Baumgart: “We don’t just want to talk a good game”

Pre-season is over and the time for talking has stopped. Instead, it’s all about actions, according to HSV head coach Steffen Baumgart at least. He spoke to the press ahead of the season opener on Friday night against recently relegated 1. FC Köln. The coach discussed his approach to the game, what he expects from the match and lots more on Wednesday afternoon. Steffen Baumgart spoke about…

…the squad: Robert Glatzel is still in rehabilitative training. Although it’s going really well, the Köln game will obviously come too soon for him. The same applies to Matheo Raab who is out with pneumonia. Daniel Heuer Fernandes will play in goal. He had a really good pre-season and showed on multiple occasions that he can provide the team with stability. Aside from that, we’ve got everyone else to choose from. Even Davie Selke will probably be an option.

“My focus is only on HSV and that’s my motto ahead of this game”

…the shape of his team: We’ve had a good pre-season and our friendlies were all okay for the fitness levels we had at the time. We worked well at both training camps and were able to do a lot of the things that we wanted to. We’re all happy now though to be starting the season properly. I see a lot of quality in our team, but we need to show that on the pitch in order to start the season well. We don’t just want to talk a good game though, and that’s the most difficult thing in football. 

…opponents 1. FC Köln: It’s obviously an interesting game to be played on matchday 1, but I’m looking forward to it. I had a great time in Cologne, however now my focus is only on HSV and that’s my motto ahead of this game. Nevertheless, Effzeh are a good team and belong near the top of the table. They have an aggressive style of play, press high up the pitch and look to force mistakes out of their opponents. That worked really well for them in pre-season, but we’re still travelling there to win.