Stand: 16.05.2022
While Werder Bremen celebrates promotion extensively, HSV meets Hertha BSC with club legend Felix Magath in the relegation. The interim coach is combative, the second division wants to continue an impressive series.
IAfter all, the social media department was still joking the morning after. After a short night and the celebrations for the return to the first division, Werder Bremen spread a not-so-serious sick note to fill out themselves via Twitter. “El Presidente personally” was entered as the health insurance company, and “let’s see” as the time frame.
It was the fun end of a season finale, which the club finished in second place after beating Jahn Regensburg 2-0 (1-0) – and thus returned directly to Germany’s best football class after a year in the lower house. However, the fact that around 20 people were injured in the pitch storm after the game, some of whom had to be treated in hospital, is also part of the truth of a night of drinking.
Turn by scandal
Bremen had to overcome some resistance before the extensive party. In the first half of the season things were rather moderate before a moderate scandal brought about a turning point. Coach Markus Anfang resigned last November because of a fake vaccination certificate. Only under successor Ole Werner did the club find its way back to success. The team scored an unbelievable 43 points in 19 games and climbed from eighth to second behind second division champions FC Schalke 04.
More than 20 Werder fans were injured in the pitch storm
Which: REUTERS
“I hope that this is the last promotion that we celebrate with Werder Bremen because we remain in the first division,” said managing director Klaus Filbry, the motto for the coming seasons. “It is important that we try to play Werder-Bremen football in the first division,” said coach Werner. “Even if, given the quality of the opponents, it will of course often be from the underdog role.”
While they can still enjoy the rise in Bremen for a while and are happy to transfer the agreed 150,000 euros extra for the transfer from Werner to Holstein Kiel, the arch-rival has to stay in detention: Thanks to a furious final spurt and a series of five wins, Hamburger SV has Piece has already achieved something historic and moved up from sixth place to third place after the 29th matchday. A novelty in the second division.
Now they want to continue the trend with the former Dino and take the next hurdle four days after the dramatic 3:2 (0:1) in Rostock, in which 13 were injured due to the use of pyrotechnics in both fan camps. In the two relegation games on May 19 and 23 (each at 8.30 p.m., Sky/Sat.1), the club will face Hertha BSC – the crashed “Big City Club”, which is being trained by HSV legend Felix Magath on an interim basis will. More kitsch is almost impossible.
Two HSV club legends: winning goalscorer Felix Magath (left) and coach Ernst Happel on May 25, 1983 with the European Cup
Quelle: picture alliance / UPI
When Magath took up his job at the struggling Berlin club in mid-March, he was already prophesying that there could be two playoffs to stay in the league against the club, for whom he played 306 league games and won with his 1-0 goal in 1983 European Cup final of the national champions against Juventus Turin for the greatest club triumph.
“Now we have two cup games”
When the certainty was there, he acted matter-of-factly as usual. “HSV, there’s no question about that, is the biggest part of my football life. But that doesn’t matter at all for these two encounters,” said the 68-year-old to “kicker” – and added: “It’s still not about me or my past with HSV. It’s all about Hertha BSC, about staying up. I’ve seen a lot of games in the second Bundesliga, HSV was one of the best teams for me.” His own team, however, “presented themselves as a Bundesliga team in the unfortunate 2-1 draw in Dortmund. So I’m confident.”
In order to survive in the two duels, Magath is pulling his squad together for a short training camp at the Olympic Center in Kienbaum from Tuesday. HSV canceled the planned days off and prepared for the relegation immediately after returning from Rostock. “We really deserved the two bonus games,” said HSV coach Tim Walter. “Our chances in the relegation are there, but Hertha is the Bundesliga club and has a lot of individual quality. Still, we can do it,” said goal scorer Robert Glatzel. And sports director Jonas Boldt explained: “Now we have two cup games. We showed this season that we can accept them.”
In this competition, the club had advanced to the semi-finals – and so the fan message called out on Sunday evening from the HSV block sounded quite familiar: “Berlin, Berlin, we’re going to Berlin.”
