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  SPIEGEL Interview with SAP Co-Founder Dietmar Hopp: 'I Am the Face' of Commercialized Football

SPIEGEL Interview with SAP Co-Founder Dietmar Hopp 'I Am the Face' of Commercialized Football

Part 2: Facing the Reactions to the Game's Increased Commercialization

SPIEGEL: In general, do you view Germany as being a society of jealous people?

Hopp: My foundation might have something to do with the fact that people aren't as jealous of me as you might expect. But jealosy shouldn't be confused with the hatred I get in the stadiums. In 12 years, my foundation has spent €190 million ($243 million), and I hope that it can manage to provide €30 million ($38 million) a year in the future. That's why I have been the target of more recognition than envy. I'm also talking about recognition from people who are undergoing radiation treatment and find out that the Dietmar Hopp Foundation paid for the equipment or people who read in the paper that I have already donated €40-50 million ($51-64 million) to the University of Heidelberg Hospital and the University of Mannheim. Of course, no one cares about this in Dortmund.

SPIEGEL: Did you expect to encounter this much hostility in football?

Hopp: I believe that 80 percent (of the population) approves of what we are doing. Those who are more vocal see me as epitomizing the commercialization of football. I'm the face. One day, when the door is opened to foreign investors and people -- such as the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi -- buy stakes in the Bundesliga, perhaps then they'll say: "It would be nice if we still had someone like Hopp." That's because I do things differently. Making money is not my goal. My goal is stabilize the team and make it viable over the long term. Those who are fighting me now are also opposed to VIP boxes full of people drinking champagne.

SPIEGEL: Does one have to be in favor of that?

Hopp: People know perfectly well that you need financial backing if you want to have big-ticket football players. A goalkeeper like Fritz Herkenrath used to play for a sack of potatoes, but those days are gone. Once we get more investors, the hostility against us will diminish. Look, at Hamburger SV they want to set up a fund investors can buy into that would give them a chance to make a profit if players are sold at a later point. If I wanted to pay into such a fund, I wouldn't be the face (of football's commercialization).

SPIEGEL: You had originally intended to provide some young football players you sponsor with a local professional club where they could improve their prospects. Has reaching the Bundesliga taken you too far from this original goal of having a place where you can support young players?

Hopp: It's really no different than it is with any other Bundesliga club. We have four or five players on our B youth team who have real potential. It is still my dream that we can one day develop a player on the German national team.

SPIEGEL: Do you expect to win over the hearts of fans with a "test-tube" professional club, so to speak?

Hopp: Well, to stick with your metaphor, test-tube babies are loved, too! Seriously, though, the enthusiasm has already increased to a level that I would never have imagined. We have 50 fan clubs. If you had asked me about that two years ago, I would have said that it would be cool to have 10 one day. It's clear that this must -- and will -- continue to grow. But what does tradition mean? Microsoft would not have become a global corporation if only traditional companies had been allowed to operate.

SPIEGEL: Years ago, fans of Waldhof Mannheim, whose club is based in a city nearby, ridiculed your Hoffenheim team, calling it the "FC Nouveau Riche." Back then, you said that you were hoping to grow some thick skin.

Hopp: My skin isn't really thick enough to prevent those chants from having any effect on me. I'm not that good of an actor. But when it comes to the guys from Waldhof, it's a whole different story. There is a sports working group in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan area that includes some well-known companies. They once expressed a desire to bring Bundesliga football to the area. At that time, Hoffenheim was in the regional league and Waldhof was a tier lower, in the Oberliga (or "upper league"). So I said: "Okay, we already want Hoffenheim to be in the second league (2nd Bundesliga, below the top tier), so I will put myself at the head of his movement. I'm also willing to provide some up-front financing." Today, those same companies support us and are also sponsors at the Rhine-Neckar Arena, our new stadium in Sinsheim.

SPIEGEL: Waldhof's fans were insulted?

Hopp: They said: "But we're the traditional club! We have to be the club that advances to the Bundesliga!" But there was no one who led that effort and, at the time, I had already been involved in Hoffenheim for 15 years. Besides, I had actively played football there for more than 10 years. Nevertheless, the people from Waldhof developed some antagonism toward us. But, by now, that has more or less dissipated.

SPIEGEL: Why do you invest almost exclusively in projects in the Rhine-Neckar region?

Hopp: I can't come up with the kind of money Bill Gates has. If I tried to spread out my foundation's money across multiple regions or countries, it would evaporate. When I build a retirement home here, I know many of the people who benefit from it.

SPIEGEL: Your nickname at SAP was "Vadder Hopp" ("Father Hopp"). The company offered above-average salaries, no fixed working hours, interest-free loans to homebuyers and a year's worth of wages for employees who contracted long-term illnesses. Can this sort of corporate culture be transferred to football?

Hopp: What can be transferred is the attempt to encourage people to perform using both humanity and understanding. That's what I like about Rangnick and his team, and that's what I like about Schindelmeiser, its manager. They do it, and they do it without my having asked them to.

SPIEGEL: In recent weeks, SAP's stock has lost almost half of its value. Your family and your foundation own about 10 percent of the company's shares. Could the financial crisis weaken your commitment?

Hopp: Luckily, I don't own any securities in banks that went out of business, and I have no plans to sell the SAP shares. I expect that they will continue paying dividends.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Hopp, we thank you for this interview.