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Bundesliga Preview: Olic calls for reaction ahead of Wolfsburg reunion
9 April 2015
As Ivica Olic prepares to line up against Wolfsburg for the first time since joining Hamburg, the Croatian says his team-mates need to start producing results.
After appointing Peter Knaber as interim replacement for Josef Zinnbauer last month, fortunes have not improved for the Bundesliga strugglers who have taken just two points from their last possible 21.
Therefore, Hamburg are in the midst of a relegation battle for a second season running with Saturday's visit from second-placed Wolfsburg likely to prove a daunting task.
Olic swapped Wolfsburg for Hamburg in January, having scored the opener in November's reverse fixture as his former employers ran out 2-0 winners.
The veteran forward told Bild: "Against Wolfsburg we must show a positive reaction as a team.
"Peter Knabel puts on good training but we have to to take that into the games.
"We can win against Wolfsburg. Against strong teams we have often looked good at home.
"Wolfsburg will be the second power in Germany in the coming years but I am happy, despite the situation, to be here in Hamburg."
Like Hamburg, fellow strugglers Stuttgart and Paderborn also enjoy home advantage as they continue their survival fight against Werder Bremen and Augsburg respectively.
If Wolfsburg fail to dispatch Hamburg at the Imtech Arena, leaders Bayern Munich could extend their cushion at the top to 13 points with a home win against Eintracht Frankfurt having ensured their DFB-Pokal semi-final place with a penalty shootout victory over Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.
Pep Guardiola's injury-hit side progressed 5-3 on spot-kicks following a 0-0 draw as Leverkusen were left to focus on Bundesliga matters, starting with their trip to Mainz.
Borussia Dortmund await Bayern in the semis after they progressed past Hoffenheim, with Jurgen Klopp's men facing Borussia Monchengladbach, who were on the wrong end up a cup upset against second-tier Arminia Bielefeld.
Schalke could welcome back Julian Draxler for the visit of Freiburg, with the forward back in training after a lengthy lay-off following a torn tendon.
He could prove key to bolster Schalke's fading hopes of ensuring a continental qualification berth, having not featured since October.
Hannover and Hertha Berlin get the weekend's action under way on Friday while a win for Cologne over Hoffenheim at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday would solidify the hosts' survival chances.
Borussia Monchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund: Favre eager to move on from cup shock
9 April 2015
Lucien Favre has urged his Borussia Monchengladbach side to take out the frustration of their shock DFB-Pokal exit out on Borussia Dortmund this weekend.
Gladbach suffered an embarrassing quarter-final defeat to third-tier side Arminia Bielefeld on Wednesday, losing 5-4 on penalties after the sides were level at 1-1 after extra time.
Raffael and Ibrahim Traore missed from the spot to ensure Arminia can look forward to a semi-final against Wolfsburg later this month.
Dortmund were also taken to extra time a day earlier, but a sublime long-range volley from Sebastian Kehl secured a 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim and Jurgen Klopp's men will face Bayern Munich in a mouth-watering semi-final at the Allianz Arena.
Gladbach's cup defeat was hard to take for Favre, but the Swiss coach has warned his players not to dwell on that setback as they prepare for Saturday's Bundesliga encounter at Borussia-Park.
He said: "I'm obviously disappointed to not be in the semi-finals. We wanted to get through to the next round but we knew before the game that it wouldn't be easy.
"We tried to control the game but Bielefeld defended well and that meant we didn't get many chances to score. We were lacking the right tempo and we didn't find the gaps.
"Overall, we didn't do enough to win the game. It's hard to stomach going out on penalties but we have to get over the result straight away."
Max Kruse echoed Favre's sentiments as Gladbach aim to gain revenge for a 1-0 defeat to Dortmund in November, which came courtesy of a comical Christoph Kramer own goal.
The striker said: "It's incredibly bitter to go out on penalties. But we only have ourselves to blame. We were unable to beat Arminia after 120 minutes and therefore didn't deserve to go through to the semi-finals.
"We were unable to play the ball around with tempo and didn't create enough goal scoring opportunities.
"We need to completely switch our focus towards the game against Dortmund and try to achieve our goals in the league."
Gladbach had won five and drawn one of their six games before facing Arminia and they must now attempt to recapture that form, with a second-placed finish still very much a possibility.
