•Jerome Boateng made the trip to Glasgow but will not play–he twisted his knee in training on Tuesday and is aiming to be ready for Sunday’s match versus Schalke. Look for David Rozehnal to start in his place. Kai-Fabian Schulz has been recalled from HSV II to provide depth on the bench.

•Bruno is adamant about staying with his 4-4-2 formation, and is considering starting speedster Jonathon Pitroipa (a Hamburg Offside fave) up front with Berg. I think he stays with Tunay Torun.

•If this blog is a primary source of your HSV news, you probably didn’t see this, but Romeo Castelen injured his left knee, AGAIN. This is the same knee that has been surgically repaired twice in the last 16 months, and now Romeo is worried that his career may be over. He is waiting for the pain and swelling to subside before deciding whether to have the knee operated on again. My hope is that he will be able to play following rest and strengthening, but it does not look good at this point. Too bad, too, Castelen is fast and talented when he is on the pitch, but sadly that hasn’t been the case for nearly a year and a half.

•Bild opines that the only person who can save HSV now is . . . (wait for it) . . . VDV! And really, they make some good points. Rafa is a skilled enough finisher to play up front with, or just behind, Berg; he is already familiar with the team and the Bundesliga; he needs to play regularly to maintain his position on the Dutch national team heading into WC2010; and most importantly,  Real have not yet finished paying his transfer fee. The drawback–Berndt Hoffman says the treasury is empty and that we can’t take on his wages. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d love to have him back. BUT, Mladen Petric *should* be back by January, and Paolo Guerrero *should* be back in February, and really there is a chemistry now with HSV that I don’t want to mess with. I have this uneasy feeling that bringing back Van der Vaart would somehow spoil what looks to be a team of destiny (right now). Who knows? Maybe the wheels will fall off the cart by December and we’ll be counting the days until his triumphant return. . .

•Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but the other name kicked around (pretty often, too) for a possible winter transfer is Martin Petrov of Manchester City.

•Bild (I know, I know) has a  lineup posted that might just be crazy enough to work. Something like this if you can’t see the link:

Rost

Demel  Rozehnal  Mathijsen  Aogo

Ze’ Roberto      Jarolim

Pitroipa   Trochowski   Elia

Berg

Me? I think we see something like this:

Rost

Demel  Rozehnal  Mathijsen  Aogo

Trochowski   Ze’ Roberto  Jarolim  Elia

Torun  Berg

Thoughts?

Bottom line:

The defense has been playing very well in front of Rost, who was a stone wall versus Leverkusen, especially late in the game.  In the match versus Hapoel, Torun and Berg showed some chemistry and worked very well together. Bruno is adamant about keeping width in the midfield and for good reason–it’s worked. Despite the fact that Celtic are a bit off the pace in the SPL, Scottish football in general is getting a bad rap these days, and as a result *only* 40,00o tickets have been sold, Parkhead is never an easy place to play. But we have played in difficult away matches before (the 2007/08 UEFA Cup at The Maksimir in Zagreb versus Dinamo immediately leaps to mind). Celtic are struggling, but not really–the expectations are exceptionally high at Parkhead–and are a challenge to anyone at home. I will be very interested to see the attack now that Berg is The Man from here on out. If he and Torun can recapture the magic they displayed against Hapoel, I think we’ll be fine and take 3 points. But Celtic aren’t Hapoel Tel-Aviv. If the attack doesn’t get going, I think we’re lucky to get a result. My SWAG prediction:  2:1 to the HSV.

]]> http://hamburg.theoffside.com/team-news/europa-league-hsv-v-celtic-preview.html/feed 3 http://hamburg.theoffside.com/team-news/the-mountain-commeth.html http://hamburg.theoffside.com/team-news/the-mountain-commeth.html#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:35:56 +0000 Chris http://hamburg.theoffside.com/team-news/the-mountain-commeth.html The “Mountain” is a nickname given to a certain transfer target, who finally inked a five year deal after protracted negotiations over the fee to his former club. I, for one, am pretty keen on seeing this cat in the HSV strip this fall.

Meet Marcus “the Mountain” Berg, ex- of FC Groningen of the Eredivisie, and newest member of HSV. The story broke Friday evening (European time) by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Berg’s arrival was announced on the German part of the HSV website, but not the English version (Time out:  If anyone associated with the club reads this stupid blog, how about keeping the English version of the club site up to speed with the German side? Is that asking too much?) If you have been following this story, you know that Berg is a true goal scorer, and in the mold of a KJH–equally deadly with his head and his feet. In the past two seasons for Groningen, Berg has tallied 32 goals in 56 Eredivisie matches. Not too shabby.

