Hoffenheim U19

The academy at Sinsheim exists to feed the first team, and for a decade and a half it has done exactly that.

Hoffenheim's under-19s won the DFB-Junioren-Pokal in 2009/10, beating Hertha BSC 2-1, then again in 2021/22 against SC Freiburg, and a third time in 2023/24, edging the same opponent 3-2 after extra time. The national championship followed the same pattern of a breakthrough and a return: a 5-0 win over Hannover 96 in 2013/14, then a 2-0 win over 1. FC Köln a decade later in 2023/24. In between sit two lost finals, against Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund, and three straight South German titles from 2013/14 to 2015/16.

That generation is best remembered through Niklas Süle, who progressed from the club's reserve side into the senior team before his move to Bayern Munich and, later, Borussia Dortmund. More recently it has been Maximilian Beier, signed by the club at fifteen and worked through the same age groups before his own transfer to Dortmund in 2024. Nico Schulz and Gregor Kobel followed comparable routes out through Hoffenheim's junior sides before their careers took them elsewhere.