Next July, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim will celebrate its 125th club anniversary; the Sinsheim club has been represented in the 1st Bundesliga since 2008. The Hoffenheimers have had a steep rise over the last 35 years, from village pitches in the district league to the Champions League, the self-proclaimed “village club” has experienced a lot. Next Sunday (12.05/15.30) the Lilies will meet TSG for the 16th time. In the first leg, the spectators were treated to a real spectacle, Tim Skarke scored in the 85th minute to equalise 3-3. We take a closer look at the European Cup contender before the last home game of the season.
“For the first time since Wolfsburg in the 1997/98 season, a Bundesliga newcomer, 1899 Hoffenheim, was able to win its debut game. “The Rangnick protégés at Energie Cottbus did this in a convincing manner,” wrote “Kicker” on August 18, 2008, after Hoffenheim had won their first Bundesliga game in the club’s history. Vedad Ibisevic immediately impressed with two goals, and after the first half of the season there were to be a total of 18 goals.
Under Ralf Rangnick, the newly promoted team played strong offensive football; after the first half of the season, TSG had scored 42 goals, more than any other Bundesliga team. This led to Baden-Württemberg becoming autumn champions with 35 points. In the second half of the season, however, the great high came to an end; Rangnick’s team had to survive a series of 12 games without a win. In the end, TSG came seventh in the table, 25 points ahead of the relegation place, and the season immediately showed what goals Hoffenheim were pursuing.
For the next four years it was to be a single-digit place in the table. In 2013, Hoffenheim only managed to stay in the league via relegation, but here they were able to defeat 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the south-west duel. The Sinsheimers made it into Europe for the first time in 2017, and a year later they even achieved a direct Champions League place.
Hoffenheim qualified for Europe for the last time in 2020; after a sixth place in the Bundesliga, TSG competed in the Europa League. It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to qualify for Europe this year. Two match days before the end of the season, head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team is in eighth place in the table. If Leverkusen wins the cup, this would be enough to qualify for the Conference League. The Hoffenheim team urgently need three points on Sunday, Augsburg is coming from behind, but with two wins the Europa League could just as well beckon.
Pellegrino Matarazzo
| Top Scorers | Top Assists |
| Maximilian Beier, 13 Goals | Robert Skov, 5 Assists |
| Andrej Kramaric, 12 Goals | Grischa Prömmel, 5 Assists |
| Wout Weghorst, 7 Goals | Ihlas Bebou, 4 Assists |
| Ihlas Bebou, 5 Goals | Maximilian Beier, 4 Assists |
| Grischa Prömmel, 4 Goals | Marius Bülter, 4 Assists |
Hoffenheim can rely on one thing this season and that is their striker goals. Overall, TSG is in the top third of the league with 56 goals, 38 of which were scored by Baden-Württemberg’s attackers. Maximilian Beier and Andrej Kramaric alone have 25 goals, but Weghorst and Bebou also pose a goal threat.
The Hoffenheim players also run a lot; with 3,838 kilometers, TSG has the third-best mileage in the entire league.
“I went to boarding school in Cottbus and was only at home for one day at the weekend. It was difficult to drive back to Cottbus every time. During this phase, I also had thoughts of perhaps quitting football altogether,“ young star Maximilian Beier described his doubts in an interview with TSG Hoffenheim and continued: „I was just too homesick. The distance from my parents and being alone in Cottbus put a lot of strain on me and it was sometimes no longer possible.“ From a Bundesliga fan’s point of view, you can say today: Fortunately, Beier didn’t stop. The 21-year-old is playing a very strong season, and was also recently rewarded by national coach Julian Nagelsmann with a national team nomination.
Both stories show the character of the Hoffenheim offensive player. Maximilian Beier is a quiet, reserved guy and describes himself as shy. “My girlfriend and I used to argue about who would approach the cashier in the supermarket to ask where something was in the store,” remembers Beier.
The striker, who was born in Brandenburg an der Havel, moved to boarding school at Energie Cottbus at the age of 12, two and a half hours away from his parents‘ home. A huge challenge for the shy Beier, who still has exam anxiety to this day. His coach at the time, Patrick Schrade, prevented him from moving out of the boarding school. “He picked me up from the train station or even went out to eat with me,” Beier remembers, “I’m still very grateful to him to this day!”
Beier’s move to TSG Hoffenheim at the age of 16 seems all the more astonishing, as the distance home was now significantly greater. Beier himself believes that he was much tougher and that the experience from Cottbus also helped him. The attacker immediately impressed in the U17 Bundesliga, scoring 18 times in 26 games. The Bundesliga debut followed in the 2019/20 season.
However, Beier did not achieve his final breakthrough in Kraichgau; the now 21-year-old was loaned out to Hannover 96 for two years, where his star continued to rise. But very few people expected how “Maxi” began the 2023/24 season. After eight games, Beier had six goals and in the first ten matchdays he had a total of nine goals.
Maximilian Beier wants to play internationally with TSG Hoffenheim next season, but whether he succeeds will certainly depend on his performances in the last two games. If you move into the Europa or Conference League, the television viewer may also be able to look forward to a rather rare Beier interview.
Attention Lilien fans: During SV Darmstadt 98’s training camp in Bad Wörishofen (Allgäu region)—taking place from July 19th to July 26th, 2026—there will once again be an opportunity to meet the team, chat with the players, and, of course, get autographs and photos. The fan meet-up is scheduled for Saturday, July 25th, following the friendly match against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. Kick-off for the match is at 12pm.
SV 98 remains active in the transfer market. The "Lilies" have signed Christopher Lannert from Arminia Bielefeld.
Friendly matches, fundraising campaigns, and plenty of photos—that’s what the week looked like for SV 98 and the club’s community. Between their 5–1 victory over FC Homburg and the upcoming friendly in Walldorf this Friday (July 17), the „Lilies“ showed their best side for the cameras. In addition, the SV 98 legends team will face an Odenwald select squad on Sunday (July 19th). You can also win great prizes in competitions taking place in Erbach and at the pop-up store in downtown Darmstadt. Lilies Across the Board brings you all the latest news from life at SV 98.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.