By Just before the summer transfer window closed, TSG Hoffenheim signed Anton Stach from 1. FSV Mainz 05. The midfielder is delighted about the new opportunities in the Kraichgau: “I knew Hoffenheim and I thought the club’s philosophy would be a really good fit for me. It has certainly turned out that way in my first few weeks here. I think TSG have enormous potential,” says Stach. But the 24-year-old isn’t just a talented footballer – the son of tennis commentator Matthias Stach is equally gifted out on the tennis court. In an interview for the club magazine SPIELFELD, Anton Stach speaks about his passion for tennis and his relationship with his sports-obsessed father.
Right next to the offices of TSG Hoffenheim are a set of tennis courts belonging to FC 1920 Zuzenhausen. It is here that TSG’s new signing Anton Stach chose to serve up, in the most literal sense, his first interview with SPIELFELD. Hardly a surprise, given his personal history: until the age of 14, the Germany international was just as likely to be spotted on the red clay of a tennis court as the green grass of a football pitch. At one point he was one of the top ten players in his age group in Germany. “During my entire childhood I played both football and tennis. Sometimes I’d play football earlier in the day, then go to tennis training later. Then at the weekends it was football matches and tennis tournaments,” says Stach, who, on the advice of his father, had to choose to commit to one. In the end, it was the team sport which won out.
His father has now become famous in the sport which remained a hobby. Matthias Stach is the voice of tennis in Germany, and he has remained an important advisor for his son, even when it comes to football. The elder Stach certainly doesn’t go easy with criticism: “He always had the view that: ‘You’ll get enough praise from others anyway!’ That shaped me, and at the same time helped me to make huge progress.”
Also in the September issue of SPIELFELD: Robert Skov profiles his home country Denmark in “Fact or Fake”, long-time TSG captain Benjamin Hübner takes questions in “No Comment” and Leonie Maier sits down for an interview to talk about the demands of playing for TSG Hoffenheim’s women’s team. In addition, the Innovation Park for Artificial Intelligence in Heilbronn is presented and the sustainability criteria of the Bundesliga are discussed in more detail. You can find all of this and much more exciting and informative content in the 100 pages of the current issue.
