has been throughout his career. He’s in the kind of form that shows he never should have been "put in a box" for the past year and a half. He belongs on the pitch. Exactly where he’s now standing regularly again.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 RONNY HARTMANN - AFP or licensors