“It’s just about winning the game in Paderborn”

On Matchday 33 of the 2. Bundesliga, Hamburger SV visit SC Paderborn 07 on Friday evening (18:30 CEST). In the pre-match press conference on Wednesday (8th May), head coach Steffen Baumgart, who had a successful spell in charge of the opponents between 2017 and 2021, looked ahead to his return to his old stomping ground, as well as what he sees as a fascinating game against a strong opponent.

The 52-year-old spoke in detail about…

…the squad situation: Immanuel Pherai is out and will not be available for the Paderborn game. If everything goes as expected, he’ll be back next week. We’ll make a decision about Bakery Jatta and Laszlo Benes tomorrow. Both of them trained with the team today, Laci for the first time since his return. If you know the qualities he brings to the table, then you can see why a coach would want him in the team.

…returning to Paderborn: I’m returning to coach an opposition team for the first time. Paderborn was the most important stop on my coaching journey so far. It was the first real chance I got. I had four wonderful years there, not just in terms of the success we had, but also the connection we formed together. I will always hold Paderborn in my heart. I’m still in contact with a lot of people in Paderborn. I don’t think that’ll change over the next 20 years.

"If we don’t win, we’re out of the race, but if we do, we still have a chance"

…the opponent: Lukas [Kwasniok, Paderborn head coach – ed.] always has a clear set-up and plays good football with players who aren’t necessarily household names. They play on the front foot, and are one of the teams with the most big chances and shots on goal, as well as the highest intensity. They shot themselves in the foot a bit last time out against Hannover though. We know what we’re up against. I’m looking forward to the game and to being back there for the first time in a long while.

…the battle for promotion: It’s just about winning the game in Paderborn. We want to and need to do that. We’ll give everything for this. We know that the opponent has the ability to hurt us. If we don’t win, we’re out of the race, but if we do, we still have a chance. We’ll only think the next day about how Düsseldorf will do in Kiel.

…their momentum from the Hamburg derby: It was a huge relief, because we showed that we still have something about us. The three points were important to keep us in the race. You could of course tell after the game how important a win in the derby was. That’s simply because the two teams are in the same city. If you win a derby with Köln for example, you won’t see any Leverkusen or Mönchengladbach fans in the city the next day. The Hamburg derby is in the past though. We’re concentrating on the next challenge: Paderborn.