First team
05.04.24
Resurgent Suhonen back doing what he does best
HSV midfielder Anssi Suhonen has made an impressive comeback in the second half of this season. After his recent substitute appearances in the 2. Bundesliga and a start for his national team, Suhonen is looking to continue his upward trajectory in the coming weeks.
Sport isn’t just about winning titles and trophies – the feeling of making a comeback against the odds can be just as great. After a long and gruelling recovery period, often including an operation, a lengthy rehabilitation phase, and hours of hard work to build up fitness, the adulation of the fans is well and truly deserved when a player finally makes their return. One such player is Anssi Suhonen, whose injury troubles have seen him miss more games than any other HSV player in recent years. The 7-cap Finland international, who moved to Hamburg from Käpylän Pallo as a youth player in 2017, suffered a cruciate ligament tear in 2020 which ruled him out for almost a year. Since then, the 23-year-old has additionally had to recover from a torn tendon and two fibula fractures, which have limited him to just 23 league appearances over the last two seasons.
Plate removed and shin pad strengthened
The way the Finn has fought back from each of his setbacks, aided by his relentlessly positive disposition, has been nothing short of astounding. No one knows that better than fitness coach Sebastian Capel, who has been by Suhonen’s side throughout. “Anssi is incredibly important to the team – every player can see in him that you can deal with any setback and pick yourself up despite everything,” is the 38-year-old’s assessment of Suhonen. “He gives off an unbelievable joy whenever he’s on the pitch, which is his greatest strength. He’s the sort of player that just loves to play football. I don’t think any alternative to football exists for him, so he battles through after every injury. That kind of mentality rubs off on other players – his determination makes him such a positive role model.”
That has been clear for all to see ever since HSV’s winter training camp in Sotogrande. Since then, Suhonen has appeared fresher than ever in training and, recently, in matches. The diminutive midfielder’s energy, work-rate and eagerness to get stuck into individual battles make it easy to forget that anything had ever happened to him. The 23-year-old made a number of adjustments to his lifestyle while on the road to recovery: he now follows a gluten-free diet, and has given up his beloved Finnish milk. Prior to his latest comeback, he had an extra-robust shin pad made especially for him to provide extra protection to his left shin. Additionally, the plate which was inserted after the previous break in an attempt to stabilise the shin has been removed – a game-changer, as Capel explains: “It’s definitely a massive intervention in terms of biomechanics and statics, but for Anssi it’s allowed him to feel completely different – a lot freer and more natural – than after his previous rehabilitation periods. In other words, it’s a huge boost to his forward progress.”
Finally back to playing 90 minutes
The recovery programme has been a success, as the last few weeks have shown. In new head coach Steffen Baumgart’s fifth match in charge of the Rothosen, Suhonen made his fifth substitute appearance of the season, making it through the final 26 minutes of the game for his longest cameo since his return. He could even have marked the occasion with a goal, firing just wide of the left post. “We need to be more consistent in front of goal and finish games off. In Fürth we had plenty of chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them and that allowed our opponents to stay in the game. In the end we conceded and only managed a 1-1 draw. Of course that hurt,” said HSV’s number 36 ahead of this weekend’s home fixture against Kaiserslautern (Saturday, 13:00 CEST).
Head coach Baumgart has also demanded more determination from his players, and is in constant communication with Suhonen. “Of course we talk about the things I can do better in training and in matches,” confirms Suhonen. He is well aware that the high-intensity tactics employed by his new head coach are perfectly suited to his lively and tireless style of play. The positive energy Suhonen has enjoyed on the pitch recently has been helped by March’s international break. Although he and his Finland team-mates suffered EURO qualification heartbreak at the hands of Wales in Cardiff, he played the full 90 minutes of Finland’s 2-1 friendly win over Estonia, the first time he had completed a full game since Finland’s 6-0 victory against San Marino in June 2023. “It was a good feeling to play 90 minutes again. I was really happy about the win and how much time I got on the pitch,” explained Suhonen, who was sportsmanlike in his appraisal of his country’s exit from European qualification: “Wales were just too strong and better than us. It’s never an easy place to visit, either. They scored right at the start, and that made the game very difficult for us.”
After missing out on one of his goals for the coming months, Suhonen now turns his attention to another. His last start for the Rothosen came on Matchday 28 of last season as HSV fell to a 2-0 defeat at Kaiserslautern. On the same game week of the current season, the Finn will be looking to play as many minutes as possible and help kick off a positive end to the season for both the team and himself. “It’s been a difficult time for me,” says Suhonen. “And it’s always a challenge to get back to 100% after a long time out due to injury. But now I’m back to my best and really happy.”