As of 03/17/2022 4:53 PM
Second division football team Hamburger SV desperately needs to score points in the tight race for promotion to Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday. The structural conditions for this are not easy: eight players were in quarantine. Mikel Kaufmann will not be in the squad due to a lack of discipline.
If the preparation is natural without outside influences, then perhaps there was a reference to Daniel Theon in the first question at the HSV virtual press conference. It is undoubtedly an attractive constellation in the North German team’s match in Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday (1.30 pm, at the center of the live broadcast on NDR.de). Current HSV coach Tim Walter met his predecessor Thioune with his team, and club legend Horst Hrubesch was only briefly active on a temporary basis. But it’s been happening more often of late: the pandemic has changed the process.
HSV coach Walter accepts adversity calmly
So Theon had to wait a little longer. All the difficulties that the Corona outbreak brought in the team was immediately talked about: the cancellation of the return match against Erzgebirge Aue, the absence of many players in team training, the online program for those who tested positive, the question of whether and how the tested players could be an option for the game with the Rhinelanders.
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“You have to come to terms with the fact that this can happen today,” Walter said. “It didn’t surprise us, it affects others as well.” This can be taken as an indication that the residents of Düsseldorf have recently been infected with Corona and, despite several staff failures, have achieved an impressive 1-1 draw at SC Paderborn. Walter: “We just made sure that our boys were in good shape, that they were able to do their training programs.”
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Eight HSV players tested free of quarantine
It seems that the club survived the Corona outbreak well. In Maximilian Rohr, Manuel Wentzheimer and Fred Aledo, three more players from seventh in the table returned to the training ground on Thursday. Just forget Sohonen on sick leave. The Finn should train again on Friday. Walter left it open as to whether the returning players would be fit to play in Dusseldorf.
“We have to be very careful at these times.”
HSV coach Tim Walter
The 46-year-old emphasized the club’s responsibility to the players. However, all the actors who have returned are “in good shape,” according to Walter. You’ll have to see if that’s enough for 90 minutes.
Kaufman was disqualified for indiscipline
Denmark’s striker Mikkel Kaufmann will certainly not be present. “If you’re not on schedule a few times, you probably won’t be considered for the weekend,” Walter said. “We have clear rules in the team.”
A little later, the bus arrived in Tyon. The fact that Düsseldorf has improved recently is of course because of him. “Essentially, you shouldn’t vilify one coach and praise the other,” Walter said.
“With a proud chest swollen to Dusseldorf”
Düsseldorf has high quality. “But we also know what we are capable of,” Walter said. “We would go to Dusseldorf with pride and want to play our game.” This would also be necessary given the state of the table. Ahead of Round 27, HSV is already seven points behind the top three, but they still have to play a catch-up match against Aue on April 5th.
Possible lineups:
Fortuna Dusseldorf: Kastenmaier – Zimmermann, Hoffmann, Oberdorf, Gafori – Ao Tanaka, Preb – Nare, Abelkamp – Boznik, Ioha
Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandez – Vagnoman, Vuskovic, Schonlau, Muheim – Heyer – Reis, Kittel – Jatta, Chakvetadze – Glatzel
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