There’s a great story in the online edition of Welt today detailing all the known goings and potential comings of each of the 1. Bundesliga clubs this summer. So what’s the HSV angle to this story? On the known goings, there’s not much new–we all know that Ivica Olic is gone to the Bavarians, that all of the winter loaners were given back (No thank you!), and, oh, we have a new trainer. Among the players leaving the club that I haven’t (and neither has Evan) touched on are Thimothee Atouba and Bastian Reinhardt. Atouba was offered a contract extension this winter (at his current wages) as he was rehabbing his torn achilles; he rejected that offer presumably because he thought he could get more money on the open market. Well, there isn’t a huge demand for petulant defenders who are recovering from major injury, and bottom line–Atouba had no takers. Reinhardt is a bit more of a sticky situation. Basti is among the all time club leaders in matches played and is certainly a fan favorite (in stark contrast to Atouba on both accounts), but seemed to have slowed a step in the 2008 Rückrunde. Basti split time with Alex Silva in the Hinrunde this season, and negotititaions with the club on a contract extension at that time not only stalled, they ceased.  

Weld lists Alex Silva (back to Brazil, AC Milan, Sevilla), Marcell Jansen (Juventus), Mladen Petric (Wolfsburg), Piotr Trochowski (everybody) as potential exits. To a man, the Hamburg management have said no way Jose, nobody’s leaving the club this summer, which we all know means unless the price is right. Let’s face it–last summer, would you have thought that Nigel de Jong would EVER leave HSV? Me either. What I read about Alex Silva was that he wanted out because Jol was playing him in the midfield and that he would never get a look for the Selecão if all he ever played was midfield–he wanted back in central defense. With Reinhardt’s and Michael Gravgaard’s departures, I look for him to move back into defense, and be happy.

Predictably, what interested me is all of the potential newcomers listed by Weld:  Niko Kranjcar of Pompey (who was rumored [there's that word again] to be on his way last summer), Kostas Katsouranis of Benfica (almost a sure thing he’s coming),  Tim Borrowski of Bayern (on the outs with Munich management), Eljero Elia of Twente (who is now reportedly on his way to Ajax since BMJ flew the coup), and Hamburg native Ivan Klasnic, now that Nantes have been relegated to Ligue 2. But the REALLY interesting names are Alexander Hleb of Barca, our beloved Rafael van Der Vaart of Real, and Kevin Kuryani of Schalke. And FYI, our transfer budget this summer is about €16-18 million.

Hleb is not coming to HSV; but are VDV and Kuryani?

Another fun little bit on the Weld web site is a reader poll to determine the greatest HSV player os all time. Here’s the poll in German, because it’s pretty self explanatory. My vote went to Uwe Seeler. Coincidentally, he’s the leading vote-getter right now.

With the likes of Streit (bruised calf), Atouba (groin strain), Jansen (throat infection), Silva (torn hamstring), and Reinhardt (lack on practice) unavailable, Jol couldn’t play his team of choice.
This was the team last night:

Frankfurt started the match looking for an early goal. Meier and Fink both tested Rost (12 and 15 minutes respectively), but neither could get through. Not wanting to be outdone, the Rothosen started a series of attacks on the Frankfurt goals. Finally, in the 22nd minute, Pitroipa set up Jarolim just outside the box. Jarolim’s shot stunned the crowd, and evidently the Frankfurt keeper.

1-0

Seven minutes later, and Olic had a great chance to double the lead. Guerrero then missed another great opportunity, just 5 minutes before the break. A substitution by Funkel (Ioannis Amanatidis on) signaled the start of the second half.

The second half was on of the most intense games I’ve seen read on liveblog for a long time. As Monchengladbach miraculously took the lead against Dortmund our own Ivica Olic converted a Demel cross to double our lead.

2-0!

And at that point it all went downhill. In a matter of 5 minutes, Frankfurt leveled the scores, following goals by Meier and Caio….
…And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, news came in that Kuba had scored for Dortmund.

