- Excessive instances: HSV fails to provide relief, even with a simple finger snap.
Occasionally, Steffen Baumgart is still amazed by his current situation. 50,000 spectators for the inaugural matchday in Cologne, 57,000 fans for Hamburg SV's first home game, and then 49,000 attendees during the Hannover derby on a Friday evening. This is the 2. Bundesliga in Germany. such spectator numbers haven't been seen in some recent Champions League groups.
However, this league has its challenges when nine former German champions, including three previous European Cup winners, compete for only two promotion spots and one relegation position. It's tough, and every weakness is severely punished. That's exactly what happened to HSV and Baumgart, resulting in a 0:1 (0:0) loss against Hannover 96 due to a penalty by Jessic Ngankam (49th minute).
There were a few too many blunders and weaknesses in play, and suddenly, a well-deserved defeat ensued. "This just shows how competitive this league is. This shows that two strong teams went head to head. And this shows that we still have a lot of work to do from a Hamburg perspective," said Baumgart post-match. HSV has missed out on Bundesliga promotion six times before, and the seventh attempt won't be easy.
The absence of Jatta and Dompé was noticeable.
Baumgart has already moved away from his predecessor Tim Walter's high-risk football in Hamburg. However, he's yet to establish his own, more compact style.
The striker envisions playing with two powerful forwards, but Davie Selke and Robert Glatzel, who were back after summer injuries, could only play for 90 minutes. After Bakery Jatta and Jean-Luc Dompé's injuries, along with Elabdellaoui in midfield, there was a lack of pace in the Hannover game.
"They can't replace players like these overnight, even if the coach snaps his fingers," said Baumgart. "This is a longer process, and I hope we can finish it quickly."
Even a well-stocked squad like HSV's can't compensate for so many absences at once. "It wasn't enough for our ambitions," said captain Sebastian Schonlau. However, he also added post-match in Hannover: "We were on a great path, and we're still on a great path. The defeat won't change our plan, because the plan isn't bad."
Model Hannover
HSV will now face the promoted teams Preußen Münster and Jahn Regensburg. This seems more like the second division of recent years. But these are also the opponents against whom HSV has historically dropped crucial points.
However, in Hannover, HSV could see how quickly moods and trends can change in this tight league. For days, an acute crisis atmosphere had ensued after the cup defeat against Arminia Bielefeld's third-division team. But with the derby win, 96 even briefly rose to first place for about 20 hours. "We faced the criticism and wanted to give a clear answer to that," said goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler. "There was real energy in it."
The Football league, being highly competitive, saw HSV face tough challenges, with nine former German champions vying for limited promotion spots. Despite Baumgart's efforts to shift from high-risk football, the absence of key players like Jatta and Dompé significantly impacted HSV's performance in the league.
