After a 5-1 win against Schalke on Tuesday night, Hoffenheim players have waived their bonus for advancing to the next round of the DFB Pokal to help fund the building of two padel courts at the club’s training ground.
“There were failures in the bonus scheme because of Corona, so we gave up money,” said TSG captain Benjamin Hübner, “but for this year the club has signalled that bonuses are possible again. We went a little crazy and came up with this outstanding idea. We have a lot of players and staff who like to play it.”
Speaking after Hoffenheim’s win, head coach André Breitenreiter added: “It’s an unbelievable gesture by our team to completely forego the cup bonus in order to offer not only themselves but all employees the opportunity to play padel tennis in their free time.”
Hoffenheim have started well under Breitenreiter. They sit fourth and are just six points behind Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin with five wins, two draws and three defeats. Schalke’s defeat resulted in the sacking of Frank Kramer.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
