There it is again, the development. It’s Walter’s favorite subject. Even after the 18th game of the season that he didn’t win, the football teacher asked for understanding: “Development doesn’t always go in one direction. It can also go through troughs. And we’re having that at the moment because we’re not really fighting it.”
However, he finds himself in need of explanation when mistakes are repeated. Bakery Jatta had carelessly lost a ball in the build-up game a week earlier and thus initiated the defeat against Paderborn. Now the Gambier was also responsible for the 0:1 in Kiel.
Youngest squad, but not a particularly young team
Again and again those responsible point out that the squad is the youngest in the league. With an average age of around 25, the team hasn’t been particularly young in recent weeks.
Of course, miracles should not be expected from 21-year-old Anssi Suhonen in his third start. But Jatta, who is two years his senior, now has more than 130 games under his belt for the HSV professionals. And the entire axis of top performers from goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes to center forward Robert Glatzel is in the prime of footballer age.
Glatzel and Walter long for the Bundesliga
After HSV finished fourth in the second division three times in a row, there was no official talk of promotion before this season. Walter never got tired of putting the development of his “young team” in the foreground. The Hamburgers may have missed their return to the Bundesliga once again, but not yet their goals.
“Who doesn’t want to play in the highest German class. That’s normal. Of course the longing is there.”
— HSV coach Tim Walter
“If you don’t win enough games like we did, if you don’t manage to start a series, then you don’t have to deal with it at all,” said the deeply disappointed Glatzel on the subject of promotion. It was clear to the native of Munich that the Bundesliga was much more than just a silver lining this season.
And Walter himself was unusually open: “Who doesn’t want to play in the highest German class. That’s normal. Who doesn’t want to win games? I always want to win. And that’s why the longing is there, of course.”
Compare with Bayern, ManCity and Barcelona
This is also illustrated by the comparison that Walter made at the press conference before the game. When the 46-year-old wanted to explain the problems that his team in the second division had with their approach (“We play ball possession”) against deep opponents, the coach cited none other than Bayern Munich, Manchester City and FC Barcelona as examples .