What was initially ridiculed as a platitude has become a stringent way of thinking for the team. That is the lesson from the debacles of the previous three years, when the public roar in the promotion race at HSV led to nervous fluttering, discouragement and always to fourth places. This time the view only ever reached to the next game and to their own cabin.
St. Pauli would not be unhappy either
In Hamburg, even the supporters of city rivals FC St. Pauli – albeit with reluctance – do not seem to want to veto a promotion to HSV. Because then “the club next to the waste incineration plant”, as HSV is contemptuously called, is at least out of the 2nd league and can no longer screw up the tour for their own team in the promotion race next season.
Magath, who has earned his reputation as a quelix and grinder, is less of a psychologist. In the first leg, the impression was clear: Walter is right in the middle, Magath just there. At HSV, the players say in front of the camera: “We are proud of the coach.” Would a Hertha kicker put it this way about their coach?
Source: dpa