Hoffenheim's Sebastian Hoeness continuing Bundesliga dynasty
Jörg Strohschein
July 27, 2020
Sebastian Hoeness is the new man at Hoffenheim. The 38-year-old possesses a famous name in German football, and he has coached youth teams at RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich. But he has a blank slate in the Bundesliga.
Image: Imago Images/foto2press/S. Leifer
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Sebastian Hoeness is the new head coach of Hoffenheim, the club confirmed on Monday.
In a statement announcing the hiring, Hoffenheim's director of professional football, Alexander Rosen, said discussions with Hoeness had shown that he and the club were on the same page when it comes to their approach to the game.
"Sebastian has proven that he can form young players into a powerful unit and develop them as individuals," Rosen said. "He takes an offensive approach that is not only attractive, but has also been extraordinarily successful."
For his part, Hoeness confirmed that "the basic philosophy of the club is identical with my idea of football – offensive, courageous, flexible and always active."
Hoeness, who most recently coached Bayern Munich's reserves, also said he was looking forward to what he described as a "great challenge" as he gets his first opportunity to coach at the Bundesliga level.
Famous surname
Even though his surname is familiar to every German football fan, particularly due to former Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness, the 38-year-old Sebastian is probably only known to football insiders.
The son of Dieter Hoeness, a successful Bayern player, German international and brother of Uli, Sebastian did not have the prolific football career that is normally associated with his family.
Nevertheless, he was always connected with the footballing dynasty and with him, a new Hoeness is entering the Bundesliga.
Sebastian Hoeness is the son of former Bayern Munich star Dieter HoenessImage: Imago/Laci Perenyi
"Every now and then, I'd wish to be thought of as Sebastian — and not just as a Hoeness," he once said. "My surname is polarizing. I don't know it any other way."
From relegation spot to champions
In his youth, Sebastian Hoeness played for Stuttgart and later for the reserve teams of Hoffenheim and Hertha. He made 165 appearances for Hertha's second team over 10 years as an attacking midfielder. At the age of 28, he ended his playing career to devote himself to his real passion: coaching.
Dieter Hoeness (left) and his son Sebastian (right)Image: Imago Images/F. Joch
His first job was in the youth academy of Hertha Zehlendorf, then in the sixth-tier of the local Berlin league. But Hoeness had made an important contact during his one-year stint at Hoffenheim: Ralf Rangnick. When Rangnick took over at RB Leipzig, he brought in Hoeness as a youth academy coach, where he was responsible for the club's under-17 and under-19 teams before taking over as Bayern Munich's under-19 coach.
A year ago, he took over Bayern's reserve team, which had just earned promotion from the regional fourth division to the national third division. His side was in the relegation zone after eight matchdays, but he led the team to the third division title- the crowning moment of a rapid rise.
From boys to men
"I've always done well not to think too much. Just to go my way and not take too many big steps. Successively trying to learn and develop myself further," Hoeness told regional television network SWR.
Sebastian Hoeness coached in the youth ranks of Bayern Munich, where his uncle Uli is an honorary presidentImage: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe
His father, Dieter, was full of praise for his son and his work, especially in the last year. "I saw the games in the fall. The level of play was already very good. He made men out of boys."
Hoeness and his team learned quickly and adapted to the conditions of the third division. In Hoffenheim, however, Hoeness is likely to institute a form of Rangnick-style counterattack football based on more stability in defense that requires a lot of running.
It's a chance for yet another Hoeness to make a name for himself in the Bundesliga, and continue a famous German football dynasty.
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness: A reign ends
Almost 50 years after he began playing for them, Uli Hoeness' time at Bayern Munich is drawing to an end. The club president has decided not to run for a new term as president of the German record titleholders.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Balk
Calling it quits
A relationship that began in 1970 when Bayern Munich signed an 18-year-old from TSG Ulm 1846 has come to an end, with Uli Hoeness announcing that he will not run for another term as club president. He shaped one of the most successful eras in German football history. Former Adidas boss Herbert Hainer, who already holds a position with the German champions, is his replacement.