You know what else is nice? Scooping somebody else for a change, instead of being owned by other Bundesliga bloggers. So I got that goin’ for me. Which is nice.

Next up is to sign another defender and the two names which continue to come up are Philippe Senderos of Arsenal and Rasmus Bengtssen of Trelleborg (Sweden). I’d put my money on Bengtssen if I were a wagering type.

Also, there has been some scuttlebut that VDV *may* be on his way back to Hamburg, and those same stories are quick to point out that the lovely and talented Sylvie has been pushing him for such a move. HSV are even said to be trying to track down a wealthy benefactor to foot the bill for such a move so as not to jeopardize the financial solvency of the club. The problem is not the transfer fee, though, but Rafa’s €4M+ wage packet. Hoffman has said there is no money to bring in VDV, but he is our Prodigal Son and I know that many HSV supporters would welcome him back with open arms.

The Europa League draw was this morning and we ended up with the winner of FK Suduva (Lithiuania) or Randers FC (Denmark). Third round qualifying takes place July 30 (away) and August 6 (home).  Randers won the first leg 0:1 yesterday.

Final thought–Bruno has decided to pick his own captain, which leaves David Jarolim in a tight spot. Jaro is on the wrong side of 30 and plays a position where we have a WHOLE lot of depth (Ze Roberto, Rincon, Tavares, and maybe even Lorik Cana)–is he expendable at this point or am I reading too much into the situation?

Sylvie van Der Vaart, the lovely and talented TV-presenter-wife of our boy Rafa, recently underwent surgery for breast cancer. Sylvie’s prognosis for recovery and cure is good, as the cancer was detected in its early stages. As part of her treatment protocol, she will need to undergo a course of chemotherapy this summer.

I hope that I speak for all HSV supporters (and citizens of Hamburg) when I say that I wish Sylvie the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.  Of course, this news allows the Hamburg Offside to post more pictures of our favorite WAG . . .

By the way, the comment I have been trying to vet was on a radio report that HSV had signed Twente striker Eljero Elia . . .

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.

That’s all well and good, but what should HSV do with the dough? I’d love to hear your comments on:

•Replacement for De Jong. The name we continue to hear is Mark van Bommel of Bayern, but lately we also are hearing Christian Paulsen of Juve, *and* newly trialed Marcel Ndjengs (formerly of ‘Gladbach). The old Demy de Zeeuw rumor from the fall doesn’t appear to have any legs, so I don’t know what to make of it. Personally, I’d love to see Van Bommel.

•Replacement for Olic. My good friends at the Abendblatt say that Serb striker Milan Jovanovic of Standard Liege would be a good fit and is available for around €7M. I have *no* idea on this one.

•Any other moves before the 30 January match at the ‘Bank with Bayern. I think we need some additional depth on defense. When Alex Silva comes back, he may take De Jong’s spot (he was outstanding there while De Jong was rehabbing his knee) and we may be looking for more defense. There is another rumor swirling around that Rafael van der Vaart may be coming back to the fold, but it wouldn’t be until this summer.

Bear in mind that Alex Silva is out until approximately the first week of February and that Atouba is done for the year.

Bayern’s own Mark van Bommel (Angela’s favorite). Martin Jol thinks the world of Dutch players, especially Dutch internationals (after all, he already has 2–De Jong and Mathijsen–and needs to replace the one he lost-Van der Vaart) and thinks even more of Van Bommel’s leadership qualities.  But he’s not allowed to comment on players currently under contract to other sides. And BMJ is not the only Dutch gaffer interested. Seems that Fred Rutten and Schalke and our old buddy Huub and PSV have their sights set on Mark when he becomes available.

For his part, MVB is saying all the right things–how he’s meeting with Rummenigge and Hoeness in January to discuss his future with the club and that right now, he’s under contract with Bayern and devoted to the side. Privately, this article states, he wants out of Munich. Fast. This story also speculates that a move may come as soon as January.

Would he be a good fit at HSV? I think so. The guy is unquestionably talented. Where would he play? In the near term, probably in De Jong’s spot; long term, probably in Jarolim’s midfield spot. And he is a leader–firey, vocal, demonstrative–something HSV haven’t had since my beloved VDV hit the bricks. BUT, the guy is 31. So he’s good for–what–3 more years? This is an interesting developement that bears monitoring as we draw closer to the winter break.

