HSV competed well for much of the game but ended up with a 3-0 defeat against league leaders Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night. The euphoria, emerging after two wins at the start of the season that saw Hamburg top of the table for one night, has started to wane. Three defeats in succession has witnessed the team from the Hanseatic city slip down to eleventh place in the table. A position that would have been more than satisfactory at the end of last season and could indicate the possibility of a campaign without major worries – a situation HSV have sought for years.
Less than two weeks after the transfer window closed, HSV were forced to react. The reason: Injuries to Filip Kostic, Aaron Hunt and Nicolai Müller who were supposed to play together behind centre forward Bobby Wood in Markus Gisdol's ideal first eleven. Hamburg responded immediately by awarding a one-year deal to out-of-contract Sejad Salihovic. The former Hoffenheim player and renowned set piece specialist has been brought in to fill a gap in the HSV midfield. The key players in the squad are, in addition to Salihovic and Wood, the two former Germany internationals Lewis Holtby and André Hahn, whose return to the Hanseatic city after a seven-year absence was the marquee signing of the summer. At the back, the HSV coach Gisdol has great trust in central defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos who has now signed permanent terms after being on loan from Bayer 04 last season.
The loss of Kostic and Müller, whose pacey individual moves consistently posed a threat in the past, has hit the Hamburg attack hard. The last three matches have not only brought HSV just one point but they have also failed to score. Not a record that will pacify the unsettled atmosphere in the North German metropolis particularly after the season began with an unbelievable exit from the DFB Cup away to third division Osnabrück – The club have suffered from that background for several years and have been unable to improve the performances on the pitch to a sustainable level.
There is a question over the financial injections provided by patron Klaus-Michael Kühne: HSV are in the process of reorganising their structures and way of working. Away from continual changes in personnel to consistency and trust in the current squad and management. If that succeeds then the chances are good of leaving behind the permanent sporting crisis of the recent past, given the passion of the fans, the good infrastructure, attractive location and numerous impressive, potential partners.
If at all possible, the aim this term is to avoid the supporters having to worry about staying up right to the end of the season. In Markus Gisdol, HSV have a coach who is able to take on this challenging task with the necessary calm and experience in battling relegation. With the available quality of the squad, Hamburg should be able to hold onto their unique status as the only original member still in the Bundesliga in spite of the possibility of further turbulence in this campaign.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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