If an attacker has to give way to another attacker after 56 minutes, it’s usually not a big deal as long as that attacker’s name isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo and he’s considered irreplaceable. Ihlas Bebou, however, took his substitution with a visibly bad feeling, probably with his conscience tormenting him. In the said 56 minutes, the 27-year-old Bebou had missed a handful of “must-he-do” scoring chances, so it was still 0-0 at the time of his exchange between 1. FC Köln and TSG Hoffenheim especially his merit.
Bebou missed the best opportunity after the break when a cross from the left wing caught him. The nearest Cologne defender was about half a day’s march away, the ball came perfectly and the goal was open to him like a Roman emperor’s triumphal arch. But instead of hitting the big target, Bebou hit the narrow post. Five minutes after being substituted, his colleague Stefan Posch showed him how to do it better. The 1-0 was enough for TSG, despite bitter efforts from Cologne, to win and to advance temporarily to Schlossallee – Hoffenheim are now in a Champions League spot, and according to Sunday’s very respectable game, that’s neither a coincidence nor proof of a general one Assess quality weaknesses in the Bundesliga.
TSG manager Alexander Rosen extended Raum’s contract after just six months
Fourth place and the fourth win in a row have many causes, a not inconsiderable reason being the crosses from the left, which also reached their goal with pinpoint accuracy in Köln-Müngersdorf. David Raum, 23, has developed this discipline into his personal mastery. In terms of goal preparation, he is in competition with the great leaders and thinkers in the league. Thomas Müller – 19 templates – leads the list by far, followed by Christopher Nkunku, Marco Reus, Florian Wirtz, Vincenzo Grifo – and Raum.
Discoveries such as space ensure that the provincial club, with all due respect, has secured a place in the upper regions of the premier league. Hoffenheim was already raving about space when he undertook cross runs for his hometown club SpVgg Greuther Fürth in the second division. When TSG announced the free transfer in January 2021, a few competitors who had also been interested in the U-21 international thought it was a shame, but what they didn’t suspect was that it was more than just a little annoying with this transfer to have had the disadvantage.
After helping the Fürth team to rise with 15 assists, Raum quickly continued his career path at TSG: he became a regular player right away, made himself indispensable in the attacking TSG game and established himself in the national team after his debut in September. Startled by the rapid development, TSG manager Alexander Rosen extended Raum’s contract for better pay after just six months, allegedly with an exit clause that guarantees the club at least 30 million euros. There were some expectations of space, Rosen said, “but he exceeded them with top speed.”
The squad that is currently giving Hoffenheim so much success should also be a squad for the future. Raum is the fifth player to extend his contract with TSG in the winter. By the way, another signatory is called Ihlas Bebou. So he will still get some chances to do better than against Cologne.