Hamburg SV

[Trim]

Bundesliga, Matchday 30 | PREVIEW
Hamburg – Schalke

One of the big matches of the weekend takes place at the HSH Nordbank Arena as third place Schalke take on fourth place Hamburg as the battle for one of the Champions League spots hots up.

Hamburg this season looked for a long time like they were a sure bet for a top three finish but a slump in form has seen them overtaken by the likes of Werder Bremen and Schalke and the season for HSV is in danger over finishing with a real anti-climax.

They are without a win in their last five matches. Schalke on the other hand are looking like they have hit a purple patch at just the right time of the season.

Having lost to Barcelona in the Champions League and 5-1 to Werder in the league, Mirko Slomka lost his job. The first game under caretakers Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder saw the Königsblauen trounce Energie Cottbus 5-0. Saturday’s game promises to be a fascinating encounter.

[Trim]

Hamburger SV 0 - 1 Schalke

2' [0 - 1] K. Kuranyi

Hamburg 0-1 Schalke

Caretaker trainers Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder got the better of their former boss Huub Stevens as Schalke beat Hamburg 1-0 thanks to an early goal from in-form Kevin Kuranyi.

Schalke made the dream start in front of a sell-out crowd at the HSH Nordbank Arena with a goal after just two minutes. Albert Streit was allowed unimpeded down the right and his cross found Kevin Kuranyi unmarked, who headed past Frank Rost with relative ease.

Five minutes later and Altintop found himself one-on-one with Frank Rost. He lofted the ball over the keeper, but also over the goal and the danger passed. The home side had the better of the rest of the half, but their goalless run continued.

Much as HSV tried, they couldn’t find a way back and went down to another defeat which will have all but ended their hopes of Champions league football next season.

[Trim]

Stevens: We Helped Schalke Win

Hamburg trainer Huub Stevens was a disappointed man after watching his Hamburg side gift Schalke an early goal and then go on to waste a whole host of chances, before losing 1-0.

The home defeat now makes it six games without a win and was their second loss in a row at the HSH Nordbank Arena. They now find themselves six points behind third place Schalke in the fight for Champions League places.

A second minute goal from Kevin Kuranyi handed the visitors the ideal start, but the ‘Rothosen’ had enough opportunities to take something from the game.

“We really helped Schalke to their win. We were only on the pitch for 85 minutes, and in the first five minutes we set up our opponents” Stevens fumed.

“When you concede so early against such a compact team as Schalke, then it is always going to be difficult to break through.

“We made a mistake through which we couldn’t win the game” he explained.

“You have to take your chances when they come against a good team like Schalke. We didn’t do that.”

Goal.com - Hamburg - Stevens: We Helped Schalke Win

[Trim]

Guerrero and Kompany with problems

Hamburger SV didn't just lose to Schalke on Saturday, the fifth-placed club has also reported two players with knocks from the match

Peruvian international Paolo Guerrero, who has scored six league goals for HSV this season, has a stiff calf muscle from the weekend's clash, which Schalke won 1:0.

Belgian international Vincent Kompany had to be taken off the pitch early with pains in his thigh.

Coach Huub Stevens did not say if and for how long the key duo could be sidelined, saying, "We will have to wait and see how the injuries develop."

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite

[Trim]

Bundesliga, Matchday 31 | PREVIEW
Hansa Rostock – Hamburg

Hamburg’s season is unravelling in front of their eyes and what started out as a few bad games has turned into a real crisis as the Hanseaten with no wins in their last six games with no goals either in the previous four.

HSV are hanging on to a European place courtesy of goal difference from Stuttgart and look in real danger of finishing out of the top six if this run of form doesn’t end soon. A trip to relegation threatened Hansa Rostock will not be an easy task for Huub Stevens’ men.

Hansa lost last weekend’s relegation six-pointer against Cottbus thanks to an injury time winner from Dimitar Rangelov, which was cruel on the Ostseestädter. Against Hamburg, Frank Pagelsdorf’s team will be fighting tooth and nail for a win that could get them out of the bottom three.

[Trim]

Hansa Rostock 1 - 3 Hamburger SV

17' [0 - 1] I. Olic
26' [0 - 2] R.v.d. Vaart
51' [0 - 3] I. Olic
75' [1 - 3] J. Mathijsen (o.g.)

