Performance explosion after change of coach: Striker Sigurd Haugen comes up trumps against MSV Duisburg and makes himself and the new coach happy.
Munich – It was as if Sigurd Haugen (28) had hidden reserves of energy, involuntarily held back during weeks of reservist frustration. When substitute Patrick Hobsch played a clever through ball, his strike partner ignited the turbo. Surrounded by five Duisburg residents, Haugen chose the straightforward but demanding option: off through the middle!
Past Fleckstein, who couldn’t get the ball away, and past goalkeeper Braune, who threw himself at him. The angle was now acute, but Haugen’s will was strong enough. He wanted this goal as much as he wanted the 1-0 goal before half-time when he put his foot in a Deniz shot.
Match winner Sigurd Haugen relieved: “We had difficult weeks behind us”
An energy performance, this 2:1 for him TSV 1860. Haugen spread his arms – just like Markus Kauczinski, who flew through the coaching zone as if struck by lightning. “We’ve had difficult weeks behind us,” commented the match winner: “I hope today was a turning point. The goal was easy for me to score. I’m very, very happy. It’s as if you run and press 100 times – and on the 101st time you finally get something back.”
The 3-1 shortly afterwards also came from a counterattack situation: pass from Joker David Philipp, Thore Jacobsen and away. A nice, important victory for the battered 1860 team (previously five times without a threesome). Kauczinski’s plan worked – his lions were at the end more will to win than the league leaders, who were unbeaten until Sunday.
But who knows how the evening would have ended had Haugen not stormed through the MSV ranks from kick-off? Something had built up there, it was unmistakable. Short flashback: Haugen is the striker that ex-sports director Christian Werner served as the icing on the cake for ex-coach Patrick Glöckner. His squad was almost complete, only a high-speed Stormbolt was missing. For Noah Ganaus (24, then Regensburg), who is currently shaking up the Danish Superliga with Odense, 1860 was too late. Haugen seemed to be an alternative that would be a similar fit.
1860 coach Kauczinski gives Haugen the starting help he needs
With ten goals and two assists for Rostock, the Norwegian caught the eye. 1860 even paid a transfer fee for the former first division player. However: When the season was over and the game came at his former club Hansa Rostock – Haugen’s credit with Glöckner was suddenly used up. Substitution during the break, according to earwitnesses it also became loud in the dressing room.
After this game, which started the decline of the Lions (1:2), Haugen was no longer able to get back on his feet at 1860. At Glöckner he was dropped from the starting line-up, at Kayabunar he and the team lacked self-confidence. As a sensitive striker, the 28-year-old would have needed a little starting help in Munich. Exactly the starting help he gave Kauczinski – with his brace against Duisburg, who suddenly turns everything into a positive in 1860.
“Sometimes it’s like that in football,” Haugen reasoned: “I think it was a fresh start for everyone. I have a lot of faith in the players, the staff, the whole club. Our level in the last few games was too low. We have to improve again, stabilize ourselves. The last few weeks haven’t been fun, but I think that we’re basically a very good team.”
The last few weeks haven’t been fun.
And what does the coach say to the lightning-fast Norwegian who gave him a dream debut? His uninhibited celebration after Haugen’s second strike speaks volumes. “Sigurd played a great game,” praised Kauczinski: “I’m really happy for the team. Because of the five games without a win, it wasn’t easy for everyone. After the 2-1 win, it was fight and passion. In the end, I think the victory wasn’t undeserved.”
