Nevermind

By: Chris | April 15th, 2008

Nevermind that the Dinosaur lost to Duisburg (?!) at home Saturday. Nevermind that 4 regulars will be missing from the next match, including captain VDV. Nevermind that the side are in a complete freefall (I have had Tom Petty in my head non-stop since Saturday morning) right now, having collected exactly 2 points in their last 4 matches (and just 3 victories out of their last 13 matches) against the likes of–get this–Duisburg, Bielefeld, Stuttgart (OK-there’s no shame losing to Stuttgart away) and Wolfsburg. The loss and draw with Duisburg and Bielefeld (respectively)were particularly galling, as: 1) those 2 sides are both struggling to avoid relegation; and 2) BOTH RESULTS WERE AT HOME. Nope, nevermind. We have a match today in Berlin against Hertha.

So who’s missing for the Hertha match? It would probably take less time for me to write who’s going to make the trip. Huub Stevens is out. He is in Eindhoven with his wife, who is undergoing cancer surgery. I am sure that I speak for all HSV supporters when I say that our hopes and prayers are with the Stevens family right now. Assistant Markus Schupp will be managing the side tonight. Raphael van Der Vaart and Timothee Atouba (no big loss–did you see him against Duisburg? He was less than worthless. But I digress.) are serving 1 game suspensions for picking up their fifth yellow cards against Duisburg. David Jarolim is sitting out due to the red card he earned versus Bielefeld. Romeo Castelen is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. And lastly, Vincent Kompany has been left off the roster so that he can get his shit together (I am paraphrasing). Pretty eff’ing bleak, huh? If you are looking for a little silver lining, Juan Pablo Sorin looks to start tonight and Joris Mathijsen is back from suspension.

The Hamburg Morgenpost (Mopo) speculates that the now very public controversy surrounding the managerial search is taking its toll in the dressing room. No shit? Hmm. Some writers I know postulated that way back in January. The search is now complicated by the fact that Fred Rutten of Enschede, who at one time was a front runner for the job, is now considered likely to take over at Schalke after Mirko Slomka was sacked. The two leading candidates now appear to be Louis van Gaal of AZ Alkmaar and Gerard Houllier ex. of Liverpool/Lyon/PSG/Lens. A story here hints that Houllier has already been contacted about the job and is on the verge of accepting the position.

But nevermind the manager search. We have a match today in Berlin. Hertha aren’t exactly setting the Bundesliga on fire this season, and will be without star striker Marko Pantelic (calf injury), Steve von Bergen and Raffael (both out with thigh injuries), and Lucio (knee surgery). So who gets the nod? Let’s go with a 0-0 draw pray we don’t have to talk about another defeat.