2-2

So it was very simple. Score a goal, hope that Dortmund don’t score, and HSV would play in Europe next season. Don’t score, and our dreams would be down the drain. Jol reacted brilliantly, making a move that many would come to call pure genius and tactical vision. He subbed on Trochowski. In the 84th, he fired a free kick just over the bar. In the 89th, Pitroipa made a great long range shot that had the fans on their feet. Finally, when most fans had given up all hope, Trochowski recieved the ball on the corner of the penalty box. It was announced that Dortmund had only drawn at Gladbach. If there was ever a time, this was it. And with that Trochowski became my favorite player of all time, scoring a great goal and sending HSV straight to Europe!

3-2 HSV!

Match Facts:
Goals: Jarolim (22), Olic (58), Meier (61), Caio (63), Trochowski (90)
Booked Aogo, Mathijsen, Benjamin, Boateng, Trochowski
Attendance 51,500

Goals:

ROTHOSEN

As football fans, I think that Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch should be mandatory reading (in fact, I will make it mandatory reading for all of the Hamburg Offside’s readers [both of you]–I feel like a university professor now or something). I like love the book so much, that more than once, as soon as I get to the end, I start reading it again. One of the primary theme’s of the book is that non-supporters cannot possibly understand the emotional connection that a supporter has with their side and how much that connection dominates true supporter’s daily lives.  Because in the end, this connection we make with “our” sides is an obsession.  I know what you’re thinking:  In the immortal words of Herb Tarlek, How does this affect me?  Well, if you are anything like me, you have been walking around in a depressive funk since Saturday’s 0:1 home defeat to Köln/Cologne. Nobody, but nobody, understands why I am so damn, well, blue. No one in my family knows I write this blog (OK–occasionally write this blog)–they just think I’m a depressive sort who has his moods. I don’t think they’d understand that a German football (Ne: soccer) team recently blew their last gasp chance to play yet another year in a crummy, second-rate European competition, and in doing so, eliminated *any* chance they had of signing quality players in this summer’s transfer market. 

My mental state has been on a slippery slope since the Pokal loss to freaking Bremen on penalties, and the later admission by BMJ that he doesn’t practice penalties. Now you’ll forgive me, I am not a big time football manager. In fact, the highest level of football I have ever coached is my twin daughters’ U10 team this past year (and I am not very good–we are 0-0-9 heading into our next and final match; I won’t even think about telling you what our goal differential is. Oy. To my credit though, none of the girls on my squad have ever played organized soccer before this year, and last week, they held the opposition to a scoreless draw in the first half before finally succumbing 1:2.) The point here is that even though I coach girls U10, my team practices penalties EVERY WEEK. We end our last practice each week by splitting the team up and having the two groups compete against each other. SO WHY DIDN’T HSV CONVERT ANY OF THOSE F’ING PENALTIES? Sure, Tim Wiese stood on his head for a couple of saves, but shouldn’t it have been a bit closer than 2-4? And why did Jerome Boateng take the second penalty and not Pitroipa or Trochowski?

I was a bit more upbeat following the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final that saw HSV victorious 0:1, with that all important away goal. I remember saying to myself, “Self, this is the year. Yeah, stinking Bremen knocked us out of the Cup, but we’ll get even here,” only to have the Hanseaten break my heart by giving up 3 away goals to Werder in the return leg. By the time we played them again in the Bundesliga, I was shell shocked and burried my head in the sand. I couldn’t bear to watch them lose again.

The victory over Bochum was little consolation and as previously mentioned, the defeat to Köln/Cologne sent me over the edge. There’s no more Intertoto Cup as a means of qualifying for the Europa League this year (as we did in 2007/08), so unless Dortmund drops points to ‘Gladbach (unlikely, but Marko Marin says he will help Hamburg out–and in case you haven’t heard it or read it, Marin’s nearly assured summer transfer to HSV has been hijacked, by, you guessed it–FREAKING BREMEN!), we are out of European competition next season.