Hansa Rostock 1-3 Hamburg

After four games without a goal, Hamburg once again found the goal trail with three against Hansa Rostock to seal an important win. HSV scored with their first two attacks and the home side never really recovered.

The result sees Hamburg consolidate their place in to top five, while Hansa now sit five points from safety in 17th place.

The home side started well, but it was the away side, who scored with their first attack of the game after 18 minutes. A fast attack from HSV saw Paulo Guerrero lay the ball into the path of Ivica Olic, who fought off a challenge from Tobias Rathgeb before firing past keeper Hahnel from 14 meters.

The ‘Rothosen’ then scored with their second effort on goal on 27 minutes with captain Rafael van der Vaart getting his name on the score sheet. Olic was allowed to cross unhindered into the middle where Gledson had lost van der Vaart, who slotted easily past Hahnel.

Hamburg, who hadn’t scored in their previous four games, then grabbed their third goal of the game six minutes into the second half. Olic won the ball off of substitute Lukimiya, before playing a one-two with van der Vaart. On receiving the ball back, he fired an unstoppable shot past Hahnel to all but seal the three points for HSV.

The home side did grab a goal with fifteen minutes left when Joris Mathijsen put through his own net. Lukimiya put in a good cross from the right and Enrico Kern rose to get a header in. His effort was however heading wide before Mathijsen made an unfortunate connection, which took the ball past Rost and into the net.

[Trim]

Stevens Critical Despite Victory

Hamburg brought to an end a terrible run of four games without a goal with a 3-1 away win over Hansa Rostock at the DKB Arena. However, HSV trainer Huub Stevens was still a little critical of his side for missing chances to achieve an even higher victory.

Hamburg scored with their first two real attacks of the first half with goals from Ivica Olic and Rafael van der Vaart. Olic added a third six minutes into the second half, before an own goal from Joris Mathijsen handed Hansa a consolation goal.

Trainer Huub Stevens although delighted with the win, was left a little frustrated by his sides’ inability to score a fourth or fifth goal.

“We knew that we had to get all three points today” Stevens said. “In the first hour the team played superbly, were concentrated and took their chances.

“After that we became a little frivolous and that shouldn’t happen” he added.

“We had chances to make it 4-0 or 5-0 but we missed them. Therefore I cannot be completely happy with the performance.”

Hansa Rostock trainer Frank Pagelsdorf was left to admit that the better side won, but is still confident his side can avoid the drop this season.

“You have to say that HSV were the better team. They showed us what it is like to be able to effectively take your chances. We looked bad for their first two goals” he admitted.

“Of course we tried to play offensively in the second half but our goal came too late, but the hope is still there that we can stay up this season.”

Goal.com - Hamburg - Stevens Critical Despite Victory

[Trim]

Bundesliga, Matchday 32 | PREVIEW
Hamburg – Werder Bremen

The Nord-derby on Wednesday pits second place Werder against fourth place Hamburg in a game that could have a huge bearing on who qualifies for the Champions League and who has to settle for the Uefa Cup.

A 3-1 win away at Hansa Rostock on Saturday brought an end to HSV’s four game goal drought and sealed their first win in six games. The recovery may have come just at the right time with both Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen hot on their tails in the battle for European qualification.

Werder can pretty much secure second with a win over their Northern rivals but will have to do so without the services of key midfielder Torsten Frings. Having returned from injury the German international picked up an unnecessary booking on Saturday against Cottbus to rule him out of this potentially key game.

Werder have won two of their last three games at the HSH Nordbank Arena so will be confident of adding to their victory from earlier this season at the Weser Stadion.

[Trim]

Hamburger SV 0 - 1 Werder Bremen

49' [0 - 1] H. Almeida

Hamburg 0-1 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen emerged triumphant from the Nord-derby against Hamburg with a solitary second half goal from Hugo Almeida decisive.

A feisty first half ended goalless, but Werder accumulated four yellow cards as Hamburg struggled to make their slight dominance count. They were made to pay early in the second half with Werder scoring five minutes into the second half.

