Second division side HSV no longer has direct promotion after just one win from the last five games in their own hands. Although the Hamburgers continue to offer entertaining offensive football, they sometimes show blatant weaknesses in retreat and tackle behavior.
Many years ago at HSV there was a central defender who often didn’t even need to look at the pitch to know that he was on the ball or that he had just fought a tackle. His name: Cléber Janderson Pereira Reis. The Brazilian – incidentally not related or related by marriage to the current Hamburg midfielder Ludovit Reis – was a rustic representative of his guild.
The now 32-year-old, under pressure, threw the playground equipment into the upper tier of the Volksparkstadion. And the opposing strikers often felt his elbow. Some called his style of play consistent, for others Cléber Reis was simply clumsy.
Be that as it may: He played 40 Bundesliga games for HSV from 2014 to 2017 and was quite good from time to time despite his footballing deficits. A hard worker like him – gladly equipped with a little more technology – is missing from the Hanseatic League these days. Without Mario Vuskovic, who has been banned for epo-doping, the defense of the promotion contender is not sufficient.
Only Schonlau has an upscale second division level
The Spaniard Javi Montero, who was brought in to replace the Croatian in winter, has been a disappointment so far. And home-grown Jonas David is not really getting into the “pots” this season either, despite playing regularly. Thus, Tim Coach Walter has exactly one reliable central defender in captain Sebastian Schonlau. The fact that the captain was missing in two of the last three games was immediately noticeable.
In the away game at Karlsruher SC (2:4), the HSV defense was a torso for 45 minutes without the 28-year-old. This was followed by a 0-0 draw against Holstein Kiel and, in his renewed absence, a 2-2 draw at Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Montero not the hoped-for Vuskovic replacement
Montero applied again “impressively” against the Rhinelanders for the end of his loan from Besiktas Istanbul to HSV in the summer. He didn’t have the timing when Dawid Kownacki made it 1-1 after a corner kick. Before Felix Klaus made it 2-1 for Düsseldorf, the Spaniard lost the decisive header duel in the center line. The fact that the 24-year-old saw his second yellow-red card in his third appearance for Hamburg rounded off his unlucky day.
His team made “two stupid mistakes,” Walter later said, without naming Montero and thus pillorying him. Wouldn’t have been a particularly good idea from the 47-year-old either. On the one hand, he is responsible for the Spaniard’s commitment. On the other hand, he set up the professional, who was not exactly bursting with self-confidence, as a central defender in an unusual three-man defense against Fortuna. Previously, HSV had always played in a 4-3-3 formation.
Walter: “We need compactness”
This tactical measure was extremely courageous on the part of Walter. After all, working against the ball had often been a huge problem for Hamburg in the previous weeks. In view of the abundance of permitted scoring chances for most opponents, some coaches might even have installed the good old libero again.
The coach, who always thinks offensively (“People want to see a spectacle. The Dino delivers great cinema”), instead took a defender out of the chain.
A measure that, in his opinion, also worked. “We make two individual mistakes, that’s all. The opponent doesn’t have a chance to score if we don’t let them,” said Walter. Anyway, none of this is a question of the formation, he explained: “It’s always just a tactical arrangement, we play according to principles. And it doesn’t matter whether I play with a chain of four, chain of five or chain of pearls. We need compactness, we’ll go on principles, we need pressure on the ball. And when we have that, we don’t get goals.”
Already 13 goals against after the turn of the year
A completely correct analysis, with which Walter immediately names the main problem of his team: counter-pressing. Because after losing the ball, the Hamburgers often have large gaps. 13 goals conceded in the nine games after the turn of the year testify to the sometimes sloppy withdrawal behavior.
A deficit that might not be so significant if the HSV top defender had in its ranks. The same is not the case with the exception of Schonlau, who would hardly have a chance of winning the Olympics in the 100-meter dash.
Montero (Walter: “He doesn’t do it all on purpose”), like the captain, has his advantages when it comes to building up the game, but he’s not the resolute duel of the Vuskovic brand that the Hamburg side need at Schonlau’s side. In addition, it has been noticeable so far that the Spaniard moved from Istanbul to the Elbe with almost no match practice. He may have gambled away after his renewed yellow-red card with Walter.
On Saturday in the north duel with Hannover 96 (1 p.m., in the live center on NDR.de) the 24-year-old is already blocked.
Homegrown David under pressure
David will probably return to the starting XI against the “Reds” and defend in the center alongside Schonlau, who was suspended last time. Unlike Montero, the 23-year-old still has a contract with HSV beyond the summer, but seems to be only playing on probation with Walter. “Jonas has a clear job to do. He hasn’t always done that. I always trust him because he’s always played. He can then pay it back,” demands the coach.
Walter: “We’re just looking ahead”
Before the season finale, the tone will be a little sharper for the third-placed team. Another failure in the promotion race would probably lead to a personal landslide at the traditional club. Both Walter and sports director Jonas Boldt would then be up for grabs. A fresh start at all levels would be inevitable after years in which there was a glaring disparity between financial expenditure and sporting earnings.
However, those responsible for HSV are still firmly convinced that they will soon be able to leave the unloved second division after five years. “We’re just looking ahead. We’re not looking back. The most important thing is in us anyway. We’ll show that in the next few weeks,” said Walter. A sentence that sounded as strange as so many Hamburg defenses this year…
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Hamburg Journal | 05.04.2023 | 19:30 o’clock
