Weak start from the TSG coach
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TSG Hoffenheim’s new coach Christian Ilzer has defended national goalkeeper Oliver Baumann after his mistake in the 3-0 cup defeat in Wolfsburg. “Olli will win many more games on our side and will achieve great things at the right moment,” said the 47-year-old Austrian.
“At the moment it is a phase in which little is coming together,” added the coach: “In the end we have to develop a common dream and many boys in a group believe in this common dream. Then the football gods will think in the direction of Hoffenheim again.”
Baumann let a free kick from Denis Vavro slip through his arms for Wolfsburg’s opening goal in the 63rd minute. He self-critically admitted his mistake on ZDF: “I put up the wall for a long time, but was not heard much. Then the ball deflects slightly and I can’t get to it anymore. That looks extremely stupid.”
Baumanns is working on his World Cup dream – Ilzer’s weak start
“Olli is someone who has high expectations of himself. That annoys him. You can’t get rid of that in a second. But Olli is also someone who moves forward very quickly even after a difficult game,” explained Ilzer. “He saved two things in the first half today. He also shone again and again with top saves in the last game in Mainz. It is now important not to start pointing at individual players. It’s also part of dealing with setbacks and resistance.”
Community All topics related to TSG Have your say now! At the age of 34, Baumann played his first two international matches for the German national team this fall. Together with Alexander Nübel (28) from VfB Stuttgart, he represented Marc-André ter Stegen (32, FC Barcelona), who had a serious knee injury, for several months. Baumann was recently considered the favored replacement. If the Hoffenheim crisis continues to impact Baumann’s performance, it could also worsen his prospects with national coach Julian Nagelsmann. His big goal is to take part in the 2026 World Cup.
Things are also going poorly for Ilzer, the successor to Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was on leave in November: the 4-3 home win against RB Leipzig in his debut as TSG head coach was followed by three defeats, with the Kraichgauer team not scoring a single goal and picking up eight .