Both Collin Benjamin and Guy (”don’t spell my name Dimmel”) Demel stayed in Hamburg as the side travelled to Manchester Tuesday–they are still nursing thigh injuries.  A bigger question though is the availability of Alex Silva, who is rehabbing a torn hamstring. Alex Silva did not travel with the squad on Tuesday as he remained in Hamburg for a “fitness” test with the trainers. He did travel to England Wednesday, though, and is in the squad for tonight’s match. My guess is that Jol will not play our steady Brazilian with the high number of matches in the coming weeks. That and the fact that HSVII defender Kai Fabian Schulz also travelled to Manchester cements it for me that Alex Silva will not be used in anything except the most dire emergencies.

Here’s one hack’s attempt at a starting XI:

Rost

 Boateng    Gravgaard    Mathijsen    Aogo/Jansen*

 Jarolim     Aogo/Jansen*

 Trochowski    Pitroipa

 Olic    Petric

*Either Jansen or Aogo will lineup at left back and the other will line up in the midfield with Jarolim. Flip a coin if you want, but my guess is that Aogo starts at left back.

The last second loss to Stuttgart on Sunday (which I admittedly did not see) makes me think that the lads are tiring a bit, and if you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I want nothing more than HSV to play in the Champions League next season. So if something has to go, let it be the DFB-Pokal or the UEFA Cup. Let’s concentrate on the Bundesliga. With our crappy goal differential, we are essentially a point behind anyone we’re level with in the table and will need all the help we can get.

Bottom line:  City have not played well as of late, but they are very strong at home. HSV looked tired in their last Bundesliga match, and the lack of depth due to injuries will take its toll soon with the number of matches to be played in a very short amount to time. That said, HSV dominated the leg in Hamburg, and if not for the heroics of Shay Given, City would have been on the wrong end of a Barcelona-esque result (maybe 5 or 6-1).  I’ll give City credit for playing at home and their brilliant keeper could possibly steal the match. If Robinho decides to show up, he may have an impact on the result, and I don’t have word as to whether former HSV stud Vincent Kompanyreturn from injury this week. Don’t discount that a Martin Jol managed side has never, ever lost to Manchester City (6-0-0 with Spurs, 1-0-0 with HSV). Hamburg have too much for City, but City is tough at home.

SWAG prediction: 2:2, with goals from Robinho and Stephen Ireland, and Trochowski and Petric. Let’s get it on.

So decimated by injuries are Die Rothosen that Jol has called up reserve Volker Scmidt and Kai-Fabian Schulz from HSV II. Guy Demel (strained quadracep) and Alex Silva (torn hamstring) are both out. Jerome Boateng continues to recover from the flu and *should* be available.  While Paolo Guerrero (bruised ankle) and Collin Benjamin (bruised thigh) have both been adjudged to be fit and are in the squad, Jerome Boateng is suspended for the match. Guerrero will come off the bench in support of The Croatian Combination (Olic and Petric), while Benjamin may start in the midfield in lieu of Alex Silva. If Benjamin is not 100%, look for Tomas Rincon to get the nod. Marcel Ndjengs is available as well, but isn’t a viable starter.

Mikael Tavares and Albert Streit are cup tied and unavailable, although neither would likely play if they were. Good thing they are loaners because they both have, ahem, failed to impress so far. SO, here’s one guy’s shot at a lineup:

Rost

Boateng Benjamin    Gravgaard    Mathijsen    Aogo

Trochowski    Benjamin Jansen    Jarolim    Jansen Guerrero

Olic    Petric

For Citeh, there is late word today/tonight that former HSV-er Vincent Kompany is injured and did not travel with the side to Hamburg. Nigel de Jong is obviously cup tied, but did travel with the side and is looking forward to seeing his old mates. Martin Petrov and Stephen Ireland return for the Citizens, however.

