Interview

Noah Katterbach: “I’ve worked hard for this”

Noah Katterbach joined HSV on a permanent deal in January and made his league and home debuts in the 2-2 draw at Rostock and the 1-0 win over Elversberg respectively. In an interview with HSV.de, the left-back explains why his return to Hamburg has felt totally right to him.

When Steffen Baumgart gave the signal just after 15:00 CET last Sunday, things came full circle for Noah Katterbach. To be able to return to the pitch he had departed with such a heavy heart last May in front of 55,000 fans was a massive moment for the 22-year-old. His loan to HSV was not made permanent due to an ACL tear, but by January of 2024 that had been made up for as Katterbach came back to Hamburg, immediately feeling at home once more.

Noah, how did it feel to turn out for HSV at the Volksparkstadion again last Sunday?

Noah Katterbach: It was a really good feeling to be able to play at the Volksparkstadion again after my injury and the whole situation with my temporary return to Cologne before switching back to HSV. Yes, I’d already made an appearance at Rostock, but playing here felt like my proper return.

After being subbed on in the 80th minute, you needed barely any time to adjust before getting stuck into a challenge and receiving a yellow card for your trouble. Did you want to put down a marker straight away?

I was extremely motivated, yes. But in that situation it was just a case of me seeing that the opponent would be through on goal if I didn’t make an intervention. So I thought to myself: ball or opponent, it doesn’t matter as long as the attack gets stopped. I knew the risk I was taking, but I still don’t agree with the yellow card.

Were you happy with your comeback, then?

Yes – I was especially happy when I got substituted on. To play at home in front of a full stadium of our own fans was an even better moment than last time out in our away game. I’ve worked long and hard for this moment, and I wanted to show from the off that I’m fit again and I’m back.

Do you still have nerves before that sort of game? You’ve grown up in big footballing cities both here and in Cologne.

There’s always a bit of positive tension, and that’s a good thing. You can’t let yourself be overawed by that tension, but it helps build up your anticipation and desire to play in front of 57,000 people and, along with your teammates, to put on a show for those 57,000 fans; to make them happy. That sort of tension really energises me.

Has that changed over the course of your career? Were you nervous when you started out?

I made my Bundesliga debut for 1. FC Köln against Schalke and went straight into the starting XI [he laughs]. I definitely had a much less pleasant sort of tension that day, the sort where you’re anxious about making mistakes. But at the end of the day, you’re not on your own on the pitch – you go into every situation as a team. I’m in my fourth season as a pro now, and I’ve learned how to deal with that sort of thing.

Can you go into detail on the story of the last few months from your point of view?

A torn ACL was one of the very few injuries that could turn my world upside down as an athlete and as a person. I can still remember coming back to my girlfriend’s house after the diagnosis and being absolutely crushed. But after a couple of hours, after talking with the coaching staff, I was looking to the future again. I told myself that I couldn’t change my injury, but how I dealt with it was entirely in my hands. I was completely focused on rehab and wanted to work hard to come back stronger.

What role did the mental side of things play? With your first move to HSV, you fought your way out of an extremely tricky sporting situation, and you told us then that you’ve put lots of work into developing your mindset.

I’ve got so mentally strong by now that I can deal with setbacks really well. When push comes to shove, you’ve got to look back at your whole life, and when I put those two ostensibly negative phases in the context of my whole life it did a lot for my character and for my mental strength. That’s exactly what I did when it came to my injury – obviously a torn ACL is far from ideal, but it’s all about taking responsibility for your reaction to it and maybe even seeing something positive in it. That’s definitely possible if you broaden your perspective.

"I was fully on board the whole time"

What was your experience of rehab and the way back like? Considering the severity of the injury, you came back very quickly.

It was exactly six months and two days before I returned to the pitch for Köln’s reserves. It was great, and it was really helpful to have great people around me. I wanted to work on myself for them as well, and did a lot to make that happen. Just a small example: after my injury and operation, our fitness coach Sebastian Capel put together a special diet for me which we always stuck to strictly. It was a high-protein and low-carb diet, which helped stop the muscles wasting away while also making sure I didn’t put on too much weight while I couldn’t do any sport. I was having some very colourful plates of food at the time [he laughs]. I was fully on board the whole time, and so it did go pretty quickly. I did my rehab in Cologne, but stayed in contact with the powers that be at HSV the whole time.

How did it feel to be stuck between two clubs like that?

I’ll admit it wasn’t all that easy. Obviously there was a lot of uncertainty about where things were going to go from there, but that’s normal in football. My position before the ACL tear was clear – I wanted to stay in Hamburg, and that’s what I was going to do. The injury really threw a spanner in the works for me. Nevertheless, I kept in touch with the management, coaching staff and players at HSV, and in the end everything worked out. But it showed me once again that you can plan for very little in football.

That’s true. Now despite all of the chaos, you’ve ended up with the same coach – Steffen Baumgart – as you had previously at Köln. How would you describe your relationship?

I’ve always had a very clear understanding with Steffen Baumgart. At Köln, Jonas Hector was his first-choice left-back, and as a young player I didn’t just want to sit on the sidelines, so I looked for a loan move. That was always communicated clearly. People thought because I wasn’t playing much under him that we must have had a difficult relationship, but that wasn’t the case. I’m happy that he’s here, because he’s a coach who goes about his business with clarity and from whom you know exactly what you can and should change. We don’t have a bad relationship at all, quite the opposite: I’ve really enjoyed my first few days back with him.

You are by no means without competition for the left-back spot at HSV. How do you intend to navigate that situation?

I’m using a platitude now, but it’s absolutely true: competition helps the team [he laughs]. I’ve put together a rule of thumb for myself in this situation – the most important thing for me is that I can say at the end of a week of training that I’ve done everything I can and left everything out there on the training pitch; that when I reflect on myself I’m at peace. I don’t bother myself with things I have no control over.

But you could quite easily have gone to a number of clubs where you would have been a guaranteed starter. Why did you still decide on HSV?

I’ve felt right at home in Hamburg and here at HSV over my half-year here. It’s not just about the football, but about the structures within the club and the team as well as the fans, my teammates and the city in general. It was a decision I came to as a person as well as a footballer. I knew what to expect here and that I really like my surroundings.

And now you’re back in these surroundings, and back on the pitch too. How far do you still have to develop as an athlete?

I feel really good. All that’s missing now, and will come in time, is match fitness. You can’t simulate or train that, it just builds up in each and every game. But I’m on the right track in that regard.