BFW with Bayer Leverkusen: Jonas Hofmann is aging like fine wine and wants to win

Bavarian Football Works’ staffer Jack Laushway is attending Bayer Leverkusen’s training camp in Austria and will be interviewing several key players of the squad during this week. Leverkusen are shaping up to one of the most exciting teams in the upcoming Bundesliga season and Jonas Hofmann was one of the players who spoke with BFW during the week.

Jonas Hofmann is coming off another excellent season in the Bundesliga and has recently switched it up by joining Bayer Leverkusen from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Hofmann is a talent that has been touted by Bayern Munich fans for years now, and has become a prominent member of Hansi Flick’s Germany squad.

Hofmann has played in the Bundesliga for a decade now, and knows the league almost as good as anyone. And he’s liking what is brewing at Leverkusen this year.

“We have a mix of players with potential and experience, so I think we have a good team,” said Hofmann. “Leverkusen wants to win some titles and the plan is to get there in the coming seasons. I’m here to help the team and it is a dream come true.”

Hofmann is also a big fan of manager Xabi Alonso. The B04 newcomer stated that he watched many games of Xabi when he was young and played against him when he was in Munich, so to play under him now is something special.

Jonas Hofmann scored twelve and assisted nine in his most impressive campaign yet last season — but he’s been raising the level all throughout his career. So how does he do it?

“It is always my plan to be better in the next season,” Hofmann explained. “It could be difficult this time but I am working hard everyday to do it. Of course you need your teammates to perform and score more goals. You have to train at your own very hard, but you have to have a team effort as well.”

Topping his production from 2022/23 certainly won’t be easy. Only two players in the entire Bundesliga managed to get more goal contributions last season than Hofmann, who is aging like fine wine.

Although Germany didn’t get the result they wanted in Qatar, Hofmann said it was an absolute dream of his to represent his country at the World Cup — an experience to one day tell his kids about. But as Hofmann cautioned, the Germans will need to be much better if they want to win at EURO 2024.

A return to international glory is a shared dream, added Hofmann, who knows there’s a long way to go and many strong contenders — with no clear favorite.

Another strong campaign at Leverkusen may just help springboard Hofmann and his Germany teammates back to the top.