Tim Walter: "Now more than ever!"

The 2022/23 relegation will kick off on Thursday (1 June) at 8.45 pm. For HSV it is the second participation in a row, and after last year's unfortunate outcome against Hertah BSC, the aim is now to make it into the Bundesliga this season against VfB Stuttgart via the two relegation matches. No easy task, as the statistics show. In the past ten years, the first division team has won nine times, and only once has the second division team been promoted and the Bundesliga team relegated. That was in 2019, and the unlucky team was VfB Stuttgart. The club where Tim Walter subsequently took over as coach, after half a year the club parted ways, "but I'm speaking here without resentment, because I learned a lot for myself during this time and met a lot of great people," said the current Hamburg coach in the press conference. In the press conference Tim Walter spoke about...

... coming to terms with what happened on Sunday: "The experience at the weekend ranged from the very top to the very bottom, there was really everything there. But we've worked through it together, we've talked about it a lot and we're going into this relegation in an absolutely positive mood, which we've also experienced before. We have learned a lot from it. Only those who have experienced negative things can create positive things. That's what we've done, and we've developed a lot since then. That's why, despite the experiences of the weekend, we will continue to fight, give everything we've got. Now more than ever!
 

"Stuttgart won't have been too happy either when they heard it was against HSV"

... the role of the favourites in this duel: "We have scored 70 goals in 34 games this season, scored 66 points and won 20 games, more than any other team. What we have achieved is very positive and means the best HSV record in this league. Stuttgart, on the other hand, go into the relegation as 16th in the table, which they could have avoided by their own efforts on the last matchday, which they failed to do. Nevertheless, VfB is the favourite as a first-division team, but we also have so much to offer that we can win and be promoted in the end.

... the approach to the first leg: The game in Stuttgart is the first half of this duel. We'll only settle the score at the end, but of course we're going to Stuttgart to win. We want to play to our strengths in possession, be very active and keep the opponent busy so they can't play to their strengths. If we can do that, then it's not easy to play against us. Stuttgart won't have been happy either when they heard it was against HSV. But I'm looking forward to this duel, because VfB and HSV are great clubs.