Hamburger SV had a good start to the season, then came the second half of the season. The rise is unlikely. The only hope was the DFB Cup. There was the end against Freiburg. What now?
While the Freiburg fans in the Volksparkstadion were shouting “Berlin, Berlin, we’re going to Berlin”, the first supporters of Hamburger SV were already on their way home. They had cheered on their team for 94 minutes, gave everything, made a ruckus. But it didn’t help. In the end SC Freiburg won 3:1. When the Breisgau pros then cheered, the HSV kickers left the pitch with their heads hanging.
It should be the glimmer of hope in a season in which Hamburg collapsed after a solid first half of the season – again. If there were only two defeats in the first half of the season, there are now six. The gap to second place grew to six points, and hope shrank with every bankruptcy. The rise has not become more likely, but the chance is still alive.
“We will persevere on our way”
Because: The teams in front of them take away the points in direct duels. On the last four matchdays, Hamburg only plays against teams that are placed below. On Saturday in Regensburg. Then against Ingolstadt, Hanover and Rostock.
HSV coach Tim Walter said defiantly at the press conference after the game: “We’re going on our way tenaciously.”
The Volksparkstadion was a sell-out against Freiburg for the first time in two years, and 57,000 spectators cheered for their team. At the beginning there was a choreography, after halftime pyrotechnics were burned in the frame. The force of the fans in the ranks, they too can release forces again.
“We don’t want to make ourselves dependent on results”
Christian Streich, Freiburg’s coach, felt for HSV: “Bundesliga is merciless, otherwise such traditional clubs would not be in the second division,” he said.
“We don’t want to make ourselves dependent on results. We’re working on that,” said Walter. The coach only came to Hamburg last summer and now wants to build up self-confidence and class step by step. “We will continue on our way and not be discouraged and irritated by results.” Will this new approach still lead to a happy ending that hardly anyone is expecting at the moment? Hamburg throws the lifeline.