Walter: "We have to reward ourselves more consistently".

After the English week and before the upcoming international break, Hamburger SV will host Karlsruher SC on Saturday (kick-off 8.30 pm) in the topspiel of the 13th 2.liga matchday. HSV head coach Tim Walter will be meeting an old employer for the second time in a row after the clash with Holstein Kiel (1:1). Walter was first active as a youth player and later as U17 and U19 coach for KSC not far from his birthplace of Bruchsal. The return to his original home is therefore something special, as is the upcoming clash between the ninth and seventh-placed teams in the 2.Bundesliga, as the 45-year-old explained at a digital press conference this Thursday afternoon. 

Tim Walter spoke in detail about…

... the fitness of Heuer Fernandes: We are looking at him from day to day. We only have the game on Saturday evening, so we will wait and see how he is tomorrow. Marko Johansson has also done a great job, so we trust him just as much. Knowing that Ferro is a very important part of our team and our playing philosophy.   

... KSC and his personal return: KSC has re-established itself over several years. When I think back to my time there, there was little there purely in terms of infrastructure. We tried to achieve a lot with emotion, passion and hard work. In the meantime, the club has a beautiful youth training centre, many great training grounds and a stadium under reconstruction. Here, the club has moved forward again and the Karlsruher are also doing a good job in terms of sport. They are dangerous from standard situations, but at the same time they try to play football. That's why it will be important for us to defend aggressively and play our game. Personally, I love coming back, I have a lot of friends in the area besides my father and brother. 

„So for us, it's going to come down to defending aggressively and playing our game through.“

... our own playing philosophy: We want to be successful in the long and medium term. We want to develop players, create scoring chances and then eventually score goals. We also want to defend passionately, which we do. Maybe people say the balance is off, but we are one of the most compact teams in the league. We concede the third fewest goal chances and create the most ourselves. Therefore, the development is on the right track. The willingness and the courage are there. Now we have to reward ourselves even more consistently in the form of goals.

... the situation in the league: Everything is very balanced. At the moment, two teams are slightly ahead, but otherwise it's very close games. That's exactly what reflects the potential and quality of the 2nd division. Nobody really stands out here and that's exactly why it's so close.