Bottom line:  Hamburg are flying following the victory over TSG Saturday, but participating in 3 competitions appears to be finally taking its toll on the lads. Still, City were not impressive in their last round victory over Aalborg, needing several heroic penalty saves from Shay Givens to advance. Martin Jol has never lost to City as a manager, sporting a 3-3-0 record against them while managing Spurs (I may be a homer–that is to say, I am a Hamburg supporter–but Jol should be the manager of the year). SWAG Prediction: 2:1 Hamburg, with goals by Petric and Guerrero, and Robinho.

UPDATE: 09 April 1637 GMT:

The revised starting XI above came from the HSV web site this morning (US Central time). Here’s an alternative starting XI from the Abendblatt that makes a bit more sense than moving Jansen inside and putting the hobbled Guerrero wide:

Rost

 Benjamin    Gravgaard    Mathijsen    Aogo

Trochowski    Jarolim    Rincon    Jansen

Olic    Petric

Subs would be: Hesl, Schmidt, Schulz, Ndjeng, Torun, Pitroipa, Guerrero

The Dinosaur welcome NEC Nijmegen to the ‘Bank for the 2nd leg of the first knockout stage of the UEFA Cup. It would be too easy to call Nijmegen a punching bag or patsie or some other demeaning term, but let’s call a spade a spade–HSV rightly demolished NEC a week ago in Nijmegen, to the tune of 3-0. The three away goals give Hamburg an almost insurmountable lead going into tonight’s match, particularly in light of the fact that HSV have only lost at home once this season, the 0:1 defeat to Ajax in the Group stage of the UEFA Cup.

Tonight’s match is also the 100th match HSV have played in the UEFA Cup in their history. They bring a tidy 53-17-29 record over the years, scoring 163 and conceding 102. OK, BFD.

Who’s in, who’s out

 For HSV, Piotr Trochowski continues to suffer the effects of a stomach ailment that has kept him from training since Monday. His status can be best described as questionable. My guess is he’ll be on on the bench tonight. Guy (”don’t spell my name Dimmel”) Demel is hampered by a thigh bruise suffered Sunday versus Leverkusen, and I am guessing that BMJ will hold him out as well, so that he’s good to go for Sunday’s tilt with Wolfsburg. Stories abound this week about the debut of Venezuelan international Tomas Rincon tonight. Let’s hope so, I am eager to get a look at this guy. Two of the new players will not be making an appearance tonight as they are all cup tied: Mikael Tavares and Albert Streit. My last thought is whether Jol will get Jerome Boateng into the lineup tonight as he balances injuries with getting some of the reserve players action in a meaningful match. From what I understand, the “fight” between ‘Rome and Albert Streit came after some VERY contentious 6 v 6 play in which there was a great deal of contact. Boateng had been marking Streit and Streit let him know that he didn’t appreciate ‘Rome’s physical play. The shouting escalated to a little shoving and Jol had to intervene. He sent Boateng to the showers and Boateng faces a fine from the club, but Jol’s final comment was that these things happen from time to time and Boateng simply overreacted this time, as young players are wont to do. Given the injury to Demel, I think we see Boateng start at right back tonight. Here’s my go at the starting XI:

Rost

Boateng     Gravgaard    Mathijsen    Aogo

Rincon   Jarolim    Alex Silva   Jansen

Petric    Olic

Of note for NEC, striker Tim Janssen is out with an ankle injury.

NEC starting XI (?):

Babos

Pothuizen    El-Akchaoui    Zomer     Koenders

Radomski    Davids    Sibum    Schone

Ntibazonkiza    van Beukering

Final thought and SWAG prediction:

BMJ has been preaching to the side about not having a letdown following the huge victory over Leverkusen and the previous dismantling of NEC. That said, anything other than a victory is REALLY going to stop HSV’s considerable momentum. The way HSV are playing at the moment, it is not unreasonable (in my opinion) for them to be consider hopefuls, if not favorites, in all three competitions (DFB-Pokal, Bundesliga, UEFA Cup). Look for NEC to play fiercely and with pride, but to eventually be overwhelmed by a confident, high performing HSV. Make mine 3-1 HSV, with goals by Petric, Olic and Jarolim (I don’t know why, just a feeling). Bottoms up!

