The player who scores the most goals or pulls off the best skills is usually branded the ‘star’ of a team. Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Eden Hazard at Chelsea, Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid spring to mind.
Occasionally an unpassable defender, such as Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin, or an impenetrable goalkeeper, like Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon, will take the title. Yet, rarely are managers viewed as a team’s biggest asset.
Although, it does happen now and then - Johan Cruyff was the star of the show at Barcelona during the 1990s, as was Sir Alex Ferguson for a large part of his 27 years at the Manchester United helm. Julian Nagelsmann, the 29-year-old who has transformed 1899 Hoffenheim from relegation candidates to Champions League hopefuls in less than a year, is the latest manager to add his name to that list.
Nagelsmann became the youngster Bundesliga manager in history when he took over from Huub Stevens back in February aged just 28, despite the fact that he had yet to take his senior coaching exams. Few felt that such an inexperienced coach could survive at the top level. Yet, with the club struggling in the relegation zone, it would be difficult for Nagelsmann to do a worse job than his predecessor.
Fast forward ten months, and the German has not only secured the club another year in the top flight, but has guided them into the much desired Champions League spots with a third of the season now gone.
Hoffenheim currently sit in 3rd place, four points behind league leaders Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. Better yet, Nagelsmann’s side have yet to lose a game, having won five and drawn five. Having come through last weekend’s trip to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena unscathered, the hardest game of their season is behind them and there is nothing stopping them from keeping their brilliant run going.
There is no doubt that their turn off form is Nagelsmann’s doing, with little difference between the Hoffenheim squad of last season and the Hoffenheim squad of this season.
Players like Andrej Kramaric, who struggled to make an impact during his loan spell with the club last season has been in fine form this time round after making the move permanent, scoring five and assisting four in 15 Bundesliga appearances and he undoubtedly has Nagelsmann to thank. Those that did join over the summer, such as £4 million midfielder Lukas Rupp, have also bedded in well, suggesting that Nagelsmann is just as good in the transfer market as he is on the sidelines.
Hoffenheim’s transformation isn’t solely down to the manager. The players ultimately have to play their part too. Yet, like Messi at Barcelona or Hazard at Chelsea, Nagelsmann is the main cog in the machine.