Favre is again set to be without Martin Stranzl and Thorben Marx due to knee injuries.
Dortmund coach Klopp is hopeful that Germany international Mats Hummels and Marco Reus could return after recovering from muscular problems.
Jakub Blaszczykowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are due to train on Friday and may also be back in contention, but Sven Bender (dead leg) is an injury concern for seventh-placed Dortmund, who were beaten 1-0 by champions Bayern last weekend.
The forward credited his team's inability to get fatigued as part of how they reached the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, though admits they had some luck too
Thomas Muller believes fatigue is entirely in a person's head and Bayern Munich's power to get over was key in them defeating Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
The forward was one of the Bavarians' clinical penalty takers in the DFB-Pokal quarter-final at BayArena, with all five players converting for Pep Guardiola after a 0-0 result following extra-time.
Muller admitted Bayern - who won the competition in each of the last two seasons - had fortune on their side but were aided by being indefatigable.
"When it is about penalties, it is a mixtures of luck and also practice," Muller told ARD . "A big part of it is luck.
"We sometimes take penalties after training, but I don't think all the players who shot today do that.
"Being tired is only something in your head. Of course you don't always feel that fresh, but you have to keep going. We wanted to play and we wanted to win.
"It was a very tight match. I counted a few more chances for us, but Leverkusen were dangerous too. But I think no team could have scored a goal today from open play."
Bayern were drawn at home against Borussia Dortmund in the last four in a repeat of last year's final, while third-tier surprise package Arminia Bielefeld will host Bundesliga side Wolfburg.
'Dortmund will make changes... but Klopp will stay'
Alec Fenn
Apr 8, 2015 17:30:46
The club's sporting director has promised to assess the playing squad at the end of the season, with BVB at risk of missing out on European football
Borussia Dortmund will make big changes to their squad this summer but won't part ways with coach Jurgen Klopp, according to sporting director Michael Zorc.
BVB have endured the most disappointing of campaigns and sit in 10th place, six points adrift of sixth position - the final Europa League qualification spot.
Should they fail to qualify for European football that could leave last season's Bundesliga runners-up with an over-inflated squad - a fact not lost on Zorc who is prepared to trim the playing staff.
"It is true that at the end of the season we will look at our overall situation and also each individual player," he said in an interview with Sport Image.
"If we do not play European football then our squad is certainly too big. Then, numerically, you have to make decisions to adjust the size of the squad.
"The quality is there, you've seen that in the second half of the season. But just knowing that a player has quality isn't enough, he must prove he has quality every week."
Reports earlier this week claimed striker Ciro Immobile could be among those sold but Zorc leapt to his defence and said it was too easy to use new signings as scapegoats.
"It's too early to make a judgement," he added. "We value our players not after a few months but over a longer period of time. Even Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski sat in the stands at first.
"I refuse to make our new signings scapegoats for this season."
Prior to the winter break Dortmund spent several weeks in the relegation zone but have improved since the turn of the year and remain in contention for the DFB-Pokal.
Jurgen Klopp's men saw off Hoffenheim 3-2 after extra-time on Tuesday night to reach the semi-finals and Zorc added the club's coach would not be among those facing the axe.
"Jurgen is ambitious, energetic and determined to repair this disastrous season so far and will attack again.
"The goal for the rest of the season is clear, the Europa League is a worthwhile goal - we want to be in Europe every season."
Hertha Berlin 1 Hannover 1: Stocker smashes late leveller
10 April 2015
Valentin Stocker struck seven minutes from time to secure a 1-1 draw for Hertha Berlin and deny Hannover a first Bundesliga win since mid-December.
Hosts Hannover made a promising start to the match, but Hertha had a goal ruled out for offside when John Anthony Brooks converted after Ron-Robert Zieler parried Sebastian Langkamp's shot.
Zieler was back in action to push Genki Haraguchi's volley behind, while Salif Sane and Jimmy Briand missed chances for Hannover as the half ended goalless.
The opening goal came in scrappy fashion with 15 minutes to play as Hertha failed to clear a corner and Christian Schulz bundled home amid suspicions of handball.
Hannover's advantage did not last, however, as Stocker - who opened his account for Hertha in last weekend's 2-0 win over Paderborn - crashed home an acrobatic strike from the edge of the area to earn a share of the spoils.