Image: picture-alliance/SvenSimon/F. Hoermann
Goal scorer
Long before current events, Hoeness the player was a forward who was part of the Bayern team that won both the Bundesliga and the European Cup three times. Playing for West Germany, he won both the EuropeanChampionship and the World Cup. For a few years, Hoeness and Gerd Müller formed one of Europe's most potent strike forces. However, his playing career was cut short by a knee injury.
Image: Getty Images
The youngest manager
After an unsuccessful attempt to come back from the injury while on loan to Nuremberg, Hoeness hung up his boots and became the Bundesliga's youngest general manager at the tender age of 27 on May 1, 1979. Here he is pictured with then-Bayern President Willi Hoffmann (left) on this third day on the job – when he got his first victory as manager with Bayern winning 3-1 in Darmstadt.
Image: picture-alliance/S. Simon
A nose for business
Even before Hoeness became manager, he negotiated a deal with truck maker Magirus-Deutz as Bayern's jersey sponsor. The funds allowed Bayern to bring West Germany star Paul Breitner back to Munich from Braunschweig in 1978. Here, Breitner is seen holding up the trophy after Bayern won the 1981 Bundesliga title. The two but have recently fallen out over Breitner's criticism of Bayern's management.
Image: Imago Images/Sportfoto Rudel
A stroke of luck
On February 17, 1982, Uli Hoeness was the sole survivor of the crash of a private jet, while he was on his way to a West German national team friendly. The three other people on board the plane died. Hoeness, who was asleep on the back seat of the plane when it crashed, remembers nothing about it.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Sausage producer
Hoeness, the son of a master butcher, started up the HoWe sausage-making company in Nuremberg in 1985, which now supplies major businesses such as Aldi and McDonalds. HoWe, which is where Hoeness made a lot of his money, has been taken over by his son Florian.
Image: imago/MiS
From manager to president
After 30 years as general manager, on November 27, 2009, Uli Hoeness moved up in the Bayern Munich hierarchy, winning election at the club's annual general meeting as its new president. More success would soon follow, with Bayern doing the double that same season and later, beginning in 2012-13, going on a run of six-straight Bundesliga titles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gebert
Personal feud
Hoeness has had his share of personal animosity. A feud with former Cologne and Bayer Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum began when both appeared on a sports talk show. It reached its climax with the cocaine scandal surrounding Daum, who looked set to become Germany coach in 2000. Daum never took up the post after a test on his hair turned up positive for cocaine.
Image: picture-alliance/Alfred Harder
Big winner
Uli Hoeness won his share of silverware as a player, but has won almost countless titles as an executive. In 2013, Bayern Munich won the treble; the Bundesliga title, the German Cup, and the Champions League. "An unbelieveable year," said the top club executive, who was still a free man, despite the fact that a warrant for his arrest on tax-evasion charges had already been issued.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fall from grace
March 13, 2014: Hoeness was convicted of evading €28.5 million ($32 million) in taxes and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. Hoeness began serving his sentence on June 2, 2014, making the fall from grace of a German soccer legend complete.
Image: Reuters
President again
A day after his conviction, Uli Hoeness resigned as Bayern president, however he would return to the post two and a half years later, winning election at the club's annual general meeting on November 25, 2016. He was the only candidate after current President Karl Hopfner, who had stood in for him during his time in prison, agreed earlier in the year not to run for re-election.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Preiss
A helping hand
Hoeness has always there with a helping hand for a friend in need. Clubs like St. Pauli and even rivals Borussia Dortmund have been known to profit from his generosity. He has also reached out to help former teammates like Gerd Müller, who struggled with alcohol, or players Sebastian Deisler who suffered from burnout and Dietmar Hamman, who was stricken with both alcohol and gambling addictions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Family man
For the most part, Uli Hoeness keeps his private life to himself. He has been married to his wife Susanne for more than 40 years and his two children, Sabine and Florian are grown up. Hoeness enjoys a quiet life at home, and there have been no known scandals involving his family.
