Interview
05.09.21
"The overall development of the club is the decisive factor".
In an interview with HSV.de, board member Jonas Boldt talks about the completed transfer period, the expectations in Hamburg and the criticism of a changed philosophy.
After the summer transfer window closed last week, the first match-free weekend followed this weekend due to the international matches. A good opportunity to look back on the start of the season so far. In an interview on HSV.de, board member Jonas Boldt talks about the closed transfer period, the expectations in Hamburg and the criticism of a changed philosophy in the selection of coaches and the players signed.
The transfer window closed on Tuesday. After the end of the transfer period, do you see the squad as being filled in terms of quality and quantity as desired?
Jonas Boldt: We have to link the evaluation to the framework conditions of our location. I can understand that the expectations regarding names at HSV are very high, that some fans would have liked to see other players. But most people can't see behind the scenes. We are taking the path of moving something forward and at the same time working in an economically sensible way.
This summer, HSV generated relatively high revenues - as in previous transfer windows - but these do not seem to have been fully reinvested on the entry side. To what extent does Corona have a strong influence on the current transfer policy?
HSV didn't always do well economically in the transfer market in the years before, we still have to pay a little tribute to that. Since I've been here, it's been a requirement that we have to raise funds. The easiest way is through transfers, even if we would have liked to keep the players. We have had two top transfer sales out of the 2nd division ever with Douglas Santos and Amadou Onana. That has to do with our economic plan. From a sporting point of view, I would have preferred Amadou to stay here for another year, make another move and then leave. But Corona has a role to play here. We are working with Frank Wettstein on contract constellations and transfer fees in a direction that is absolutely reasonable. In each of the past transfer windows, we had a transfer surplus, reduced the salary costs and still had a strong squad at the start.
On the last day of the transfer period, Mario Vuskovic and Tommy Doyle, two young players with development potential, were signed. What can we already expect from these two talents?
Similar to many players in our squad, these two are players who are hungry, see HSV as the next career step for them and want to play as big a part as possible in bringing home victories with the team. When they will play and how much they will play is a question for the coach and the competitive situation. We have said from the beginning that we will only make transfers if they make sense. From the position, the profiles, the characters and the performance potential, they do. It's not about making transfers to present them, but only those that make sense for the squad.
Last year, experienced players such as Simon Terodde, Klaus Gjasula, Sven Ulreich and Toni Leistner were signed, and now they have all left. Didn't we go off the beaten track?
From my point of view, we haven't left the path, but have taken a path for the first time in recent years. The fact that a path needs adjustments, especially when things don't quite work out that way, is inevitable. The worst thing is to stubbornly follow something through and cover your eyes. That's why we made adjustments. Some were necessary because contracts could not be renewed, for some we cancelled contracts or deliberately did not renew them. That has to do with the general conditions as well as the Corona situation. But it also has to do with the fact that we want to make further progress here. The criticism refers to templates in which many think because they want to see it. You can't always explain everything 100 per cent, but people who listen very well recognise an idea behind it. That's also feedback we get.
Nevertheless, these experienced players were expected to play a big role in the past. What insights tipped the scales in favour of relying on other players this season?
The decisions had very different reasons. There were considerations to extend one or the other. But the players also wanted to change. That is part of the business and we respect that. I can't understand why people are talking about a paradigm shift in this case. There is a lot of black and white. For the same reasons, we had the chance to bring Sebastian Schonlau or Jonas Meffert to HSV because they wanted to change. For these players, HSV is not a downgrade, but an upgrade, and they have the hunger to move forward with HSV. That's what we want to create here. We have a good mix with many young players. Nevertheless, we never say: Youth researches. I don't calculate the age average every day. With the exception of Tom Mickel, there are no more players over 30, but we still have experienced second-division professionals who want to lead a team.
There are those who say that HSV has gone a completely different way by signing Tim Walter and has no clear philosophy. How do you counter this opinion?
I explain that we first and foremost consider which coach we bring in because we are looking for a certain profile. That was the case with Dieter Hecking and Daniel Thioune, and now with Tim Walter. The profile has adapted somewhat: from the personality and the game implementation of the coach. But it was clear: we will always be a team that has the ball a lot and that's why we need a coach who can handle it and also wants to play offensively. I don't see many philosophical differences between Tim and Daniel, except that Tim's opening is even bolder. We still have a lot of possession and want to work with the ball a lot. Now we work even more aggressively in pressing.
Doesn't that mean the coach is influencing the transfer policy?
If you look at the players who have played a lot so far and who have attracted attention, then we're talking about Sebastian Schonlau, for example. We signed Bascho before Tim Walter was even up for discussion here. Or Jonas Meffert, I've known him for more than ten years, I've accompanied him personally and even considered bringing him here before, but the general conditions didn't fit. It is logical that Tim Walter also knows him and liked the idea. We had a need for the position, so it fits. It's an interplay: you choose a coach who has an idea that we identify with and talks about the same mindset with players. A third example comes to mind.
Please.
