Opposition Check: Eintracht Braunschweig

Eintracht Braunschweig looks back on a history spanning more than 125 years. In 1967, the Lions celebrated their first German championship since the introduction of the Bundesliga. Their defence was the key to their success, conceding a total of only 27 goals – a Bundesliga record that remained a Bundesliga record until 1988. Another record still stands today: The team from Lower Saxony needed only 49 goals to triumph. Even 50 years later, the players of the 1967 team are heroes to Braunschweig fans, still singing the praises of the greatest club success in the club’s history in the 67th minute.

Promotions, relegations, and countless emotional moments have characterized the Lower Saxony club over the years. BTSV has currently been playing in the 2. Bundesliga for several years under new head coach Heiner Backhaus. After almost being relegated last season, the Blue and Yellows are looking for a more stable season. We have analysed head coach Heiner Backhaus’s team in more detail.

The second division season is currently still in its infancy, but even Braunschweig has had a successful start to the season. BTSV, which was in the relegation play-offs last season, has seven points after four matchdays. This was thanks to their staying power. The Lions achieved both victories with late goals. In the season opener, Aydin gave his team the winner in the 82nd minute against Magdeburg, which was short-handed at the time. In the spectacular 3-2 win against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, the decisive goal didn’t even come until the sixth minute of stoppage time. In a twist of fate, Arminia Bielefeld’s Young snatched victory from Braunschweig’s hands in the 89th minute.

When you grow up in a family where handball is not just a leisure activity, but almost an heirloom, your path in life seems clearly mapped out. In the Hoffmann household, handball is more than a sport – it is part of the family history, an integral part of the identity. Ron-Thorben Hoffmann’s mother in particular shaped this tradition. As a former handball player, she passed her passion on to her children at an early age. His brother also followed in his mother’s footsteps with enthusiasm. But Ron-Thorben Hoffmann decided otherwise. He preferred to put on his football boots and stand between the posts of a football goal. Football fascinated him from a young age. „I simply had more fun playing football back then,“ he remembers. It soon became clear: his passion belonged to the green grass.

Hoffmann began playing football in his hometown at FC Hansa Rostock. Further stops during his youth career included Hertha BSC and the Leipzig academy, before the goalkeeper moved to FC Bayern Munich’s U17 team for the 2015/16 season, where he would spend the rest of his youth career.

In his first season, he played 15 league games, four of which ended without conceding a goal. Later, in the U19 team, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann played ten league games and saved his first penalty in a Bayern Munich jersey in a match against Karlsruher SC. His career really took off after that, as in May 2018, the goalkeeper signed his first professional contract with the German record champions, and in October he made his debut for the reserve team in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern.

At the end of the 2021/22 summer transfer window, his contract with FC Bayern Munich was extended until June 2023. This was accompanied by a loan move to the then English third division club AFC Sunderland until the end of the 2021/22 season. There he contributed 23 league appearances to the team’s promotion to the EFL Championship. But then came the first setback in Hoffmann’s career. After a Covid-19 infection, health complications arose that forced him to take a long break and return to Munich. Although he had impressed on the pitch, his illness prevented him from finishing the season. For the 2022/23 season, the Rostock native did not stay in the Bavarian capital, but moved permanently to second division club Eintracht Braunschweig. Hoffmann immediately felt at home there: in his initial two years with the Lions, he made a total of 45 league appearances as the regular goalkeeper. After his contract expired in 2024, Hoffmann sought a new sporting challenge. However, his new role at Schalke 04 did not go as he had hoped. Hoffmann describes his difficult time at Schalke as an instructive one: „Sporting-wise, things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, but I learned an incredible amount as a person.“ In January 2025, he returned to the „Lions,“ initially on loan, where he played a major role in their dramatic battle against relegation. In May, the 26-year-old was finally able to wear the goalkeeper jersey for the Lower Saxony club again, signing a permanent contract with BTSV. „I’m really happy now that I can start playing with the lion on my chest again,“ he laughs happily into the camera.