For those of you who speak German, there is also a pretty cool quiz about HSV on the Welt site. If you don’t speak German, you can use a translation tool to translate the questions, but be forewarned–you can’t translate the whole page (at least I couldn’t using Google translations), so I copied the questions to the text translator and did it that way. I won’t tell you how I scored.

Hertha, much like Hannover,  have Die Rothosen’s number in Berlin. Witness:  In the previous 10 matches played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Hamburg have zero–ZERO–victories, 2 draws and 8 defeats, scoring 7 goals while conceding a whopping 31(!). Interestingly, one of the draws came this past April, a thrilling (ha!) nil-nil affair. That match was the closest Hamburg have been to winning in Berlin in 10 years. In a match where 5 HSV regulars were suspended, including Rafael van der Vaart, David Jarolim, and Vincent Kompany, the key play was the missed PK by Ivica Olic.  

Hertha come into Saturday’s match fifth in the Bundesliga table on 21 points, with an overall record of 6 victories, 3 draws and 3 losses, and a home record of 3 wins, 2 draws and a single defeat (to Cottbus[?!]). They have impressive 1:0 victories over Leverkusen and Hoffenheim. Leading scorers so far are Liverpool loaner Andriy Voronin and Marko Pantelic (3 goals apiece). Hertha come off a huge win last week with a 1:0 result at home versus (then) table-toppers Hoffenheim.  Pantelic is probable for the match, having suffered a thigh injury in the Hoffenheim match. Things are really looking pretty good in Berlin right now.

Hamburg are coming off a decent, if unspectacular, showing versus Dortmund with a 2:1 victory. Both sides of the Croatian Combination scored–Petric in the 9th minute and Olic in the 33rd. The story was once again a tale of two halves with HSV dominating play in the first half and reeling in the second. The lack of focus for a complete 90 minutes continues to plague Hamburg, and has been their downfall (especially in the first half) of their three 0:3 defeats on the road this season. For Hamburg to get a result this week, they need to play a strong first half and follow it with a focused second half. Mladen Petric continues to showcase the value of his transfer with 4 goals in league matches (6 in all competitions), with his strike partner Olic also having tallied 4.

The injured list is starting to clear out, with Nigel de Jong and Marcell Jansen both having trained all week, and are expected to play. De Jong should start, sending Alex Silva back to the defense from De Jong’s spot in the midfield. This should necessitate either Bastian Reinhardt or Joris Mathijsen (he of a new 4 year contract extension) going to the bench. My guess is that it will be Reinhardt who sits this week. Guy “don’t spell my name Dimmel” Demel returns and likely starts at right back, displacing ex-Hertha junior Jerome Boateng. Glass Joe Jansen is fit to play, and should start at left back, sending Dennis Aogo to the pine. The enigma that is Thiago Neves has also recovered from a stomach virus that plagued him for the better part of a week and is on the roster for the trip to Berlin. Paolo Guerrero has been training hard trying to regain his form, but there is no indication as to whether he or Neves will start behind Petric on Saturday. And finally, a fond “Welcome Back” to Romeo Castelen, who has recovered enough from 2 arthroscopic knee procedures to begin training this week. It remains to be seen whether he will make the roster for the Hertha match (probably not). So here’s my stab at a possible starting lineup:

                       Rost

 Demel   Silva   Mathijsen   Jansen

            De Jong   Jarolim

Trochowski   Guerrero   Olic

                        Petric

And after all that, I came across an article on Mopo which says that Jansen is not fit to start (Aogo stays in), and that BMJ may go with more defensive tactics, starting Colin Benjamin at midfield, supplanting Piotr Trochowski (?). Here’s what that lineup would look like:

                        Rost

 Demel   Silva   Mathijsen   Aogo Jansen

         Benjamin  De Jong   Jarolim

Trochowski   Guerrero   Olic

                        Petric

So what to make of this? Frankly, I would rather have Trochowski and Olic wide supporting Petric and sit Guerrero/Neves if BMJ wants to go with a more defensive look. I don’t think you want to EVER willingly sit your best player, and let’s face it, Guerrero is, ahem, a little off his game.

