SC Paderborn has extended the contract of Marcel Hoffmeier ahead of schedule. The central defender only came from Preußen Münster in the summer, but is already absolutely set.

Last summer, Marcel Hoffmeier took the biggest step of his still young career. The 23-year-old left Preußen Münster for SC Paderborn in the 2nd Bundesliga on a free transfer from the Regionalliga West.

Some might have expected that the central defender would initially have problems settling in two divisions higher. But Hoffmeier proved the opposite with an impressive first half of the season. The 1.82-metre man was already able to convince coach Lukas Kwasniok of his worth in the preparation and was consequently in the starting eleven on each of the 17 match days in the league and in both DFB Cup games.

Only the captain was on the pitch longer

Of 1,740 minutes played across the competition, Hoffmeier completed a full 1,635 minutes on the pitch, helping SCP to the Cup Round of 16 and sixth place in the league (one goal, one assist). That is the second-highest figure for Paderborn. Only captain Ron Schallenberg was on the pitch a little longer with 1,644 minutes.

Of course, his performance did not go unnoticed by those responsible at the SCP. The reward: after only half a year, Hoffmeier’s first contract extension with the second division club followed. “Marcel has taken the next step in his career in Paderborn and has impressively demonstrated his qualities. We are very pleased that we were able to reach an early agreement with him regarding a longer-term contract,” explained Robin Trost, head of the professional players department, on the club’s own homepage. The SCP did not provide any information on the exact duration of the contract.

What is curious about this is that the contract extension had to take place without a sports director at all. This is because the previous sports director, Fabian Wohlgemuth, recently moved to VfB Stuttgart. “The very pleasing contract extension with a top performer shows that we are fully capable of acting in the sporting area. When looking for a new sporting director, we have a clear motto: thoroughness before speed!” emphasised President Thomas Sagel.