The Struggles of Hoffenheim’s Tom Bischof: Missed Opportunities and Penalty Woes

As he has done several times in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim’s homegrown Tom Bischof missed his first professional goal from the penalty spot in the friendly.

Missed a penalty in the friendly against Astoria Walldorf: Tom Bischof. IMAGO/photo2press

On June 28th of this year, Tom Bischof came of age. So that he can soon become a full member of the professional squad, the Hoffenheim noble talent must also grow up as a footballer. On the one hand, it is a good sign that the technician grabs the ball as a matter of course in the friendly against Astoria Walldorf in the regional league on Saturday to try to score promising free kicks on goal. This demonstrates self-confidence and betrays one or the other successful attempt in training. Of course, when the score was 3:1, Bischof also dared to take a penalty in the final phase. The execution, however, became a revelation of immaturity.

After all, Bischof, who was the youngest Hoffenheim player to make his Bundesliga debut at the age of 16 due to his enormous talents, has not yet been able to score a goal in the Hoffenheim professional team despite all the good attempts. The opportunity on Saturday actually came at just the right time to catch up. But instead of sinking the penalty reliably, Bischof tried to solve the task in an unusual way. Just cool. So he chipped the ball towards goal hoping to fool the keeper and supposedly celebrate his first goal appropriately. That went really wrong, because instead of under the bar, the left-footed player lifted the ball over the goal.

He also made things too complicated in Berlin and against Schalke

It wasn’t the first time that Bischof’s nerves played a trick at the final moment. In the first Bundesliga game of the year at Union Berlin, the home-grown striker had a great opportunity to score, but decided on the wrong foot in the hectic finish and missed.

Bischof failed even more blatantly in the home game against Schalke 04. After a blunder in the opponent’s back line, he ran completely alone towards goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann to close the game with the decisive 3-0 – and celebrate for the first Bundesliga goal? think. Back then, too, Bischof flicked the ball artfully and complicatedly and ultimately had an accident over the goal instead of sinking it thoughtfully and callously.

Professional efficiency is also a factor in talent. An easily measurable one too. In this respect, the highly gifted must definitely improve – and just keep the ball low …

2023-07-09 07:54:33
#TSG #talent #Bischof #grow #football