That’s right. Die Rothosen are once again top of the Bundesliga, thanks to the suddenly sturdy feet of Marcell Jansen (the with one ‘S’, right Ashiq?).  Jansen bagged a brace with goals at the 18th and 67th minutes, offset by a nice goal by Patrick Helmes in the 29th minute.

So now what? Well for starters, there’s the second leg of the UEFA Cup tie with NEC Nijmegen on Thursday. Word from the training ground is that newly acquired Tomas Rincon may start for either Piotr Trochowski (ill-stomach virus), or Guy Demel (thigh bruise). Mikael Tavares and Michael Gravgaard are cup tied and will not be playing, so that pretty much leaves Rincon to fill in. To cap off the week, Hamburg host Wolfsburg Sunday in a match that has some serious payback implications.  How could we forget the 3(!) 3-nil beatings HSV suffered in the Hinründe, the first of which was adminstered by Wolfsburg? Not sure I will ever forget those. One guy we won’t be seeing Sunday is Hamburg Offside fave Jerome Boateng.  ‘Rome came on for Guy Demel in the 60th minute, earned a yellow in the 81st and topped off a short performance with a second yellow and his hall pass to the dressing room in the 86th minute. I have been clammoring for Boateng to be playing but outings like this don’t impress BMJ.

Nijmegen come into the match 9th in the Eredivisie table on 32 point, trailing leaders Alkmaar by a whopping 25 points. NEC have not had a victory in their past 3 Eredivisie matches, but did garner a point with a 1-1 draw versus Heerenveen on Sunday, in a match that gaffer Mario Been described his squad as “under sedation.”  While a small club even by Dutch standards, NEC have proven every bit Europe worthy this season, having notched victories of Spartak Moscow on the road and Udinese during the UEFA Cup campaign. One last note on NEC:  the pitch at their ground has been kindly described as “individual blades of grass, surrounded by mud” and will pose an added challenge to a flowing side like the New and Improved HSV (under BMJ). My thoughts:  Muddy pitches are par for the course in Northern Europe this time of year and both sides have to play on the surface. Quit yer bitchin and get down to work.

NEC will be without right back Dani Fernandez, while there are varying reports that strike duo Tim Janssen and Dennis Rommedahl are in/out with ankle and hamstring injuries, respsectively.

Hamburg come into tonight’s match 3rd in the Bundesliga on 39 points, following Sunday’s victory over Bielefeld in the rain and snow. HSV have a strong record in the UEFA Cup this season, sporting a nifty 3-0-1 record in the group stages–their only loss coming at the hands of Dutch giants and Hamburg Offside fave (I’ve spent A LOT of time in Amsterdam and a village called Koog aan de Zaan) Ajax, 1-0 back on Thanksgiving (November 27). Ajax, by the way, are the only club, German or otherwise, to earn a victory at the ‘Bank in the 2008/09 campaign.

Mladen Petric is available for tonight’s match, as his suspension is limited to the Bundesliga only. Look for him to partner with Paolo Guerrero up top against NEC, as Jol tries to keep Ivica Olic fresh for Sunday’s gigantic clash with Leverkusen.

Probable lineups:

Nijmegen

Babos

 Koenders, Pothuizen, Zomer, El Akchaoui

 Sibum, Schöne, Davids

 Rommedahl, Janssen, Bouaouzan

 HSV

Rost

Demel   Gravgaard   Mathijsen   Aogo

Jarolim   Alex Silva

Trochowski   Janssen

Petric   Guerrero

Prediction:  I think HSV are in good form and NEC are not.  Despite the crappy playing surface HSV cruise with a clean sheet and set themselves up well for the round of 16. Make mine 2-0 for Hamburg.

