Promotion battle in the 2nd Bundesliga
HSV depends on Schalke and Hertha for the time being
06/16/2023, 8:35 p.m
As a second division team, Hamburger SV even manages to outperform first division teams in negotiations with players. This gives the club an advantage in the fight for the Bundesliga return. However, fresh millions also increase the pressure on key people.
The most desirable midfielder remains. The goalscorer has even extended his contract. Less than two weeks after missing out on Bundesliga promotion for the fifth time in a row, Hamburger SV not only prevented the feared sell-out of their most important players. In contrast to the prominent promotion rivals Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC, HSV will, as things stand, go into the next second division season with a well-established team that was essentially put together at an early stage.
“With this commitment, we have been able to set another very important sign in our squad planning for the coming season,” sporting director Jonas Boldt rejoiced after the Dutch U21 international Ludovit Reis stayed on.
The course of this week alone shows that the six-time German champions and two-time European Cup winners will not be a normal second division club in their forthcoming sixth season. On Monday, striker Robert Glatzel extended his contract instead of moving to the first division as was quite possible. Three days later, Reis let an exit clause in his contract expire and, like Glatzel, committed to HSV.
Sports director Boldt apparently has almost a free hand
But that’s not all: On Friday, the “Braunschweiger Zeitung” reported that HSV is still one of the candidates for a commitment of the coveted playmaker Immanuel Pherai, even after the two lost relegation games against VfB Stuttgart. The 22-year-old Dutchman can also leave Eintracht this summer thanks to an exit clause. At Pherai, too, HSV is in competition with several first-division clubs, as is the case with Reis.
It has been clear since Wednesday at the latest that Hamburg can not only keep their talented team together, but also strengthen them further. Because the investor and shareholder Klaus-Michael Kühne supported his club with another loan of 30 million euros. The signal is clear: five attempts towards the Bundesliga have already failed. But there will still be at least one “major attack”, wrote the “kicker”.
For board member Boldt and coach Tim Walter, this is a great opportunity and pressure situation at the same time. Unlike in the turbulent previous years, the 41-year-old Boldt has a majority on the supervisory board and CFO Eric Huwer, a confidant on the board next to him. His position is now so strong that HSV received the Kühne millions without any conditions from the investor. And that Boldt was able to confirm his close confidante Tim Walter in office before something like a seasonal analysis at management level even began.
For coaches and sports directors, however, this also means: This time, promotion must also work. It would be the first for the Rothosen, which many still see as a felt first division team and only temporary visitors in the lower house, even in their sixth year in the second division. For this, the economic superiority must slowly but also be converted into one of the direct promotion places at the end of the season.