Hertha are 11th in the Bundesliga - three places and two points better off than Hannover, who are 14th.
Bayern Munich defender Medhi Benatia will be out for two to four weeks with a hamstring injury, coach Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
The centre-back suffered the blow during the DFB-Pokal quarter-final tie against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, which the Bavarian giants won on penalties.
He is joined on the sidelines by Arjen Robben (stomach), David Alaba (knee) and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has not recovered from an ankle injury and is a doubt for next week's UEFA Champions League clash with Porto.
Franck Ribery is back in training following an ankle problem but could miss the quarter-final first leg with Porto next Wednesday, while Javi Martinez is still out with a knee injury.
"Medhi Benatia is out for two to four weeks," Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt. "Our situation is very critical.
"[Schweinsteiger] will not be there against Frankfurt. I do not know whether [Ribery] can fly with us to Porto on Monday. We must not forget he has missed five weeks."
Asked about a potential return date for Robben, Guardiola added: "Maybe he's back in the DFB-Pokal [semi-final on April 28] against Dortmund. We wait for him.
"We must concentrate on the players that we have. We want to keep on fighting for three titles even in this situation."
Bundesliga Review: Stuttgart off the bottom as Cologne ease relegation fears
12 April 2015
Stuttgart hauled themselves off the foot of the Bundesliga with a thrilling 3-2 win at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Christian Gentner struck first for the hosts but Bremen were on terms early in the second period thanks to Davie Selke.
Daniel Ginczek restored Stuttgart's lead but their afternoon threatened to unravel after Martin Harnik was sent off and Jannik Vestergaard equalised for a second time in the 86th minute.
But Huub Stevens' team claimed a third home win of the campaign when Ginczek struck in stoppage time to dump Hamburg down to the bottom of the standings.
Stuttgart are now three points from safety, while Cologne eased clear of the drop zone by beating European hopefuls Hoffenheim 3-2.
Cologne captain Matthias Lehmann opened the scoring with a penalty midway through the first half and Anthony Ujah rifled home a second in the 54th minute.
What looked like a routine win became more complicated for the home team with 20 minutes to play as right-back Pawel Olkowski was sent off for a professional foul on Anthony Modeste in the penalty area.
Eugen Polanski netted the resulting spot kick, but Hector Jonas restored Cologne's advantage with a brilliant solo effort before Modeste got on the scoresheet himself to set up a grandstand finale.
Jurgen Klopp insists that Borussia Dortmund must win their next two home games if they are to salvage anything from a disappointing season.
Dortmund occupy 10th spot in the Bundesliga after losing 3-1 at third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, with goals from Oscar Wendt, Raffael and Havard Nordtveit sealing victory for Lucien Favre's side.
And Klopp stressed that Dortmund's next two fixtures at home to Paderborn and Eintracht Frankfurt will prove crucial if they are to retain any hope of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
"The season has been, and remains, difficult," said the Dortmund coach.
"Now there are two enormously important games for us, because we should score points because we are at home.
"If we do not win, chances of Europe are gone."
Dortmund got off to a terrible start at Borussia-Park, Wendt giving the hosts the lead after just 28 seconds.
Rising Monchengladbach star Patrick Herrmann caused havoc for Dortmund's floundering back line throughout, and the winger set up the second with a surging run from deep, teeing up Raffael to slot into an empty net.
Nordtveit then added a third shortly after half time, with Shinji Kagawa having squandered two golden opportunities just moments earlier.
Ilkay Gundogan did pull a consolation goal back for the visitors, but Klopp conceded that his team were outplayed by the UEFA Champions League hopefuls.
"A mixture of good will and high readiness from Monchengladbach, and lack of consistency from us are to blame," he added.
"Every goal was so easy, the opposition has made the most of our errors.
"We get into duels up the pitch and then the opponents win the ball and turn towards goal, it happens time and time again.
"Our performance was no relapse to how we played earlier in the season, but still obviously very modest."
Pep Guardiola heaped praise on his injury-hit Bayern Munich side after Saturday's 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt but has warned they cannot take anything for granted during the final stretch of the season.
Guardiola was able to name just four substitutes as a result of Bayern's injury crisis but the Bundesliga leaders swept aside the visitors thanks to Robert Lewandowski's brace and a late Thomas Muller effort.
