From near-miss survival to third, Hoffenheim’s overhaul is paying off before Bayern test | OneFootball

Hoffenheim, third in the Bundesliga, visit Bayern in Munich on Sunday at 17:30, seeking to extend a perfect 2026 run of five wins.

According to L'Équipe, the scale of the turnaround is striking after they were tipped for a relegation fight last summer. They have 42 points after 18 rounds, a club best, and already 10 more than last season.

Christian Ilzer faced scrutiny after a narrow escape in spring, now he commands broad backing. The 48-year-old Austrian arrived in November 2024 and said he wanted Hoffenheim to be champions within five years.

He was hired by compatriot sporting director Andreas Schicker, who brought him to Sturm Graz in 2020 and with whom he ended Red Bull Salzburg’s run of 10 titles in May 2024. Schicker credits Ilzer with energising the squad and adapting after a taxing campaign.

Since matchday seven, no Bundesliga side has taken more points than Hoffenheim’s 35, Bayern have 33. Club chiefs reshaped a squad that struggled with Ilzer’s ideas, more than 20 departures and 10 arrivals. The team thrives on counter-pressing and quick attacks, with recognisable names largely limited to Vladimir Coufal and Croatia forward Andrej Kramaric.

Kramaric believes last summer’s business transformed the dressing room and views this as the club’s best side of the past decade. With only the Bundesliga on their programme, Hoffenheim aim to keep defying the odds at the Allianz Arena, where they have won just once, in October 2019, 2-1.

Source: L'Équipe