Season

“We have to be prepared for every situation”

HSV’s preparations are underway for the league game in Magdeburg. Head coach Steffen Baumgart has a clear plan for his team and strategy for the match.

19 outfield players and two goalkeepers took part in the first training session of the week ahead of the league game against 1. FC Magdeburg (Sunday, 13:30 CEST). Head coach Steffen Baumgart was pleased about the return of right-back Ignace Van der Brempt, and has also seen evidence of progress with top scorer Robert Glatzel, who trained individually away from the team with rehab coach Sebastian Capel. “Those two will increase their workload this week and then we’ll see how it’s looking for the weekend. We’ll look at it day by day before we make a long-term prognosis,” explained the 52-year-old to the media at the session. He also emphasised that “we need players for the last six and maybe even eight games, not just for one match. That’s why we’re not going to throw anyone back into action too quickly. That goes for this week of training too.”

Baumgart had to do without a sick quartet in the form of Dennis Hadzikadunic, Stephan Ambrosius, Hannes Hermann and Anssi Suhonen on Tuesday. Wide player Jean-Luc Dompe, who made his comeback off the bench last time out against FCK (2-1 win) following injury problems, was involved once more and now faces competition to regain his place in the starting eleven. “He’s ready for more, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll get more game time too,” Baumgart said. “That’s because Königsdörffer is doing really well out wide in my opinion.”

Positive development

In light of the threat he’s posed to the opposition goal, with one assist and two goals to show for it, HSV’s head coach was full of praise regarding the youngster's recent progress, as the well as the overall development displayed by the team. HSV have picked up a total of seven points from their last three games, during which they set up with a back-three in possession and back-four off the ball. Depending on the moment in the game, Ludovit Reis (pictured) took on the role of either centre-back or right-back in this formation. “This worked really well for us, particularly due to Ludo’s strong second-half performance. He did incredibly well in terms of his mentality and determination,” enthused Baumgart, who will soon be facing his ex-club 1. FC Magdeburg for the first time in his new role at HSV.

The 52-year-old represented 1. FC Magdeburg as both a player (13 games, 3 goals) and a head coach (33 games), spending approximately a year at the East German club. However, FCM didn’t play a special role in his playing or managerial career given the many clubs he has represented. “There were more important clubs, which I’ve got a stronger emotional connection with. Surely everyone can understand that,” Baumgart explained, whilst simultaneously drawing attention to their upcoming opponents’ strengths: “Magdeburg have the highest possession in the league and a clear tactical approach. They didn’t win against a couple of strong sides for no reason. Therefore, I’m expecting an open game in comparison to teams who are fully focused on defending. However, we have to be prepared for every situation – thus also for a deep-lying opponent. We’ll only see how the game plays out on Saturday.” Steffen Baumgart has scheduled four further training sessions for the next four days up until the game in order to continue working on preparing for different situations.