Will FC St. Pauli manage to bring more than just a good half-series to the pitch, unlike in the past two seasons? For Marcel Hartel, this question is of particular importance. Not just because he is said to have a decisive influence on their outcome. But also because its outcome could have a decisive influence on his future. Because Hartel has a clear goal.
Despite the bitter cold at the training ground, Hartel was excited for the start of the second half of the season against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday (1 p.m.). “Preparation is always strenuous. That’s why we’re all the happier that it’s now about points again.”
Hartel’s contract expires in the summer
And for Hartel himself, it’s also about his own future. His contract expires in the summer; there is no agreement yet on its extension, but there is a clear timetable for further negotiations. “We have agreed that we will remain in an open exchange and will resume discussions at the beginning of April to see where the journey takes us.”
The outcome of the second half of the season will likely have a decisive influence on the answer to the future question. Because Hartel has a clear and apparently employer-independent goal: “My dream is definitely to play in the Bundesliga.”
Hartel formulates a clear goal: play consistently for a season
In order for him to fulfill his dream in brown and white, he needs a similarly excellent return series as the first half of the season. Given the past two seasons, this is not a given. In the 2021/22 season, St. Pauli showed an outstanding first half of the season and collapsed in the second; last season it was the other way around.
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It is unimaginable that St. Pauli would continue with this pattern in the current season. That’s why Hartel makes it clear: “We have explicitly decided this season that we will have consistency across both halves.” You have to approach the whole thing “with the positive thought that we can do it,” demands Hartel and promises: “We are absolutely positive that we can now also make the second half of the season positive.” A change of club would probably no longer be necessary to fulfill his dream of the Bundesliga.
2024-01-17 22:46:42
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