PHillip Hofmann knew who he wanted to give gifts to. When VfL Bochum’s double goal scorer stepped up to the fence in front of the east stand after the 3-1 (2-0) win over Hertha BSC, he presented his jersey to what is perhaps the club’s best-known fan: VfL “Jesus”, who with his long blond hair and his jeans robe, but above all with his typical Ruhr area way of speaking (“or watt?”) enjoys cult status in the Ruhr area, gratefully accepted the object. “Great, or what,” he said.
From the supporters’ point of view, that can also be said about VfL’s path in the Bundesliga season, which resumed on Saturday. Thanks to the success over the Berliners, Bochum left the relegation zone for the first time since the second matchday. Coach Thomas Letsch’s team made a huge leap in the table: from 17th to 14th place. Or, as Christopher Antwi-Adjei, the most conspicuous offensive player alongside Hofmann, put it: “We’re not dead yet.”
It’s a remarkable comeback after such a bad start to the season. The first point was not scored until the seventh matchday, and VfL only won for the first time on the ninth day. In the meantime, Bochum, alongside Schalke at the bottom of the table, the team with the lowest personnel budget in the Bundesliga, can point to five wins from the last eight games, most recently there were even three wins in a row. “It’s a sign to the outside world: Oops, VfL Bochum is no longer in a relegation zone. But above all it is also a sign to the inside. That gives us self-confidence for the tasks ahead,” said Letsch.
Philipp Hofmann (right) and Simon Zoller celebrate the resurrection of VfL Bochum
What: Getty Images/Christof Koepsel
The 44-year-old coach, who only took over from Thomas Reis on September 22, managed to rekindle the fire in the team and give them the belief that resistance and setbacks won’t throw them off course. The game against Hertha, a fellow competitor in the fight to remain in the league, was emblematic of the way Bochum are conducting their fight for survival. They got over an early shock when the Berliners seemed to have taken the lead through Tousart, but the goal was disallowed after the VAR checked it.
“That was a wake-up call,” said Letsch – because then his team worked into the game. First, Hofmann made it 1-0 with a header (22nd minute). Then new signing Keven Schlotterbeck, who was loaned out from SC Freiburg during the winter break, also headed in to make it 2-0 (44′). The high, long balls that preceded the hits had method. “We knew that combining on this deep ground didn’t make much sense,” explained Letsch.
Hofmann becomes a Bochum hero
The feeling for what is feasible is the credo of the trainer. In the second half, Bochum also showed their footballing quality: quick transitions after winning the ball. In the 74th minute, VfL countered the now much more offensive Berliners: The fast Antwi-Adjei, nicknamed “Speedy Gonzales”, served Hofmann – and the 29-year-old scored his sixth goal of the season with a deflected shot. It was his first Bundesliga brace ever. The Berlin goal by Suat Serdar (87th) came too late.
“It was an important victory that we worked hard for,” said Hofmann afterwards. He was well aware of how much the team had to invest in it. “It is clear to all of us that it takes a lot of fighting,” explained the edgy centre-forward. However, even after the six defeats at the beginning of the season, the team would never have completely lost the conviction that a rescue was possible. “We always knew what we could do,” says Hofmann.
Sometimes, though, it takes a new coach, a new speech, to remember. In any case, Letsch makes no secret of the fact that even in the darkest phases he always had hopes of being able to keep Bochum in the league. “If I hadn’t believed in it, I wouldn’t have come. I see the team every day on the training ground. There’s a lot of character in her,” he said in praise of his players. They would have adopted his style of football – running high at the opponent and switching quickly.
With the sense of achievement, self-confidence grew: Ivan Ordets, who had made many mistakes in the early part of the season, is now a confident defensive leader. Captain Anthony Losilla (36), who recently extended his contract until 2024, has regained his old strength. And Hofmann is currently going through the strongest phase of his career. A long-dead team lives again.
This creates a feeling of satisfaction – also for Letsch. He is aware that “only a few people believed in this development a short time ago,” said the coach and promised the critics further positive surprises. However, the prerequisite for this is to maintain the awareness that with a lot of effort a lot is possible. But according to Letsch, he will take care of that. “We will not change our mindset,” he promised.