With Moritz Heyer, who has already scored two goals this season, we were told last year: That has nothing to do with scouting, they only do that for Daniel Thioune. But he was actually a bit sceptical, because he said: Don't just get players from Osnabrück now. But of course we knew Moritz Heyer. He is a fantastic player for the league, who wants to get ahead, who knows the coach well, who can implement things very quickly, as we have seen, and who is versatile. That's why he's playing a good role now. There is a philosophy. The club sets it. After that, they choose a coach and then they sign players. That is a process. Scouting means knowing the players, assessing them correctly and not just listening to the coach.
Toni Leistner no longer seemed to fit into the coach's system. Couldn't there have been another way than a termination contract?
Toni's profile could have made him an important player for this league. However, he has said, and this is honest of him, that he doesn't necessarily see himself in the role of playing the good-humoured bear at the back. That's perfectly okay and understandable. He has earned his spurs for that. But to be successful, we need a group that supports each other and that's why it was best for everyone to make a clean cut. We said goodbye in a sensible way and that's why Toni will always be welcome in Hamburg and we can look each other in the eye.
Let's get back to the system of play. What do the team and HSV want to stand for? Keywords: bold offensive football, young team.
You have to identify with HSV and everything that surrounds it. It takes courage, and also a willingness to take on the league, to win duels and, when things aren't going well football-wise, to counter them in a different way. Always in the knowledge that in the HSV jersey you have more of the ball in the 2. Bundesliga and have to fulfil greater expectations than elsewhere.
To what extent will the topic of patience play a central role with regard to this direction?
There is patience among us in the sporting management and at the office. Of course, there are also a lot of fans who ask me about it on the street, for example. But of course there are also restless and impatient fans. And it's also clear that you hear these voices more when things aren't going well. But I don't want to criticise that at all. That's what makes this place. But the longing for continuity and patience is very great. I can feel that. For that, everyone has to pull together and keep their nerve.
Because of the size of the club, the city and the history, HSV is expected to win promotion year after year. How do you convey to the fans and the environment that you might have to take two or three years to achieve this goal?
I can't do more than explain it, set an example and take this path together with all the committees and people who have an influence on it. Communication plays an important role in this. But you won't succeed in always bringing everyone up to the same standard and satisfying everyone equally, because opinions differ. And if the results are not right, then I can understand that a certain resentment arises, but you have to be able to deal with that. That's what we try to exemplify. We'll see how long that takes. For me, there is no time frame. There is no guarantee in football.
Do you have to articulate this goal more offensively in order to take the fans along with you?
We have always communicated very clearly that we want to build and develop something here, but still be successful in sport. That doesn't mean we don't have ambitions. But we can realistically assess that success cannot be guaranteed. That's the same for all other clubs. There will always be disappointments. We have never said that we want to bake smaller bread. I've been around professional football long enough to know that a single word is a headline that is always harped on because people don't always want to listen closely and nowadays templates are always being pulled out.
What can we learn from clubs like Fürth, Union, Bielefeld & Co. to take the next step as well?
You have to assess that differently because the location plays a role. VfB Stuttgart was promoted with an economic and sporting first division team. Similar to what HSV could have achieved in its first 2. Bundelsiga season. At Union Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld, something has grown over the years: few transfers, the same coach, continuity, a relatively quiet environment and then coming out of the underdog role into a dynamic. Nevertheless, I don't know if the way football was played there would have worked here in Hamburg, because the expectations are different. If you notice that here, on the second match day, when the ball is played back to the goalkeeper, a murmur goes through the stadium. That is not the case at such venues. That's why you can't just copy Union Berlin, Arminia Bielefeld or Greuther Fürth to Hamburg.
After five match days, it is perhaps still a little too early for a first interim conclusion, but nevertheless the question: What is your impression of this year's 2. Bundesliga so far?
Many games had a similar story. In some games we lacked the momentum, as was the case at Schalke, because we didn't work it out. If I take the game at St. Pauli, where we didn't play a good first half. We still go into the break with a 1-1 score and come into the second half strong. Unbelievably, we don't get a penalty, a few minutes later it's 1:3. That's part of it. At Schalke, Ferro is great, that's why we don't get the equaliser straight away, stay stable and counterattack at the end. Against Dresden, it has to be 4:0 at half-time, but in the end it's 1-1. In Heidenheim we play much better than in the years before, we have to come off the pitch as winners, but we can't complain when the hosts hit the crossbar. The 2. Bundesliga is characterised by the fact that it's super tight. You notice that in every game. That's why it's our job to work even harder to close the bag earlier and get the momentum on our side. I've seen a lot of good things, but I also know that it's a process and that no team marches through this league as a matter of course.
At the end of the season, when would you say we've made a positive development? Can HSV also finish seventh and achieve the goal?
Of course, the league position plays an important role, but the overall development of the club is what matters. I think there are some things that have changed here. It's become much quieter, the cohesion and networking with the young talent is better, that's why players are being pushed up the ladder who perhaps wouldn't have been known at the professional level in the past. Something is growing together. I think you can sense at the office that there are more courageous decisions. You can't always see all this in the standings, but it only works that way. In the end, sport is the product. It can help to ignite, but in order to function, it has to be stabilised by a whole lot of other cogs. I think we have become more stable in that respect. The fact that some of the protagonists have been with us for a long time and that the cooperation is based on trust confirms this. And we will and want to continue to be ambitious.