The win serves as ideal preparation for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final with Porto, and Guardiola told Bayern's official website: "I'm very, very proud.
"Three days after the [DFB-Pokal] match in Leverkusen we play against the third-best attacking line-up in the Bundesliga. We dominated the game and played well, which pleased me.
"Now we need to recover and focus on a very special competition. I hope that we can compete with these players in Porto and that no more players will be hurt."
Lewandowski now has six goals in as many appearances for the Bundesliga champions of late, helping fill the attacking void left by recent injuries to Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
"We knew this was not going to be an easy game, especially after a cup game of 120 minutes, and just two days free, it is always difficult," the Poland international added.
"Nevertheless, we played very well, except for maybe the first minutes of the second half. But after the second goal everything was clear and we could loosen up.
Bayer Leverkusen have terminated the contract of Emir Spahic after the defender head-butted a steward.
The incident occurred after Leverkusen's DFB-Pokal defeat at home to Bayern Munich last Wednesday. The Bosnia-Herzegovina international was recorded confronting the steward, with police set to investigate.
But Leverkusen have opted to act decisively by sacking the 34-year-old.
"Emir Spahic is an outstanding footballer, [but] the most recent evidence left us with no choice," said managing director Michael Schade.
"After video documents surfaced that shocked and concerned us all we could not wait for the outcome of the legal investigation or possible criminal case.
"We have found an amicable solution, Emir has repented his actions and regrets them very much."
Spahic had made 36 appearances for Leverkusen this season.
"I regret my behaviour after the cup match on Wednesday," he said. "For this behaviour I want to apologise to the victims and their families.
"I know that I have caused great problems for my club. It was a great honour to be part of this team, I wish them all the best for a great future."
Stuttgart's two-goal hero Daniel Ginczek labelled his match-winner against Werder Bremen on Sunday as "pure emotion" after Huub Stevens' side moved off the bottom of the Bundesliga.
Ginczek struck the decisive goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time at the Mercedes Benz Arena, capping off a dramatic finale, which included a red card to Stuttgart forward Martin Harnik and an equaliser from Bremen with four minutes left.
But as the clock ticked past 90 minutes in Stuttgart, the home side launched a counter-attack, which saw Geoffroy Serey Die burst through the middle, before sliding a pass to Ginczek and the striker finished between the legs of Bremen goalkeeper Raphael Wolf.
The home fans erupted in joy as Stuttgart moved ahead of last position in the Bundesliga standings for the first time since February 7.
Stuttgart (26 points) sit 17th in one of two automatic relegation positions, just ahead of Hamburg (25), with Paderborn (27) in 16th; a spot that entails playing a two-legged play-off with Bundesliga 2's third side in order to stay in the top division.
"We put in a huge performance," Ginczek told Stuttgart's website.
"Even with a man down and after conceding that late equaliser we still went all out for the win – and the winner was just pure emotion. We had that little bit of luck on our side in the end.
"We're still in a relegation place but we're determined to battle our way out of trouble. That's what we're all working towards and everyone has a part to play."
Stuttgart were reeled in twice before Ginczek finally gave them victory with Christian Gentner's drive on the quarter-hour mark cancelled out by a header from Davie Selke four minutes into the second half.
After Harnik wasted a number of gilt-edged chances to score around the hour mark, the Austrian teed up Ginczek in the 70th minute to make it 2-1, only for Jannik Vestergaard to equalise for Bremen from a corner 16 minutes later.
Coach Stevens hailed Stuttgart's "courage" to keep attacking, especially after a raft of misses and Harnik's second yellow card two minutes prior to Vestegaard's header.
"We should have done better with our chances in both halves and won it comfortably really, so we only have ourselves to blame in that regard," the 61-year-old coach said.
"The team showed a lot of courage and in the end they got the necessary stroke of luck. But we worked for it and that was a result of a concerted effort."
Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has confirmed that both Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger will miss Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Porto.
Pep Guardiola's side visit Estadio do Dragao for the quarter-final first leg with a number of key players on the sidelines and having played with just four men on the bench against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Medhi Benatia is on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, while Arjen Robben (stomach) and David Alaba and Javi Martinez (both knee) are also unavailable.
