Wouter Burger made his mark on Saturday in TSG Hoffenheim's friendly against Karlsruher SC. He opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick as Hoffenheim went on to win 3-0.
Burger has quickly grown into a key figure since his move to Hoffenheim in the summer of 2025. In his first Bundesliga season, the midfielder scored five goals and laid on no fewer than nine assists.
Those signs suggest Burger will again be one of the most important players in coach Christian Ilzer's team next season.
After 13 minutes, Burger curled the ball beautifully into the top corner from around 25 metres. The 25-year-old former Feyenoord player set Hoffenheim on their way to the friendly win. Bambasé Conté and Umut Tohumcu added the other goals after the 1-0.
As for Mats Rots, the FC Twente arrival started on the bench. The left-back came on after the break in place of Bernardo and played the final half-hour.
Last season, Hoffenheim finished an impressive fifth and therefore qualified for the Europa League. The gap to fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart, who are heading into the Champions League, was only one point.
They have also been active in the market and, besides Rots, have brought Nathan De Cat (Anderlecht, 18.5 million), Patrick Wimmer (VfL Wolfsburg, 10), Catejan Lenz (VfL Bochum, 10) and Alessandro Vogt (St. Gallen, 2.7) to the Bundesliga.