Talks about the early days in the Bundesliga
©IMAGO
When Arthur Chaves moved to TSG Hoffenheim in the summer of 2024, quite a few suspected a favor for the advisor Roger Wittmann, who was closely linked to the club and is now in dispute. His agency Rogon has a hand in the Portuguese second division club Académico Viseu, and the transfer fee of 6 million euros made the Kraichgau fans even more taken aback. But the central defender quickly belied this view and developed into a promise for the future. In Chave’s eyes, one factor for this is the environment in the Bundesliga and in Hoffenheim.
“The Germans really like Brazilian football. Maybe they even like it more than the Brazilians,” says Chaves with a grin in an interview with Transfermarkt. “Unfortunately, Vinicius Junior is very criticized in Brazil, but the Germans like him a lot. The Brazilian national team is very respected.” The South Americans are also very popular in Hoffenheim. Apart from Germany, no other nation has had more TSG professionals.
“The Hoffenheim fans really like Brazilians. They have a Brazilian flag with them at the games and show them great affection. I think that’s very nice. The history of the Brazilians here is very nice. Joelinton, Luiz Gustavo, Roberto Firmino, Carlos Eduardo. I also want to be part of this history,” explains Chaves, who has had a compatriot, Bernardo (30), at his side since the summer has. Chaves would like to follow in the footsteps of his well-known predecessors, who shaped TSG and used it as a springboard for a great career. However, he initially faced some challenges.
The defender had to wait more than a month for his Bundesliga debut; first he went to the TSG reserves in the regional league. “It took me a while to get used to German football. I couldn’t keep up with the training rhythm. I needed time to get used to the pace and get opportunities to play. In Germany the game is completely different. It’s faster and more aggressive. The referees let the game run, there isn’t a yellow card for every foul. But now, after a year, I feel very comfortable. I’m a new player and a lot better prepared,” says Chaves, who not only speaks English fluently but is also learning German.
The 24-year-old has been an integral part of the Hoffenheim team ever since; he has played 39 games (two goals) so far. He increased his market value from 1.2 million to 5 million euros. It has long been considered a hot stock for the future. Not least since consultant Wittmann publicly made an offer worth millions from England last winter. In the summer, however, Chaves extended his contract with TSG until 2029, even though there is speculation about exit scenarios. In Hoffenheim, Chaves emphasizes that he got to know the daily work in training in a completely different way.
Chaves gets to know completely new training work at TSG Hoffenheim
“The methodology of German football is very interesting. The training is like a game. It’s very long, very intensive training sessions,” he describes. There are individual trainers for every area. “We do specific exercises to correct defensive mistakes,” said Chaves. “I think that’s very good because the head coach cares a lot about the team as a whole, so he doesn’t always have time for specific tasks or personal conversations. The defensive coach takes care of that. He comes with videos, calls me into his office and shows me everything I did right and wrong. Everyone gets a lot of attention to develop further. That’s very important.”
Chaves started the season better with TSG than last year. After the 7th matchday we are in eighth place instead of 14th. “The German championship is very competitive, you never know what will happen. If you exclude Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen, you don’t know what will happen, how the teams will perform in the championship. Last year Borussia Mönchengladbach were fighting for a place in the European competitions, but this year they are in last place. Every game is very complicated. If you are not in good shape, you will “overwhelmed,” says Chaves. “I’m thrilled with the level of the Bundesliga.”
He is particularly fond of two strikers as opponents: Harry Kane (32) and Nick Woltemade (23). “Harry Kane is amazing. He is exceptional and one of the best goalscorers in the world. What I find most impressive about him is his mobility. He goes to the defender, organizes the play, finds a free teammate and makes a pass. He is a creative center forward. A player who can play both as a nine and as a ten. He has a game intelligence that makes a big difference. He is always well positioned and knows where to go the ball goes. If you’re not careful, he’ll score a goal.”
Next to Kane: Woltemade surprised Hoffenheim’s Chaves the most
However, Woltemade surprised him the most. “He wasn’t mentioned much here, nobody knew him. But he’s completely different. He’s taller than me, runs a little strangely, is a little clumsy, doesn’t seem to have that much quality, but when the ball lands on him it’s very hard to take it away from him. Look at the goals he scored last year. He dribbled, two, three times and then shot. When Stuttgart played poorly, the goalkeeper hit the goal kick long and he held him. You can’t predict that. He jumped up, took the ball with his chest and had the strength to hold it. He is a very complete player, at Premier League level,” is the conclusion to Newcastle’s 75 million euro purchase, who has already scored five times in eight games for the English team.
The Bundesliga should also put Chaves in the spotlight, not only with top European clubs, but also with the Seleção. Before he moved to Hoffenheim, it was enough to get a nomination for the U23 team, but they surprisingly missed qualifying for the Olympic Games, even though top-class names like Endrick (19), Andrey Santos (21), Marquinhos (22) and Marlon Gomes (21) were in the squad.
“We had a very good team individually, but football is not an individual sport. The other teams were less good, but they were better as a team. Unfortunately it didn’t work out,” says Chaves, regretting the unique opportunity. “It’s a burden that I carry with me in my career. I know I wasn’t a star like Endrick and Andrey, but I was there, I was part of the group. I played all the games. That’s why I carry this burden that Brazil didn’t qualify. That’s just football. Things don’t always go the way we want them to.”
Despite the mixed qualifications, Chaves believes the Seleção will have a very good role in next year’s World Cup – not least because of the commitment of coach Carlo Ancelotti. “The Germans were excited about Ancelotti’s signing, but I think they were also scared,” says Chaves with a laugh. “Ancelotti is Ancelotti. I don’t have to say much about him. Everyone respects his history in football. When Brazil and Germany play against each other, Brazil is very respected, as it always should be.” Even after the embarrassing 1:7 in the 2014 World Cup semi-final in his own country, which Chaves prefers to leave unmentioned.
Original interview in Portuguese by Thiago Rabelo