Viewing options–In the US, this match will be on ESPN360. Alternately, you can try the ol’ P-2-P route. Here’s the link for the HSV match:

HSV come in to tonight’s match following a pretty convincing win (3:1) over the other Munich side (that’d be 1860) on Tuesday with a hat trick from Munich bound Ivica Olic. Meanwhile, the Bavarians are flying high themselves following a 5:1 demolition of VfB, in a match that wasn’t that close.

When these 2 sides last met waaaaaaay back in August, Bayern had been struggling, had a number of injuries (of particular note were Toni and Ribery) and were playing their first Bundesliga match under Jurgen Klinsmann.  Fast forward 5 months and it’s smooth sailing for Bayern, who are presently second in the 1. Bundesliga table on 35 points, have advanced to quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal, and made it through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. There’s plenty of talk of a treble in Munich these days, but I don’t see anybody knocking Barcelona off in the CL (or United for that matter. But I digress. . .).

Contrast that with HSV, who, at the time: Had plenty of their own missing men (via injury and transfer, notably VDV and a pouty Kompany, who was just returned from the Olympics); were playing their first B’liga match under Jol; and had yet to sign now-leading-scorer Petric.  The match ended 2:2 with Hamburg having fought back from a 0:2 deficit with goals by Guerrero and Trochowski (PK). It was a great result for a short handed Hamburg, and one we will be very fortunate to repeat tonight versus a fully-manned Bayern.

Because Olic is suspended for tonight’s match, Paolo Guerrero looks to start up front. Jan opined in a comment on the last post that BMJ prefers to have Guy Demel start at right back over Jerome Boateng (due to the former’s offensive potential), and maybe due to his history of playing against Ribery. I would like to see Marcell Jansen move to left back and replace Dennis Aogo (who was Atouba-esque, circa 2007/08, against 1860), pair new guy Marcel Ndjengs with David Jarolim in the DM,a nd put Hamburg Offside fave Jonathon Pitroipa with Piotr Trochowski on the wings. The good news is that we do now have Petric up front.

Bottom line–HSV can’t afford the poor defensive play tonight they showed at times against 1860.  I am always the optimist, but we will be fortunate to leave the pitch tonight with a draw. SWAG Prediction: 2-2, with goals from Trochowski and Petric.

•Mladen Petric is still nursing a tender calf and missed training again. BMJ expects that he’ll be ready for the DFB-Pokal match with 1860 Munich (I don’t). If he’s not good-to-go for the match, HSV are going to have to go with Jonathon Pitroipa (always a fave at The Hamburg Offside) or Paolo Guerrero (probably Guerrero).

•Alex Silva is due to return to Hamburg from Brazil today following hernia repair surgery. He is in the first week of a projected 4-week recovery period.

•A sad anniversary in the training room–It’s been a year now since Romeo Castelen injured his knee in training. Good news:  He’s finally healthy enough to train on the ball again.

•Finally, some good news from the trainers:  über stud Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is also back to training on the ball this week. Choupo-Moting, as you may recall,  suffered a knee injury (torn cartilage), had the knee surgically repaired, started rehab-ing the knee, suffered a similar injury to the same knee during the rehab process, and had that injury repaired as well. The Hamburg Offside *loves* Choupo-Moting–he’s a local kid who came up through the youth ranks and is the future face of the club.

•No news from the training room on the status of Thiago Neves. Neves suffered a thigh strain in training camp in Spain. My prepsumption, then, is that he is healthy.

•Nigel de Jong’s departure only means good things to Bastian Reinhardt’s contract negotiations. Reinhardt’s camp have been seeking a 2 year extension to his current deal. There was speculation in the Hamburg media that HSV were dragging their feet on the extension because Reinhardt is getting a little long in the tooth (he’ll be 34 in November). Due to the lack of depth on defense and in the defensive midfield presently, Reinhardt’s bargaining position is a whole lot stronger now that De Jong’s flown off to City.