The numbers were impressive even without a goal for Jonas Hofmann. It was obvious from the start against Werder Bremen that the 30-year-old offensive player from Borussia Mönchengladbach did not like not being nominated for the upcoming international matches against Peru and Belgium.
Almost every attack went through Hofmann, who worked out a number of top-class players himself and also cleared the defense in a dangerous action as the last man against Niclas Füllkrug.
At the end of the intense 2:2 (0:0), Hofmann not only prepared Marcus Thuram's 1:0 shortly after the break, but also prepared ten Gladbach shots on goal. Of these, he put up five big chances alone. According to the Opta data service, only four other Bundesliga players have managed to do this since data collection: Arjen Robben, Joshua Kimmich, Roberto Firmino and Thomas Müller. In general, Hofmann is the Bundesliga player with by far the most passes to a shot this season.
Hofmann disappointed with non-nomination
"I am sure that if he continues like this, he will have a really good future in the national team," said Borussia coach Daniel Farke after the game about his best. Because just a few hours before Gladbach's disillusionment after overwhelming superiority, Hofmann had to digest a personal disappointment. The World Cup participant belongs to the group of some recently established national players who national coach Hansi Flick no longer wants to have with them when they start again after the preliminary round in Qatar.
"There was contact with Hansi Flick. He said that this time he wanted to give the established players a break," said Hofmann after the game and did not hide his disappointment: "I would have loved to have been there."
Hofmann would have gladly forgone the training time at the club before the derby in two weeks at 1. FC Köln. "No, I usually draw a lot of energy out of it. That gives me more of a boost when I'm with the national team," said Hofmann, who really gave it his all against Werder: "Now it's about being there again in June be."
Gladbach drifts into mediocrity
He would have done even more self-promotion as a goalscorer on Friday. He had several ways to do this. "Of course, after a game like this, you leave the game with a bad feeling," said Hofmann after the usury of chances by him and his strike partners around captain Lars Stindl and French vice world champion Marcus Thuram. For the Gladbachers and coach Farke, this is slowly becoming more than unfortunate. Hardly any other team is as inconsistent in exploiting opportunities as Borussia.
"That's a general problem, yes. We're in first place in the table of missed chances," complained Farke, who is therefore drifting more and more into mediocrity with his team. 31 points after 25 games currently make tenth place. Nothing seems to be going up or down at the moment. In the gray swamp of the league, Hofmann will increasingly have to score points with his individual performances at Flick. "It is crucial for Jonas that he concentrates on the games for Borussia," said Farke.
