Things are currently going like clockwork for TSG Hoffenheim – and also for Grischa Prömel. In SWR Sport he talks about his comeback and about prominent companions.
Grischa Prömel is 30 years old, a Bundesliga player and is currently having a really good time with TSG Hoffenheim: Seven wins from ten games – what works so well at the moment? “A lot. On the one hand it’s a lot of fun, on the other hand we’re successful. We have good energy in the team, we have hungry guys,” said the attacking midfielder on Sunday (December 14th, 2025) in the SWR Sport TV studio.
TSG player Prömel: “It was a long period of suffering”
Just a year ago things looked completely different. Not just when it comes to the Kraichgauer’s performance in the league. At that time, Prömel was in the middle of rehab after a torn cruciate ligament. His physiotherapist Michael Eyrainer, who looked after Prömel in his daily sessions during rehab, knows how hard he has worked on his recovery: “Grischa has an aura in the room. He is a special person and an absolutely professional player.”
Prömel has been back in action since Augustand he is once again one of TSG’s regular players: “I enjoy every Bundesliga game because it was a long period of suffering. I fought hard to get back. Now I’m back in top form and happy that I can help the team.”
The club had previously helped him, and in Hoffenheim they had “done everything possible” for his comeback. It’s a cool club with incredible opportunities, Prömel praised TSG: “Anyone who has ever seen our training ground simply knows how innovative our club is and that’s why it’s fun to play for Hoffenheim.”
Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer is also pleased that Prömel has “reported back so well”. As vice captain and part of the team council, Prömel is always in close contact with Ilzer: “We are both guys who strive for the maximum and do everything for success – and that’s why we are on the same wavelength.”
The new face of TSG Hoffenheim
Ilzer let Prömel “fight” for the starting eleven after his comeback, but the midfielder respects that: “He is the boss of the club, he is of course trying to find a good group of players and he has definitely achieved that. It is not for nothing that we have now won four games at home. Of course, that also bears the coach’s signature because he gives us a lot and demands a lot from us.”
The extensive renewal of the squad before the current season is bearing fruit, because instead of a relegation battle, the fifth-place team is currently aiming towards international places. “It has already been seen in our team that we now have a new face. We have declared a new path to which everyone is committed and we are continuing to pursue it,” said Prömel determinedly.
Training under Ilzer: “It’s not always fun”
These achievements do not come by chance. Ilzer is known for high demands and tough training sessions: “It’s not always fun,” smiled Prömel: “But I’ve seen few players in my career who were able to function at the weekend if they did larifari during the week.” The Stuttgart native welcomes a high level of training: “Only if you really challenge yourself and tickle yourself can you get the most out of yourself.”
Even before Prömel began to sweat in Ilzer’s units, another coaching figure influenced him: Under Urs Fischer – recently on the sidelines at Mainz 05 – The Swabian was promoted to the Bundesliga together with Union Berlin in 2019. A time that Prömel describes as “one of the best times in his career to date.”
Prömel about Urs Fischer: “Made me Bundesliga player made”
“He opened my eyes, explained to me my strengths and weaknesses and told me what I had to work on so that I could ultimately become a good Bundesliga player,” said Prömel about Fischer. To this day the two are “closely connected. I have so much to thank Urs and the coaching team for, they made me a Bundesliga player.”
A Bundesliga player who was already able to get a taste of the senior squad when it comes to the national team. Prömel was called up to the DFB squad for the first time in November 2023, but he was not used at that time.
Will Prömel return to the DFB squad for the 2026 World Cup?
National coach Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t just know Prömel through the DFB. It was Nagelsmann who guided Grischa Prömel as a youth player from the Stuttgarter Kickers to Hoffenheim. In 2014, Prömel won the German A-Junior championship with the TSG U19 team under him. The two remain in contact to this day. “He brought me to Hoffenheim and that was a bit of a kickstart to my professional career. I’m glad that he’s now the national coach.”
Does Prömel expect another call from Nagelsmann when it comes to the squad for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico?
Prömel: “Just enjoy” success with Hoffenheim
“I’m not even thinking about it yet,” said Prömel: “That’s still six months in the future and football is so fast-moving, a lot can happen. I’m just enjoying being successful with Hoffenheim and then we’ll see what happens.”
