Hamburgers Given Heartburn by Aspirins
By: ryan_s | December 16th, 2012Leverkusen is Good
A game which inspired an awful headline for this blog can only have been equally as awful. A 3-0 drubbing by a talented and organized Leverkusen side is not exactly embarrassing, but it’s very close to it. Stefan Kießling and Andre Schürrle each gave Hamburg a nightmare they won’t soon forget, and their combination (along with some help from Gonzalo Castro) scored or assisted all three goals.
Hamburg were repeatedly ripped apart on defense, and Heiko Westermann flatly had an awful game, including gifting Kießling the third goal. I’ve made it clear that I love a 4-3-3 (or 4-3-1-2) formation, and a brilliant 4-3-3 is what Hyppia and Lewandowski use. It seemed like HSV had never seen such a thing before, and looked entirely unprepared to be honest. Leaving Badelj as essentially the only holding midfielder against three forwards was something our beloved Croat could only muster for so long before looking visibly gassed. Rudnevs did manage to hit a decent shot from distance early on and then later hit the post on a fine header, and Son looked dangerous from a couple of shots from distance as well, but other than that there wasn’t a ton of offense going on. Aogo somehow managed to miss a goal from like five feet after Rudnevs’ post shot, and was in general horrible (remember that terrible backpass early on that Schürrle could only hit the post on?). Lam looked overpowered against a better crop of players, and Skjelbred and Diekmeier were equally as listless.
Huub Stevens was fired this weekend – who would have thought he would go before Fink when both coaches were hired around the same time? I will do a post over the winter break about Fink’s tactics and preferences (one is what I believe to be his counterproductive preference of choosing attacking players based off of their ability to contribute defensively i.e. Son vs. Beister beginning of the year / Ivo now).
MIDTABLE OBSCURITY
Hopefully this will be done on SB Nation! I happened to be followed on Twitter by the Bundesliga editor at SB Nation, and after sending him a note, he is talking to the bosses about getting us over there. SO THERE IS A GLIMMER OF HOPE.
Also in the coming weeks – Hinrunde report cards! So keep on checking in, leaving your thoughts, engaging in discussion, sharing your gift ideas for relatives, whatever. Nur der HSV!
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Comments
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Bad performance and a deserved lost. Felt sorry for Adler conceding three against his old club.
Besides the disappointing game I´m very optimistic about next year with Van der Vaart and Jansen coming back. Europe League is within reach!
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It was definitely a disappointing performance on Saturday, however not unexpected against a good Leverkusen team. I think the team looked tired, probably because of the trip to Brazil last week to play Gremio (which brought in some needed cash).
Looking at the table, things are not too bad. There is a lot of distance between HSV and the bottom three, and there are only two points between HSV and 5th. Adding to that, we finished above Bremen, so all in all a pretty decent first half of the season.
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Did see a stat that was tweeted at me that I will expand upon further in another post – HSV have given up by far the most amount of scoring chances in the Bundesliga, despite their good defensive record. Something that doesn’t really surprise me, and what has only been exploited by the teams with top finishers. Adler / the post / last ditch defending has saved us more than the actual scorelines suggest.
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What’s happening in that picture above? Is Badelj grabbing that guys wrist or something? Their hands look so awkward almost like it’s photoshopped together. Pretty strange.
Anyway, did you see that Paulo Guerrero scored the winning goal for Corinthians to win the Club World Cup over Chelsea? Crazy times. Congrats to Ryan’s favorite player!
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Leverkusen simply worked much harder than HSV. They closed down very quickly and in numbers.
Lam was ball watching for the 1st goal and didn’t bother himself at all trying to cover his centre-backs. That lack of basic discipline would have driven any manager mental.
I’ve never been a great fan of Westermann at the back (despite his undoubted commitment and the ability to nick a goal). For the 3rd goal, a decent centre back heads the goalkeeper’s clearance rather than waves a foot at it. Maybe the new year will see Scharner given a go alongside Mancienne.
Also agree that Aogo looked awful v Leverkusen. What’s happened to him?
On a plus note, I do see something in Skjelbred. Definitely big potential there but I guess he could be un-loaded in January. I’d keep him if possible.
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I still like Westermann and think he’s done a good job amongst a back line that seems very unorganized, but that was one heck of a howler. No idea what’s happened to Aogo, those offers from Serie A in the summer suddenly look quite enticing, no?
And ya I have no real qualms with Skjelbred staying or going. He’s good on the ball and a good passer with decent tackling ability, but he hasn’t really shown much to me that’s particularly awesome. Anyone else’s thoughts on him? -
I think Westermann has had a great first half of the season, hence his national team call-up. However, like most Hamburgers, he did have a bad game on Saturday.
Skjelbred was an up and coming star in Norway a few years back, but had some bad injuries before coming to the HSV. I would like to see him given more time at the club. Of the 6/7 players told they can leave, I think he’s one of the better ones.