Ribery, who has been struggling with an ankle problem, had resumed light training prior to the 3-0 win over Eintracht, but is still not fit enough to feature.
Vice-captain Schweinsteiger, meanwhile, is out because of a virus, although Jerome Boateng is available following muscular problems and Claudio Pizzaro is also included in the squad.
"Bastian and Franck cannot travel, that's too bad," Sammer said.
"We have complete faith in the players that we have available. Everyone knows the situation. The team have a real hunger."
Eintracht Frankfurt's hopes of snatching a European place for next season have been dealt a huge blow with the loss of midfielder Alexander Meier, who requires surgery on a knee injury.
The 32-year-old has netted 19 league goals for Thomas Schaaf's side this season to top the Bundesliga scoring charts and help Frankfurt to eighth place with six games to go.
Meier did not feature in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich and the club confirmed on Monday that he will miss the remaining weeks of the campaign as he needs an operation.
"The injury to Alex has hit us hard," Schaaf told the club's official website. "We had hoped that he could help us with goals in the final games of the season.
"We wish him well with the surgery and hope he returns healthy as soon as possible."
Frankfurt are four points adrift of the top six and welcome Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
Hamburg´s Djourou, Behrami in dressing room ´dispute´
14 April 2015
Bundesliga strugglers Hamburg have moved to play down a reported fight between Johan Djourou and Valon Behrami at half-time of their loss to Wolfsburg.
According to German newspaper Bild, Djourou and Behrami came to blows in Hamburg's dressing room on Saturday, with Peter Knabel's men trailing 1-0 and on their way to a fourth straight defeat.
Hamburg went on to lose 2-0 - with Djourou sent off in the 88th minute - and they finished the weekend in last position in the Bundesliga standings, one point adrift of 17th-placed Stuttgart, who defeated Werder Bremen 3-2 on Sunday to rise off the bottom.
While Hamburg sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer confirmed there was an incident, he declined to give details and seemed keen to move on.
"There was an emotional dispute. It was discussed. It is regulated. Whoever breaks discipline must be punished," Beiersdorfer told Bild.
It is expected the two Switzerland internationals will be fined.
Hamburg are the only club to have played in every season of the Bundesliga and had to survive a promotion-relegation play-off with Greuther Furth to maintain their top-flight status last term.
If they finish in the bottom two positions this season, Hamburg will be automatically relegated.
After Saturday's loss, Hamburg captain Heiko Westermann conceded his team's second-half display was "not Bundesliga worthy", while midfielder Lewis Holtby was filmed angrily confronting the club's fans, seemingly frustrated at allegations he was not trying.
"I spoke to our fans after the final whistle, it was very emotional," he told Hamburg's website.
"I can understand that they are gutted but we have to stick together and not go our separate ways.
"I am the last person here who wants to be relegated with such a tradition-steeped club. The whole team doesn't want to."
Hamburg will travel to ninth-placed Werder Bremen on Sunday and host Augsburg, who sit sixth, the week after.
Those matches will be followed by three consecutive fixtures against fellow bottom-six clubs - Mainz, Freiburg and Stuttgart - before a clash with Schalke on the final day of the season.
"There are still a lot of points left to fight for, and we will be playing teams close to us in the table again, all of this gives me reason to hope," Holtby said.
Hamburg have confirmed the appointment of Bruno Labbadia for a second spell in charge of the club.
The Bundesliga's basement club have been without a head coach since the sacking of Joe Zinnbauer in March, with sporting director Peter Knabel taking caretaker charge in the meantime.
Labbadia - a former Hamburg player - was previously dismissed by the club in 2010 after less than 10 months in the hot seat.
Former Mainz chief Thomas Tuchel had been heavily linked with the position in recent days, and Hamburg CEO Dietmar Beiersdorf confirmed talks had taken place.
Beiersdorf revealed, though, that discussions over a potential deal to bring Tuchel to the Imtech Arena had reached "deadlock", prompting the club to turn to Labbadia, who last managed at Stuttgart from 2010 to 2013.
Hamburg are four points adrift of safety and face a trip to local rivals Werder Bremen on Sunday.
"I expect full dedication and passion of all stakeholders in the coming weeks," said Beiersdorf. "We now need to quickly develop a sense of achievement."
Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund will address rumours Jurgen Klopp has asked to be released from his contract after calling an emergency news conference.