Markus Rosenberg won the ball on the edge of the box from Reinhardt and laid it off to strike partner Hugo Almeida. The Portuguese striker hit an unstoppable shot past Frank Rost into the right hand corner to open the scoring.

[Trim]

Bundesliga, Matchday 33 | PREVIEW
Energie Cottbus – Hamburg

Energie look to have done just enough to stay in the top flight but still need a few more points to banish the worry of relegation for good.

Five wins in their last ten games has seen them move two points clear of the bottom three, but they are still too close for trainer Bojan Prasnikar’s liking.

The points are equally important for Hamburg as they look to crown their season with at least Uefa Cup qualification. For so long Huub Stevens’ side looked like genuine Champions League hopefuls but a poor run of form has seen them having to fight with Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen for a place in the top five.

The Hanseaten got themselves back on track last weekend with a 3-1 win over Hansa Rostock, but then went down to a 1-0 defeat to rivals Werder in the Nord-derby in midweek.

[Trim]

Energie Cottbus 2 - 0 Hamburger SV

29' [1 - 0] S. Rivic
84' [2 - 0] D. Sørensen

Energie Cottbus 2-0 Hamburg

Energie Cottbus have secured their top flight status with a 2-0 win over Hamburg, who are hanging onto their Uefa Cup spot by a thread.

Despite Hamburg having the better of the first half with regards possession and territory; it was the home side who took the lead on the half hour mark. Stiven Rivic fired the Lausitzer in front with their first real effort on goal. He latched onto a quick ball from Rangelov and proved too quick for Timothee Atouba to stop.

The second and decisive goal for Cottbus arrived on 84 minutes with Dane Sörensen the scorer. A free kick deep in their own half saw Sörensen latch onto the ball and score from close range and send the home crowd into ecstasy.

[Trim]

Stevens: We Deserved To Lose

Hamburg trainer Huub Stevens didn’t mince his words after seeing his HSV side go down to a 2-0 defeat away at Energie Cottbus, admitting that his side deserved to lose.

The victory for the Lausitzer secured their Bundesliga survival this season and produced scenes of wild celebrations at the final whistle akin to those witnessed when Bayern clinched the title last weekend.

Stiven Rivic fired Bojan Prasnikar’s team into a first half lead on the half hour mark and the precious three points were secured by Dennis Sörensen six minutes from time.

“We deserved to lose against a side that didn’t have the quality we had, but certainly had the passion” admitted HSV trainer Stevens.

“Against a compact team like them, you have to use the wings and we didn’t do that. We weren’t clever enough.

“I don’t know where our passion was, you’ll have to ask the players. But their training free Sunday is now cancelled” he growled.

Cottbus trainer Bojan Prasnikar was on cloud nine having beaten off the threat of relegation. “Now a great weight has fallen from around our necks” he explained.

“We did everything right today and deserve to stay in the Bundesliga. Who would have thought that we would have a five point gap over the bottom three going into the final day?

“We had the heart and the will to stay in the Bundesliga and that was in evidence today.”

Goal.com - Hamburg - Stevens: We Deserved To Lose

[Trim]

Bundesliga, Matchday 34 | PREVIEW
Hamburg – Karlsruhe

In spite of their recent poor form, Hamburg still find themselves in the race for a Uefa Cup spot and will have a great chance to secure it when the face Karlsruhe at the HSH Nordbank Arena on Saturday. KSC themselves are not the side they were earlier in the season with the fairy tale dying out but they will still look to make things difficult for the home side.

Taking HSV into Europe will be a wonderful parting gift from out-going trainer Huub Stevens, who is leaving at the season’s end to take over at PSV Eindhoven back in his homeland, where he can be closer to his wife.

Saturday’s game could also be the last time we see Rafael van der Vaart in a Hamburg shirt with a transfer to Italy or Spain still very much on the cards. If the rumours are true, then Vincent Kompany could also be saying farewell at the HSH Nordbank Arena this weekend.

Karlsruhe would dearly like to finish the season on a high after enjoying a very successful season back in the top flight, in which they have won numerous admirers for the effort and style.

[Trim]

Hansa sign HSV midfielder

Hansa Rostock have signed Mario Fillinger from Hamburger SV.

The 23-year-old midfielder will put pen to paper on a two-year contract valid for Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite