HSV won the first leg 2-0: Hamburg conceded the fewest goals in the league (21), Werder is still undefeated under coach Werner
Source: pa/dpa/Revierfoto
The northern duel of the 2nd division between HSV and Werder Bremen is groundbreaking in the fight for promotion. A decision by Hamburg politicians shows the importance of the game. She should give tailwind.
MMen in blue and white scarves happily pour beer into the crowd. Boys and girls in diamond jerseys are beaming, women are hugging and yelling “Only HSV!”. Pierre-Michel Lassoga is their hero, the cult striker made sure of Hamburger SV’s 2-1 win against Werder Bremen this April evening with his two goals – and for the euphoria in the ranks of the Volksparkstadion, which were filled with 57,000 people.
It’s been six years since HSV’s last home win in a northern derby. At that time it was about points in the Bundesliga. This Sunday (1.30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker, video with the highlights of the game also directly after the final whistle on WELT) the city duel will rise again in Hamburg. The most explosive thing in a long time. It’s not just about prestige. It’s about promotion, about the longed-for return to the top division.
HSV is second in the table in the 2nd league – and is only one point behind First Bremen. Many speak of a “six-point game.” After problems at the beginning of the season, both teams have arrived in the battle for promotion. After HSV’s 2-0 win in the first leg, both clubs weren’t even in the top five. In the second half of the season, Hamburg became more efficient and stabilized defensively, conceding the fewest goals in the league (21). “We have a home game, a good phase, haven’t lost for a long time and are really looking forward to the game,” said HSV sporting director Michael Mutzel.
HSV club legend Seeler rejoices
In recent years, the Hamburgers have squandered the best opportunities for advancement several times. Now it is her fourth attempt after relegation in 2018. Club legend Uwe Seeler rejoices: “The hope is back that we will finally make it into the Bundesliga.”
HSV is the only team of the three German professional soccer leagues that is still undefeated at home. With Bremen, the team with the strongest away performance in the league is now traveling: Werder have already won seven times in foreign stadiums in this exciting season, most recently four times in a row.
A decision by Hamburg politicians shows the importance of the game. She has admitted 25,000 spectators. “We are moving forward the already planned increase in the number of spectators a few days,” said Andy Grote (SPD), Senator for Interior and Sports in the Hanseatic city, after a Senate meeting: “The currently significantly declining number of infections gives us this scope – and the benefits We also. We want to give HSV the strongest tailwind possible in the fight for promotion and in the cup.”
It’s extremely tight in the first half of the table, with HSV rivals FC St. Pauli and FC Schalke 04 also fighting for the top spots. No team can afford to lose. Werder recently won seven games in a row. Striker duo Niclas Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch scored half of Bremen’s 44 league goals. Things have been going well at Bremen since Ole Werner took over as coach from Markus Anfang at the end of last year after his affair with his fake vaccination card. Beginning has to pay a fine of 36,000 euros. At the request of the public prosecutor’s office, the Bremen district court issued a penalty order for 90 daily rates of 400 euros each against the 47-year-old, as the authority announced at the end of this week.
The Bremen team exudes confidence in their own strength. However, there is no trace of euphoria at Werder. There are no declarations of war or cheeky sayings on either side. The clubs are humble before the derby. Werner and HSV coach Tim Walter know each other from their time together at Holstein Kiel: Walter coached the professional team in the 2018/19 second division season, Werner was responsible for the U23s. Under him, the youngest coach in the league at 33, Bremen is still undefeated.
Werner doesn’t want to hang that too high. “Statistics don’t interest me that much,” he says. With his calm, typically North German manner, the coach is very well received by the team and the fans. He is friendly, but consistent in his work. That was felt most recently by striker Roger Assalé, who was late at the meeting point on the day of the match and Werner therefore removed from the squad.
Werner said of Walter: “We are very different personalities, but I always got on well with him. What you might not expect from the outside: He is a very approachable guy, very honest, very open. He communicates his views very clearly.” The way both coaches let football be played “and how we work with a team is very different. And that will be interesting: HSV plays football in a way that is a bit unique in its approach,” analyzed Werner.
For him it is the first northern derby. “When you’re out and about in the city, you notice that the northern derby is present everywhere,” says Clemens Fritz, head of professional football at Werder, “the game is the most important duel of the season for the club and the region.”
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Bremen couldn’t get past a 1-1 draw against FC Ingolstadt last weekend. “We saw that it was getting tighter,” said Werder captain Ömer Toprak. “The opponents are analyzing us and are getting better and better at adapting to us. Everyone wants to beat Werder. That makes it more and more difficult for us.” At the beginning of the week, the team had two days off. The training got the sharpness for the derby. “In the game it will be about the last bite,” says Toprak: “Hamburg and Bremen – that’s a special relationship. I hope to get on the bus after the game with a smile on my face.”