Reports emerging from Germany on Tuesday suggested Klopp is hoping to leave Signal Iduna Park after a disastrous season which has seen them fall out of the Bundesliga's title picture.
Comfortably second-best to Bayern munich for the previous two seasons, Dortmund have spent spells of this term bottom of the table, but an upturn in form in the new year has moved them into mid-table.
That remains a disappointment for the Ruhr club though, with a 1330 CET new conference set to reveal Klopp's next move.
Jurgen Klopp insists his decision to leave Borussia Dortmund is not down to a falling out with members of his squad.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Klopp would leave his role as Dortmund head coach at the end of the season after seven years at the helm.
Reports in Germany suggested that disharmony had crept into the camp, with Klopp said to have argued with captain Sebastian Kehl after last weekend's 3-1 reverse at Borussia Monchengladbach.
But Klopp says that any talk of disagreements with the team is wide of the mark.
"It might have looked like I had problems with the team last week, but this has nothing to do with that," he said.
"There has been no division or tear between myself and the team. I had no problems with any of the players. I had no time to inform the team yet. I will talk to them in a bit."
Klopp has led Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles and the DFB-Pokal since joining from Mainz in 2008, while the club also finished runners-up to rivals Bayern Munich in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.
The 47-year-old gave an emotional news conference in which he stated that he decided to announce his decision early to allow Dortmund plenty of time to prepare for next term.
"I think that Borussia Dortmund need a change," he added.
"This is a time where the planning for the new season starts. That's why this decision for the future had to be made now.
"Now it's about the club and that's bigger than anybody. Full stop.
"We still have a lot of work to do now. This is a decision for next season and we'll concentrate on finishing this season now."
Klopp will now seek to secure a top-half finish in the remaining six league games, at the end of a season in which Dortmund had spent some time in the relegation zone.
Paul Lambert believes Jurgen Klopp may never work in England, but thinks the outgoing Borussia Dortmund head coach would be a success in the Premier League.
Klopp announced on Wednesday that he will leave Dortmund at the end of the season after seven years in charge of the Bundesliga club.
The charismatic German has been linked with a move to Manchester City, and Arsenal has been mentioned as a possible destination for him in the past.
Former Dortmund midfielder Lambert expects his good friend Klopp to be in demand, but would not raise eyebrows if he opts against plying his trade in England.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "I wouldn't expect it. It wouldn't surprise me if he never came.
"He's going to be in demand from a lot of countries and he will be a big name for a lot of teams."
Ex-Aston Villa manager Lambert, however, thinks Klopp would be suited to the Premier League if he does decide to go down that route.
He added: "If you ask me 'would he come to England?' I think he would because obviously he knows the language, he's a clever guy.
"I think he will be great for the Premier League, because of the way he is.
"He's got the mentality of a British coach - I also think he's very clever. I don't think he'd have any problem adapting to British football."
Hoffenheim head coach Markus Gisdol has signed a new contract with the Bundesliga club that will run until 2018.
Gisdol was appointed as successor to Marco Kurz two years ago and kept the club up with a play-off victory against Kaiserslautern, then guided them to a ninth-placed finish in his first full season at the helm.
Hoffenheim have made further strides this season and are in contention for a place in Europe, as they sit seventh in the table with six games remaining.
Gisdol was on Thursday rewarded with a two-year extension, with his previous deal due to expire at the end of next season.
The 45-year-old said: "I feel very comfortable here, have a fantastic team of coaches and a great manager."
Hoffenheim will attempt to round off a great week for Gisdol by beating runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich at the Rhein-Neckar Arena on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Kehl has been ruled out for two weeks with a broken rib.
The 35-year-old sustained the injury in training, adding to a lengthy list of absentees for outgoing coach Jurgen Klopp.
Neven Subotic will also miss Saturday's Bundesliga clash with Paderborn with a back problem, while five other players are doubts after being unable to train on Thursday.
Jakub Blaszcykowski, Sven Bender, Erik Durm, Kevin Grosskreutz and Marco Reus all missed the session, and Oliver Kirch, Nuri Sahin and Lukas Piszczek are definitely sidelined.
So bad are Dortmund's injury problems at the moment, that Klopp had to refer to a list on his mobile phone during a pre-match press conference.
