Baumgart: “Both teams want to continue their good form”

The 2. Bundesliga is back! Hamburger SV are away at Hannover 96 on matchday 3 this Friday evening (18:30 kick off). Both teams have started positively with four points from two games and want to build on their good form. It’s likely to be another great atmosphere at the Heinz von Heiden Arena, as more than 15,000 away fans are set to make the journey. Even though the hosts lost 2-0 in the DFB-Pokal away at third-division side Arminia Bielefeld last weekend, they are still a strong opponent. “I think they looked like a really good team in their two league games so far,” stated Steffen Baumgart at today’s press conference. The 52-year-old discussed…​​​​​​​

…the squad: Bakery Jatta, Jean-Luc Dompe and Daniel Elfadli won’t play in Hannover. Jatta has suffered ligament damage to his left ankle and will be out for several weeks. We don’t want to set an exact timeframe for his recovery, but players are generally out of action for around four to six weeks with this injury. Matheo Raab will hopefully take part in more of team training next week.

…the upcoming opponents: Excluding the Bielefeld game, Hannover 96 have started the season really well. They have four points, just like us, plus they haven’t conceded a goal and have played good football at times in both games to date. The way the side is being talked about doesn’t reflect them. I think they looked like a really good team in their two league games so far. Stefan Leitl is now in his third season there and always remains calm. 

"We need to be better across the whole 90 minutes"

…his expectations for the game: I’m expecting both teams to try to win the game so they can continue their good form. We shouldn’t place too much value on Hannover’s defeat in the cup, and respect what they showed across their first two games. We need to perform to our best if we want to win there. We need to be better across the whole 90 minutes. Just playing well for one half isn’t enough, we have to do so for 60, 70, 80 minutes. We want to develop that side of our game.

…the team’s overall development: We’re still at the start of the season. Something that might seem like a solution today may not be any use tomorrow. We want to give our lads security in our game. We want to have control in a lot of scenarios, limit the chances the opposition get and create opportunities to score ourselves. Looking back at the game in Meppen, it was good that we never stopped playing and kept trying to score goals right until the end. We had the chances in both league games to score more goals early on, but we didn’t play with enough bravery. It’s something that we need to work on – being brave until the final whistle, regardless of the scoreline. It’s a process that always lasts the whole season.