Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., founded on 1 January 1899, are the professional outfit from Sinsheim that compete in the top flight, the Bundesliga, and collectors searching Walkouts will find signed football shirts spanning the club’s modern rise.
Originally a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim reformed in 1945 and moved rapidly through the German league system after the millennium, aided by alumnus Dietmar Hopp. The team played at the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion until 2009, when home matches moved to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, known commercially as the PreZero Arena, a focal point for match-day provenance.
The senior side have recorded league highs without taking top domestic silverware; the club has no major domestic titles, yet produced its best league placing in 2017-18 and reached the UEFA Champions League group stage, a continental milestone that changed demand for shirts from that era. The club is ranked 132 by IFFHS, a frequent talking point among statisticians and collectors.
Shirt collectors value particular seasons for provenance and story. Early-2000s ascents make the 2008-09 season desirable as a breakout item, while the 2017-18 third-place finish elevated squad shirts to sought-after memorabilia, and the 2020-21 Europa League run produced limited run match-issued pieces. These seasons are chased for match provenance, squad signatures and the narrative of a club that rose from the fifth tier to European competition in under two decades.
A noted collector focal point is the club’s European away kit design. The 2018-19 European campaign produced a distinctive white away shirt used in UCL group fixtures, and examples worn or retailed for those trips attract attention from buyers who prioritise continental provenance and photographic match evidence when available.
Fanshop merchandise is actively collected in its own right, not only match-worn items; early retail runs, player-issue variants and region-specific releases appear in private curation, often accompanied by a COA when signatures are supplied. Notes from the supply era matter too, with collectors citing DFL versus UEFA font differences and Lotto and Nike supplier eras, while light blues from older runs show characteristic wear at seams, useful for authentication and condition grading.
For those researching provenance, sought seasons include the 2017-18 top-four campaign and the white 2018-19 away shirt tied to European group fixtures, alongside the breakout 2008-09 run and the 2020-21 Europa League knockout ties; closing purchases can be sourced via Walkouts with attention to available paperwork and photo links to matches at the PreZero Arena and historic ties to the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion and regional fixtures such as the Baden derby with Karlsruher SC.