BOTTOM LINE:  If BMJ goes defensive, I like a 1:1 draw or maybe, just maybe, a 2:1 victory for Die Rothosen; if he sticks with his “regular” starting XI, I foresee bad things–maybe 2:3 for Hertha.

Lots of news this week regarding some of the younger names at Hamburg. Belarus international Anton Putsilo has been training with Lokomotiv Moskow and will likely join them during the January transfer window, when his loan deal from Dynamo Minsk is up. Loan deals are being examined also for Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Macauley Chrisantus (more reluctantly) and Anis Ben-Hatira. These guys are all very good prospects and when players like Jerome Boateng aren’t getting PT anymore, what are the young guys’ chances?

The really big story in the Hamburg papers is the HSV board of directors election, coming up in January. The crux of the matter is that there is a sizeable contingent of supporters who want to see Berndt Hoffman ousted as chairman of the club, and there are a couple of candidates who are wooing these votes to get themselves elected to the board and get Hoffman out. More next week.

•I have been continually questioning Jerome Boateng’s absence from the starting XI, especially in light of the injuries to Thimothee Atouba and Marcell Jansen. Well, I guess we have our answer:  BMJ has “Big plans with him, which he knows well. . .” Jol says that because he has Trochowski on the right side in the midfield, he feels that he needs to play Guy Demel at right back.  OK, but what about left back? As many readers of this blog may or may not already know, despite all of my travel to Germany, I still speak very little German. So I didn’t catch the last bit in the linked article above about why Jol feels that Boateng can’t play left back, and the phrases used don’t translate well either. Can somebody help a brother out?

•As previously noted, Nigel de Jong and Glass Joe Marcell Jansen (OK-the Glass Joe reference comes from a video game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, circa 1989. Glass Joe was the first opponent in a game called “Mike Tyson’s Punchout,” and as his name suggests, he was quite frail and easily knocked out. Kinda like Jansen. But I digress. . .) returned to training this week and Jansen is set to go for Saturday’s match at The ‘Bank versus Dortmund. De Jong and the team medical staff will make a decision on his status following Thursday’s training session. I have mentioned that matches versus Dortmund in Hamburg have a special place in my heart, and I am praying that HSV feel the same way. Their record at home in the Bundesliga–4 victories, 1 draw, zero defeats, 9 goals scored and 4 conceded–this year suggests that they should be able to pull it off . . .

•Seems that Frank Rost is tired of getting goals scored on him but that he was largely to blame for 2 of the goals (the first 2) versus Hannover. BUT, he also decries the fact that HSV suffers from a collective loss of focus in road games.

•It seems that Jol is starting to lose patience with Thiago Neves’ lack of progress adjusting to the Bundesliga. Neves has only come on at as late substitute in the matches versus Leverkusen and Köln back in September. Jol says that the Neves he sees right now is not the same Neves he saw in Brazil. Jol points to Alex Silva as an example of what it takes to get into the starting XI.

•Jol discusses the state of the nation in an interview with Bild. He states that he has considered changing his tactics by putting a more defensive player in the midfield, but that there is no one on the bench who could fulfill that role who is more talented than Piotr Trochowski, Mladen Petric or Paolo Guerrero.

He also states that Bastian Reinhardt and Joris Mathijsen had really bad games versus Hannover and Hoffenheim respectively. And he lastly declares that the defense must be more mobile and push forward more. I agree with the first point and COMPLETELY disagree with the second. Regardless, look for Alex Silva to start taking more starts in the central defense, probably for Mathijsen. I’m thinking that Mathijsen may have a case of dead legs, given that he played approximately 50 matches for HSV last season, plus Euro qualifiers for Holland, then Euro matches for Holland, then had a WHOLE month off before the start of the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup runs.

•Former gaffer Huub Stevens weighs in saying the side is just as good as last season (less VDV) and that HSV has added more talent. He just doesn’t know what the problem is. In the same vein, Jol questions whether the tactic of sending four players forward negatively affects the pressure on the defense, particularly compared to last season when only VDV and Guerrero were going forward.

•And speaking of Van der Vaart, what the hell’s happened in Madrid? Since his hattrick versus Sporting Gijon, Rafa’s been on the bench for the most part. He’s really been getting it in the Spanish sporting papers, particularly following a crucial error in the last La Liga match versus Almeria. We’ll see if he gets in the match tonight versus Juventus.

The club addressed the loss of goal-scoring production from Rafael van der Vaart by trading for Mladen Petric of Dortmund on 17 August.

