The fairytale rise of 5 lesser-known clubs in Europe

#1 TSG Hoffenheim

1899 Hoffenheim faithful during a Bundesliga game

A village side playing in the Bundesliga sounds like a crazy idea but that is exactly what Hoffenheim are - a village side that probably has no business challenging for Europe and hiring one of the best managerial talents in the country.

Hoffenheim have always been a decent football team for their level and this reflected in the 1990s when the tiny club steadily moved from the Baden-Württemberg A-Liga (the 8th division) to the Verbandsliga Nordbaden (6th division) in 2000.

That was when help came to them in the form of boyhood fan Dietmar Hopp, a software industry rooted businessman who wanted to invest in the club. This interest from Hopp took the club in an entirely unimaginable direction.

His investment paid off as the club rose to the Regionalliga Sud or the third level of the pyramid. The club had a famous DFB-Pokal run knocking out Bayer Leverkusen in 2003-04. Hopp decided to bring in newer and higher investment and he negotiated across his contacts and invested in bringing in experienced coaching staff into the club.

In 2008, the club was promoted to the Bundesliga where they have remained since. Despite having a local population of just 3,300 people Hoffenheim have stretched themselves cleverly with sound investment from a local fan and careful and sustainable spending.

There has been criticism for the financial backing that Hoffenheim have received during their rise from Hopp but nothing can colour over the fact that a village side is now a European club in Germany.