Squad update ahead of the DFB-Pokal first round

After a solid start to the league season with four points from two games against two fellow promotion favourites in Köln and Hertha, the Rothosen begin their 2024/25 DFB-Pokal campaign on Sunday against fourth-division side SV Meppen. They have already played three games in the Regionalliga Nord, whereas the first round of the cup will be the first competitive match of the season for the Bundesliga sides this weekend. HSV have never actually played Meppen in a competitive fixture, though it’s sure to be a tricky game, even after the hosts parted ways with their coach Adrian Alipour on Monday (12th August). U17s coach Lucas Beniermann has taken over and will be hoping to make life difficult for the Rothosen at the Hänsch-Arena.

In order to avoid a ‘cupset’, Steffen Baumgart’s team need to make sure they prepare well for the first round of the Pokal. His players began their work on Tuesday afternoon in the Hamburg sun. One change to training saw the players use a different ball for parts of the session. They switched to the footballs that the club’s U21s use, who are in the same league as SV Meppen, the Regionalliga Nord. Coach Baumgart was without Matheo Raab, Sebastian Schonlau, Dennis Hadzikadunic, Anssi Suhonen and Jean-Luc Dompe for the one-hour session. Raab, who was the club’s cup goalkeeper last season and then became the number one, is continuing his recovery work following pneumonia. He completed some light training alongside Jonas David and Otto Stange. Schonlau and Hadzikadunic were rested, while Dompe (muscular problems) and Anssi Suhonen (unwell) were absent. 

Centre forward Robert Glatzel was again in full training. Last season’s 2. Bundesliga top goalscorer (22 goals), who also scored the most goals in the DFB-Pokal in 2021/22 (6), could appear for the first time this season on Sunday in Meppen after recovering from a tendon injury to his thigh. The 30-year-old returned to team training at the end of last week and once again was able to complete the full session.  Glatzel & Co. have four days left to prepare for Meppen as they look to book their place in the second round.