He was not celebrated when he first stepped onto a football pitch in an HSV shirt. Instead, Davie Selke had to endure a chorus of boos when he was substituted in the first minute of injury time. The fans of 1. FC Köln, who were already frustrated by the score of 1:2 and saw the opening defeat coming, did not give the striker a warm welcome at his old stomping ground. In the end, however, it was not an “Effzeh” supporter who was laughing, but Selke. And he responded to the boos with words.
Selke hugged Levin Öztunali, then a few of his other new colleagues. And then it was the turn of match winner Ransford Königsdörffer. “Ransi played really hard,” the 29-year-old praised his strike partner. “With his speed, he is an absolute weapon for us.” It was the decisive moment from HSV’s point of view in the 2-1 victory in Cologne.
Selke made his HSV debut as a joker at his former club Cologne
In the absence of Robert Glatzel (tendon irritation) and in front of Selke, who was waiting on the bench for his HSV debut, Königsdörffer single-handedly answered the question that arose during the week as to who would score the HSV goals without the top duo.
Selke’s debut goal is still a long way off, he had to help out defensively in the last, shaky minutes. “We cleared away a lot and held out at the back,” said Selke, praising his colleagues’ defensive performance. “Compliments. A well-deserved win.” In his former living room.
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Before moving to HSV, Selke had stated that he could have imagined a future at FC. However, his contract with the relegated club was only valid for the Bundesliga, and the attacker initially let a deadline for an extension pass. Then he wanted to go, but the Cologne bosses no longer wanted to. The poker game over the future turned into a mudslinging match, played out in public, with mutual blame being assigned.
That’s probably why there were whistles when they returned to the RheinEnergieStadion. “It doesn’t change my attitude towards the FC and the people,” said Selke, but he took the fans’ noises in his stride. “I have a lot of sympathy for the club, even if they boo me.”
Selke takes whistles calmly – and is happy about “a healthy foot”
He said he had a great year and a half in Cologne. “And if they then think they have to whistle, that’s fine with me,” said Selke, and seemed to want to deescalate things with his choice of words. But he couldn’t resist a little dig: “They probably think it’s a shame that I’m no longer playing here, and that’s their right.”
The new HSV striker was simply happy about the victory with his new team. And about the fact that his foot, which was broken in the previous season, made his HSV debut possible – in what was a very special opening game for him.
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“The foot is fine,” rejoiced Selke, showing relief because: “I had extreme stomach problems in the hotel yesterday, so the time was a little less.” He explained: “It was all agreed. I’m very happy that I got fit after all. It didn’t look like that yesterday. That’s why I’m very happy about the first few minutes for HSV.”
Even if the first moments were accompanied by whistles.
