Christian Ilzer on his goals with Hoffenheim: “I want to compete for the German championship with Hoffenheim in five years.”  | OneFootball

Speaking to kicker, Hoffenheim head coach Christian Ilzer has stated what his ambitions are with the club going forward.

In his interview with the magazine, the Austrian explained what his ambitions are with Hoffenheim:

Hoffenheim are currently 14th in the Bundesliga and are only five points off of the relegation playoff spot. At the weekend, they drew 1-1 with Augsburg, thanks to a dubious penalty call that allowed them to break Finn Dahmen’s streak of not conceding a goal.

Ilzer is a league winner, having led previous club Sturm Graz to an unlikely double after overcoming the seemingly indomitable Red Bull Salzburg. However, Austrians have not had it easy since taking over Hoffenheim. Despite the vast amount of money spent over the two transfer windows, he has only won four games.

Hoffenheim have come close twice to winning the league since gaining promotion to the Bundesliga. In the first season in the top flight, they mounted an unlikely title challenge, finishing the first half of the 2008/09 season top of the table. However, a fall off in the second half of the season saw them finish seventh under Ralf Rangnick. In 2017/18, they finished third, their closest position-wise to winning the title.

GGFN | Jack Meenan