Fugly

By: Chris | October 28th, 2008

That’s about the only single word in my lexicon that can describe HSV 3-0 drubbing at the hands of 1899 Hoffenheim. They were never in this one, and BMJ made some, ahem, curious decisions with his starting XI that really leave me (and others) scratching my (their) head(s).

HSV were never in this one from the get-go. Things started off poorly with Jol’s decision to play Alex Silva at central defense and move Hamburg Offside-favorite Joris Mathijsen to left back–a move with disastrous results. This daft move begs the question: Why start Alex Silva at central defense and move Mathijsen outside, where his lack of speed is a detriment? Why not start Dennis Aogo or Jerome Boateng at left back and leave the invaluable Mathijsen inside where he is one of the best central defenders in Europe (as witneessed by his outstanding performance in the Euro and his tremendous record in the Bundesliga)? Kicker.de asks the same question here. I still cannot figure out what Jerome Boateng has done (or not done) to get himself out of the starting XI. Dude was money last year. . .

Final comments on the Hoffenheim match: I think we’ve seen with Hoffenheim’s complete dismantling of HSV that they are a contender for the league title and are not to be taken lightly. For a newly promoted side, they have played competitive matches versus Bundeliga giants Stuttgart (0:0 draw), Dortmund (4:1 victory), Bremen (5:4 defeat) and Hamburg, with only the 5:2 defeat to Leverkusen the only splotch on an otherwise stellar record. December will make-or-break for Hoffenheim as they play Bayern away and Schalke at home on consecutive weeks. Oh, and HSV were shit.

All parties involved in the debacle for HSV are desperate to put this fiasco behind them as they prepare for a mid-week visit from Vfb Stuttgart. People are not making excuses, either. To a man, when asked by reporters whether Thursday UEFA Cup match away to Zilina had worn them down, those interviewed responded they have been playing in European competition for 3 consecutive seasons and should be conditioned to the number of matches and travel. One point everyone interviewed has made was that following the 3:0 thrashing by Wolfsburg on Matchday 5, HSV went on a three match unbeaten streak and are hopeful confident HSV can go on another such tear. BUT the two victories in said streak came against relegation strugglers Bundesliga bottom-feeders Cottbus and Monchengladbach. The fixtures list does HSV some favors. The next 3 Bundesliga matches for Hamburg are: Stuttgart (home), Hannover (away), Dortmund (home). All three matches are entirely winnable. Or so it would seem.

Stuttgart come into Wednesday’s match fresh off a 2-0 away victory over Bochum on a brace by Super Mario Gomez. Stuttgart are winners of 2 of their last 3 matches in the Bundesliga, having victories over Bremen (4:1) and Bochum sandwiched around a loss to Hertha (1:2). Stuttgart have defeated HSV 4 out of the last 5 matches, with Hamburg’s sole victory coming last October at home (4:1). In the last 10 matches between the sides played in Hamburg, HSV have won 7, drawn 1 and lost 2, scoring 23 goals while conceding 14.

Jan Simak and Yildiray Basturk are on the injury list for the visitors, while HSV continues to have injury woes. Nigel de Jong and Marcell Jansen are out with knee injuries. Thimothee Atouba is gone for the season. Paolo Guerrero is still out rehabing a calf injury, which now seems to be more serious than first reported. Good news: Thiago Neves has trained this week and is better than questionable for the match (will likely be available).

Fearless Prediction:

In the spirit of the World Series (of baseball), I’m swinging for the fences and predict a 2:1 HSV victory. Don’t ask me why.

NEWS and NOTES:

•As you may have already heard, La Liga side Valencia are reportedly interested in half of the Crotian Combination–that being Ivica Olic. Olic has repeatedly expressed his desire to finish his career with HSV and he and his family have gone so far as to build a house and make Hamburg their permanent home. HSV had been holding off on negotiating an extension to Olic’s contract (which expires in May 2009) while the manager search was on-going (a la Frank Rost). Now that Jol has been in place for several months and Olic looks to be a large part of the team’s plans this season, talks have stalled. And Olic, who was desperate to get an extension from HSV, is now open to going to another club next season and refuses to discuss the matter any longer with reporters. Yikes. Don’t screw this one up. We’ve locked up Rost and Mathijsen, now we need to lock up another of the team core, Olic. This guy has done absolutely nothing but put his heart and soul into every second of every match he’s played for HSV. Sign him. NOW.

•Speaking of contract extensions, there is a story in the MoPo over the weekend where Dietmar Beiersdorfer states that injured defender Thimothee Atouba will be given a one year contract extension with the same wages he earns under the current deal.

•An insightful interview with Alex Silva following the Hoffenheim match. In the interview, Silva reveals that the whole team were crap in the first half (versus Hoffenheim) and that he is not a scapegoat, despite the fact that he has been on the pitch for both 3:0 defeats this season. The same article tries to get Silva’s reaction to a more permanent move to the midfield (where he played the 2nd half versus Hoffenheim and played pretty well).

•News Tuesday that Jol’s hairbrained experiment with Mathijsen at left back is over and that Dennis Aogo will get this shot. What I really got out of this article was that Jol somehow doesn’t believe that Jerome Boateng posseses the size to play left back. WTF?