Hamburg Baumgart starts at HSV
“It doesn’t work with sympathy alone”
As of: 5:31 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
First steps: As the new head coach of Hamburger SV, Steffen Baumgart goes to the training ground with the players and waiting fans
Source: dpa
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Steffen Baumgart wants to make Hamburger SV ready for promotion. The former Cologne coach will be introduced in the Hanseatic city on Tuesday. Now he’s starting at the club he loves.
Steffen Baumgart appeared with a HSV cap instead of the distinctive flat cap when he took office in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. The new Hamburger SV coach presented a slightly different look. However, he had by no means lost his drive to lead the recently wavering candidate for promotion from the 2nd Bundesliga back to the upper house.
“The goal is clear, we don’t have to talk around it: promotion,” said the 52-year-old very clearly during his introduction on Tuesday and didn’t want to waste any time when he started.
When addressing the players, we immediately focus on the details of the training work
Quelle: Getty Images
For the former coach of Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln, the job at HSV is another highlight in his career. This is less due to the club’s almost six-year membership in the second division and his personal relegation from the 1st to the 2nd division, but rather because he is now under contract with the club he loves. However, he quickly made it clear that the anticipation should not overshadow the tense situation of the recently shaky traditional club.
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“It doesn’t work with just sympathy, it takes a lot of work,” said the Rostock native. “I’m not here because I’m a fan,” he added. “There was good work here before, now we hope that we can continue that.”
However, it is hardly possible to get to know each other quietly in the middle of the season. The club needs to make a lot of progress in order to be eligible for promotion. The competition is great. The gap to city rivals and league leaders FC St. Pauli is now seven points, with Holstein Kiel four points ahead of third-placed HSV. Baumgart, however, praised the squad: “This is one of the best teams in the second division.”
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About a week after coach Tim Walter left, the new coach signed his working paper on Tuesday in the HSV office. That very afternoon he led his first training session in the Volkspark. “Bild” reported on the commitment on Monday. As a result, he receives a contract until 2025.
His former companion Sebastian Schonlau received particularly warm words. The HSV captain has a big role to play. The defensive man worked with Baumgart for four years in East Westphalia and climbed from the 3rd to the first league. Schonlau’s personal development is enormous. “That’s why it becomes very important to me. Not just as a player, but as a personality.”
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Because at the top of the to-do list is stability in defense. Hamburg have already conceded 33 goals. The main task of the new football teacher will be to stabilize the HSV defense, which is prone to errors under coach Walter. Baumgart’s predecessor, who missed promotion with the Hanseatic League twice in a row in relegation, rarely managed to do that.
Baumgart will integrate his assistant René Wagner, his former companion from Cologne, into the assistant coaching group. Merlin Polzin, who most recently served as interim coach, will complete the trio alongside Loic Fave. Sven Höh remains goalkeeping coach.
“I became a fan when HSV was still big”
Baumgart can and knows advancement. In 2019 he led SC Paderborn into the football upper house. As a gnarly and exciting coach on the sidelines, he not only made many friends in the team, but also among the fans of 1. FC Köln during his time between summer 2021 and the end of last year. In December, the Rhinelanders, who were in danger of relegation, announced the end for Baumgart.
Baumgart was considered a preferred candidate among HSV fans after coach Tim Walter left last week. In the past, the HSV fan had repeatedly shown his affection for the club since childhood. “I became a fan when HSV was still big. “I’ve stuck with it ever since,” he once said. Now he has to lead the club back to where it was when Baumgart became a fan.