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I’m quite surprised by Skjelbred now that we’ve gotten to see him play. It would be a shame to sell him now, after finally getting a glimpse of his talent. He has already shown to be a serviceable backup to VdV in the central attacking mid role, so I think HSV should hang onto him at least until the summer. The other midfielders they have are all wingers or defensive mids, so Skjelbred kind of fills a position on the depth chart.
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Ya I agree especially with Mark’s comment on the fact that he gives you a creative option in the depth chart, which isn’t really a strong point of HSV. Lots of wingers and defensive midfielders.
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According to the Hamburger MOPO a few days ago, the list of players that Arnesen wants to sell over the winter break are: Ilicevic, Berg, Rajkovic, Tesche, Kacar, Drobney and Sala.
I’d be surprised if the HSV could unload half of the players on this list now, though. A lot of hope is being put on selling Ilicevic.
Skjelbred is likely to stay unless a very good offer comes in. Like Mark and Ryan said, he is considered to be a good back up in multiple positions.
In terms of Aogo, it was reported that he suffered from depression earlier in the season and withdrew himself from the squad then. I think he has played OK since being back, likely because he is playing in midfeild. This might be a better position for him, and he played there when at Freiburg.
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Ilicevic, really? That seems a bit soon to me. Maybe he’s unhappy to not get enough playing time, but he has been out to injury lately.
Of that list, I would want to keep him and probably Sala, who I think has potential but nowhere to play just yet. He should get more time with HSV II. I like Kacar, but he’s never really shown to be that great at HSV and is always injured. However, he scored a goal at the one live game I saw, so I have to like him. I think Jiracek will be a more effective player anyway, and there’s still Rincon as well.
We’ll see what happens I guess! If they sell Berg, do you think they will be looking for a more accomplished striker to go along with Rudnevs, or will Son be the second striker option? I’d be ok with him moving up front to give Beister some more playing time.
Anyway, it seems that for once HSV have a decent amount of depth that they can afford to sell some players without leaving the cupboard bare. If they have 1 backup player for each position, or even just one or two extra defenders and midfielders, I think that’s enough especially when they are only in 1 competition this season. I hope next year they will need to use more of their squad to keep up in 2 or maybe even 3 competitions…
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I would also keep Ilicevic around, but he is on a big salary and doesn’t show his skills enough from the club’s point of view. Arnesen thinks he will get the most money for him of all the players listed.
Personally, I like Ilicevic and would be happy for him to stay. He has great skills when he plays well.
Tesche, Rajkovic and Kacar should definately be sold, in my opinion. Berg also. I’ve always hoped Berg would start scoring, but it’s never happened and enough time has gone by.
If Berg goes, there’s unlikely to be enough money to buy a proven forward, however you never know. Likely the HSV will try for a cheaper player (Bundesliga proven) to support Rudnevs. Sven Schipplock is one name that I’ve seen mentioned, but who really knows.
In the 4-1-2-1-2 formation I liked Beister playing next to Rudnevs. VdV could also play there. Having said that, Fink might switch back to the 4-2-3-1 when VdV is back.
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It’s rumored that Kacar is in talks with Hannover over a possible transfer. Fee around 2M Euros.
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I think Kacar would fit in nicely on Hannover and I’m sure he’d be thrilled to go. Would get to play on a Europa League side!
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The performance of the HSV is not really good this Season. I do not think, that it will be much better after the Winterbreak. The Team is to much addicted on Van der Vart. If a rival Team manage to stop him, it will stop the HSV.
I hope they will buy some other players, so that they can spread the Main TEAM Performance on more than one Player.
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I don’t think the HSV are too dependent on Van der Vaart, as seen by the last month before the winter break, when they did well without him. Don’t get me wrong, VdV is immensely important to the team, but not just on the field. His return has given confidence to other players and he has absorbed a lot of the pressure (ie media pressure) that was on this young team. He loves the attention and deals with the media very well.
Having said that, when VdV plays much of the build-up goes through him and he touches the ball a lot, but that is always the case with star midfield players. Because of that extra marking could neutralize the team as a whole a bit.
I’m more concerned that the team is too reliant on Adler and Badelj. Alder would be impossible to replace if he is injured for any length of time. He has been spectacular and has won points that would have been lost last year. For Badelj, much of the play starts with him and I don’t think the HSV have another player like him.
In terms of new players, it might be good, however due to the spending spree in August, the HSV will have to sell before they spend.
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Poor VdV – marriage problems, and then getting hurt! Hopefully it’s not too bad – he said that it probably wasn’t.
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HSV have made a very positive step in the right direction!
Robert Tesche to Fortune Dusseldorf! However it’s only a loan until the end of the season. Anyway, I hope this leads to a full transfer in the summer. Maybe he’ll find some playing time there and good luck to him. He just isn’t right for HSV.
Looking forward to the Bundesliga restart this weekend!
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Il serai possible de me donnez svp des photos ?
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Good post. I just made about 30 blogs on blogger.com. I am working on them daily and adding new ones too. Thanks for the content.
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Van der Vaart was the best player
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