- The first performance in Uwe-Seeler-Allee 9: HSV meets Hertha
After a victorious start to the season in the 2. Bundesliga against relegated 1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV faces another classic match. Fittingly, the game against Hertha BSC will take place for the first time at the Uwe-Seeler-Allee 9 address since the street renaming, with 57,000 spectators in the sold-out Volksparkstadion setting the scene.
Despite Hertha BSC's defeat in the first game, HSV coach Steffen Baumgart speaks with great respect about the Berliners and their new coach, Christian Fiel. He didn't want to call Hertha's 1:2 loss against SC Paderborn last week a false start. "The initial phase in football is a bit longer than just one game," said the 52-year-old. "Of course, from a Berlin perspective, one would have wished for something else."
Baumgart sees Hertha as a promotion candidate
The first game already showed how tight it will be in the league. "If we take Cologne as a benchmark, then we're happy that we won. But we know that it could have gone differently," he said, looking back at the 2:1 win against his former club last week.
For Baumgart, Hertha BSC is one of the teams that will compete for promotion: "Not only in terms of the squad, but also with the coach." Fiel has a clear handwriting, knows what he wants, and how to handle the players. "I've never heard that he hasn't reached a team," said the HSV coach. He also has a "personal sympathy" for Fiel. Baumgart expects a game "on equal terms, in which I don't see a clear favorite" on Saturday.
Satisfied with the squad
Since the beginning of the week, Silvan Hefti, the fourth new addition to the Hamburg team, has been training with Baumgart. After signing the Swiss right-back, HSV has filled the key positions. "I was satisfied with the squad before, and now I'm even more satisfied," said Baumgart. The 26-year-old Hefti is the fourth new signing after offensive midfielder Adam Karabec (Sparta Prague), defensive midfielder Daniel Elfadli (1. FC Magdeburg), and striker Davie Selke (1. FC Köln). Karabec and Elfadli started in the 2:1 win in Cologne last week, while Selke came on in stoppage time at his old stomping grounds.
Hefti not yet a starting lineup option
Hefti will have to wait for a starting lineup spot, at least for now. "I find it difficult, the boy has been here for three or four days. And I'm quite clear about this: If Baka is healthy, he will start the game," said Baumgart, opting for Bakery Jatta on the right side. The 54-year-old plans to rely largely on the team that was successful in Cologne on Saturday (20:30 CET, Sky and Sport1).
He expects "Hefti to be a candidate who comes in," but it could look different for the first round game in the DFB-Pokal a week later against SV Meppen.
Goalkeeper Matheo Raab, who is recovering from pneumonia, will start training again next week. Striker Robert Glatzel is back training with the team after a tendon irritation. However, Baumgart said that his inclusion in the squad for the Hertha game is still too early.
HSV is set to face Hertha BSC at the Uwe-Seeler-Allee 9, a venue where they haven't played since the street renaming, with a capacity crowd of 57,000 spectators.
Coach Baumgart believes that Hertha BSC, under new coach Christian Fiel, is one of the teams vying for promotion in the 2. Bundesliga, praising Fiel's clear coaching style and handling of players.
