Hamburg (dpa) – The fear is in the Hamburg Volkspark. The big worry: The former Bundesliga dinosaur Hamburger SV could also become a long-running favorite in the 2nd division.
After the 0: 1 in the prestigious city derby against FC St. Pauli, the mood among players and coaches seems particularly bad. Fourth place, three points behind the leading duo Bochum and Kiel and a lousy run in recent weeks – HSV is in pain mode. “The moment feels crappy right now,” said coach Daniel Thioune. “That was a knockout blow. We went on the boards. “
Observers ask themselves: Why does HSV always run out of air on the home stretch of the promotion race? Fourth place two years ago, fourth place a year ago, and now the club is back on the non-promotion spot. It is not due to a lack of footballing potential, it is available to a greater extent than in previous years. Sometimes the defense fails, but that has always made up for the most goal-hungry offensive in the 2nd division. Striking: In the second half of the season, striker Simon Terodde only scored in one of six games. If his goals are missing, there is no success.
HSV is sensitive. The nerves have never been the best and this time too it seems shakier than the trainer likes to admit. The studied sports and education scientist is familiar with the mental inner workings of top athletes. Therefore, he does not even want to address the fear of failure and the memory of the bitter previous years. The more it is discussed in the media and social networks, the more shaky the self-confidence of professionals seems.
The trend is clearly downwards. No win in the last four games, most recently two defeats. Only six points and 14th place in the second half of the season, nine points behind the best team – FC St. Pauli. The major difference: In the first half of the season, HSV scored 16 points against the same six rivals.
“Anyone who has got to know us knows that we will straighten our heads again in the next few days and persevere for big goals,” says Thioune. “I know that we have a mentality and maybe there are more street dogs with us. We will start to fight back, we will continue to collect diligently. “
The team barely has time to breathe. Next Monday, the second Holstein Kiel comes to the Volksparkstadion, just four days later it goes to the front runner Bochum. These can be pre-deciding games. “We shake and get up again,” promises Thioune. It hurts twice that he will miss his captain in the important games. Tim Leibold saw the red card after a kick against Guido Burgstaller in stoppage time and was suspended for these two games. “Not good for us, not good for Tim,” says Thioune.
Another world in the Kiez: The high at FC St. Pauli, which had 13 games in a row in the first half of the season, is impressive. At Christmas, the club was penultimate and relegation candidate with just eight points from twelve games. After that, the Kiezkicker collected 25 points and are now eleventh. St. Pauli is the team of the hour and with five wins in a row the best team in the second half of the season.
The transfer policy, which was heavily criticized in winter, is proving to be correct. The summer newcomers Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (7 goals / 8 assists) and Burgstaller (8/2), who were brought in free of charge, are a guarantee of success as top scorers, as are the loan players Rodrigo Zalazar (5/2) and Omar Marmoush (4/1) or those afterwards brought in defense strategists James Lawrence and Tore Reginiussen. “We have gained a few pieces of the puzzle,” said coach Timo Schultz.
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