The eagerly awaited vote at TSG Hoffenheim for the chairmanship of the e.V. failed to produce a surprise
The eagerly awaited election of the new chairman of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. on Monday evening resulted in the predictable battle vote, but ultimately ended unspectacularly. Jörg Albrecht (55), the outgoing mayor of Sinsheim, who was put in position early on, received the majority of votes from the 478 members entitled to vote (273 to 123) among the approximately 1,100 people present in a secret ballot and was thus elected chairman.
Candidate from the fan scene only presents himself on election night
The candidate from the fan scene, who maintained his anonymity until the election evening and only presented himself shortly before the vote at the general meeting in the Sinsheim Stadthatte, is Marvin Rotermundt (29), a trained mechatronics engineer from Dinkelsbühl, who does not associate himself with the Ultras, but introduced himself as a passionate fan with the aim of reuniting the pillars of club, team and fans. And to counter Albrecht, who is seen by some fans as a “puppet” of club patron Dietmar Hopp, with an option. “I don’t know if I’m the right man for the job, probably not, but I do know who is not the right man, namely my opponent,” concluded Rotermundt.
The importance of this election had risen rapidly with the importance of the position. After patron Dietmar Hopp gave up his exceptional status and returned his majority of voting rights to the e.V., the parent club is formally the most influential shareholder of Spielbetriebs GmbH with regard to strategic and personnel decisions. The fans felt that this influence was limited after Kristian Baumgärtner, who had only just been confirmed in office, resigned a few weeks later, allegedly for health reasons. It was speculated that Baumgärtner had sided with the sporting management and also worked against the dismissal of former academy director Jens Rasiejewski, which Hopp had wanted. He had to go anyway
Motion of no confidence against Engelhardt rejected
Shortly after Baumgärtner’s resignation, the sporting management around sports director Alexander Rosen was also dismissed, and since then parts of the fan scene have taken to the barricades, boycotting the team and expressing their displeasure with banners against the club management. The conflict has now culminated in Monday’s vote.
The fan scene had previously submitted a motion of no confidence in the club’s second chairwoman Simone Engelhardt. The long-standing SAP employee is in a working and friendship relationship with Dietmar Hopp, which means that independent and objective management of the office is not guaranteed. Ms. Engelhardt lacks the necessary distance, which would jeopardize the independence of the club on the basis of the 50+1 rule. The motion was rejected by a majority
Creeping process since Nagelsmann
Engelhardt had previously explained how and why Rosen was dismissed and outlined a gradual process since the time under head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Since then, the style of play had suffered, spectator numbers had declined and, despite qualifying for the Europa League, last season was “not particularly praiseworthy with 7th place, but with 66 goals scored and 66 goals conceded, the season was more of a hair-raising experience,” explained Engelhardt, “confidence in the sporting management dwindled, there was too little consistency and too little attractive soccer”.
In addition, there were “conflicting ideas regarding the future direction and no new additions for a long time, no plan B for the foreseeable departure of Maximilian Beier or reinforcements for critical positions”. This is, of course, in contrast to the club’s claims that Rosen’s proposals were not well received. Engelhardt also countered objections that Rosen’s budget was significantly limited compared to the recent record investments of around 60 million euros: “Alexander Rosen also had the Beier revenues at his disposal and access to reserves”.
The bottom line is that the fans’ attempt to push through their own candidate failed due to the democratic hurdle. Whether the protests will die down as a result will probably only become clear in the next home game after the Bundesliga break, when TSG host German champions Bayer Leverkusen on September 14.
