"With new ambition": width rider coach at Hoffenheim

Created: 05/24/2022Updated: 05/24/2022 15:53

André Breitenreiter, then coach of Hanover, comes to the TV interview.

© Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Archive

André Breitenreiter celebrates his return to the Bundesliga.

The previous coach of the Swiss champions FC Zurich will take over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for the new season.

Zuzenhausen - TSG Hoffenheim wants to return to the European football stage with André Breitenreiter.

As the Bundesliga club announced on Tuesday, the 48-year-old coach of the Swiss champions FC Zurich is the successor to Sebastian Hoeneß.

Breitenreiter signed a contract until June 30, 2024. Before his time in Switzerland, he had coached FC Schalke 04, Hannover 96 and SC Paderborn, among others.

"André Breitenreiter is a very ambitious coach who fits in perfectly with TSG with his attacking style of play," said Hoffenheim's sporting director Alexander Rosen.

"In addition to his technical expertise, he convinces from the first moment with his engaging, emphatic manner." He stands for team spirit, passion and communication and has worked successfully in all of his previous positions.

The former professional knows the league: Breitenreiter was promoted to the Bundesliga with Paderborn in 2014 and with Hanover in 2017.

In between he coached Schalke.

After a hiatus between 2019 and 2021, he joined Zurich and led FC to the title.

His contract there actually ran for another year.

After two missed European Cup participations under the direction of predecessor Hoeneß, Hoffenheim want to get back on the road to success with Breitenreiter and establish themselves firmly at the top of the league.

"I'm going to the task in Hoffenheim with great ambition," said the native of Lower Saxony in a statement.

The new head coach is to be officially presented at the start of training on June 26 in Zuzenhausen.

"Over the past 15 years in the first division, TSG has developed into an enrichment for German football in many ways," said Breitenreiter.

Their principles were absolutely consistent with his vision of the game.

"That's why I'm looking forward to our future together and my return to the Bundesliga," he said.

With new ambition, they want to set themselves goals and work "passionately every day" to achieve them.

FC Zurich lost 3-2 in the last game of the season in Lucerne on Sunday, but of course the title was still celebrated.

In a picture published on Twitter, Breitenreiter beamed into the camera with the championship trophy in his hand.

During the game, the Swiss newspaper "Blick" reported that Breitenreiter's farewell in Zurich was "a done deal".

With nine games without a win at the end of the season, the Kraichgauers had lost a place in the European Cup in ninth place.

Before that, TSG had even been on course for the Champions League.

Hoeneß was no longer expected to restart, and there was speculation for a short time that ex-Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl would be hired.

dpa