They filled the hole in central defense created by Kompany’s departure with Alex Silva of São Paolo.

They attempted to add depth to the defense by going after left back Luciano Monzon of Boca Juniors, and when their target was hijacked by another side, they quickly and decisively switched their focus to another young talent, Marcell Jansen of Bayern.

And finally, they are adding a true number 10, a creative midfielder to fill VDV’s rather sizeable shoes. Hamburg supporters, I give you Thiago Neves of Brazilian side Fluminense. Neves is considered somewhat of a late bloomer by Brazilian standards but does hold the rare distinction of having scored a *hat trick* in a major cup final (the 2008 Copa Libertadores), but his supreme efforts were unable to lift Flum past all-time underdog LDU Quito of Ecuador (one commenter posted that LDU winning the Copa was like a team from Belgium winning the Champions League, it was that big an upset).  Neves also bagged a brace at the Olympics in Brazil’s 3-0 victory over hosts China. He is known for his endurance, his pace and his accurate long passing. What’s not to love? 

This is it folks. HSV have ponied up the dough and are serious about mounting a challenge for the CL next season. Even if we don’t get rid of Atouba (and as much as I don’t like the guy, keeping him makes some sense for the purpose of depth in the back), this is a strong side. To quote Bundesliga Meister Jan:

Hamburg:

-van der Vaart

-Kompany

-Zidan

-Atouba(?)

+Petric

+Alex Silva

+Marcell Jansen

+Thiago Neves

+Jonathon Pitroipa

= Stronger HSV? 

Ja, Jan, I do agree.

Hamburg escaped with their pride in tact with a 3-1 victory over Ingolstadt in their opening match of the DFB Cup. Ivica Olic continued with the hot foot, scoring a pair of goals a mere 3 minutes apart (51′ and 54′). Match reports say that HSV got off to, ahem, a rather sluggish start, and they trailed 1-0 after 33 minutes. They were a new team upon returning from the dressing room though, and controlled play most of the second half. Good that they got a victory, but Bayern will not let them off the hook like Ingolstadt did. Paolo Guerrero tacked on an insurance goal in injury time to finish off the scoring.

•Hamburg need to replace Van der Vaart’s production, and they aren’t going to do it with Piotr Trochowski alone. 

•David Jarolim is the new captain.  Frank Rost had been the captain for the Emirates Cup matches, but BMJ decided he wanted a player in the field to be captain. Pardon the pun, but frankly, I thought Rost was a better choice.

•Vincent Kompany’s trip to the Olympic Games was short. He played the match with Brazil, got a pair of yellow cards for his troubles, sat out Belgium’s match versus China as a result and hopped a plane back Hamburg per the Belgian FA’s agreement with HSV. BUT, it seems that Vince wasn’t ready to head home just yet. It also appears that young Mr. Kompany has pushed his new manager too far and may be available for sale, even this summer.  Uh-oh.

•Timothee Atouba is being sought by “2 or 3″ English clubs, and Celtic is still one of them (even though they’re Scottish, not English). Apparently (and I say apparently because I did not see the match) Atouba was back to his atrocious ol’ ways Saturday versus Ingolstadt. He had played solidly, if unspectacularly, in the Emirates Cup and raised his profile on the transfer market. His agent says he is planning on his client playing at HSV this year. You all know how I feel on this subject.

•Newly acquired midfielder Dennis Aogo missed the DFB Cup match with FC Ingolstadt with a leg-muscle tear in his right Gluteus Maximus. He will be out from 2 to 6 weeks and will also miss the Bundesliga season opener at Bayern.

•News today that HSV are looking to sign Lens midfielder Nenad Kovacevic.  Nice player who tallied a grand total of ZERO goals each of the last 2 seasons with Lens. Good thinking–replace a guy who scored 29 goals in 70+ games with a guy that has scored zero in a similar number of games in a lesser quality league. The bad(?) news–Jueventus are also interested in him. His price is said to be in the €4-5m range.

•Here’s a rumor bound to make some of the readership happy–Hamburg are looking to pry striker Mido away from English Premiere side Middlesbrough. Mido played for HSV manager Martin Jol at Tottenham, and Jol is confident he can get the most out of the mecurial Egyptian. Jol has really done the trick with Mohamed Zidan. No way Mido replaces all  of Van der Vaart’s production, but this ceratinly is a step in the right direction. Unlike that Kovacevic business . . .