2nd league
Baumgart on HSV ambitions: “Not here because I’m a fan”
Steffen Baumgart is the new coach of Hamburger SV. photo
© Gregor Fischer/dpa
Steffen Baumgart is the new coach of Hamburger SV. He approaches the task at the club he loves with passion – and with high goals.
“I’m not here because I’m a fan,” said the 52-year-old. “There was good work here before, now we hope we can continue it.” The promotion should come “ideally this year”.
Baumgart now works at the Herzensverein from his childhood. “I have often emphasized that this is a special club for me,” he said. Sports director Jonas Boldt said Baumgart was a “coach who brings a lot of passion.”
On Tuesday, HSV announced the signing of the former Cologne coach. He is supposed to lead the recently floundering promotion candidate back into the Bundesliga at the sixth attempt. In the afternoon he stood on the training ground at the Volksparkstadion for the first time and led the first unit.
Baumgart was considered a preferred candidate among HSV fans after coach Tim Walter left last week. In 2019, the Rostock native led SC Paderborn into the Bundesliga. After almost two and a half years as coach of 1. FC Köln, the relegation-threatened Rhinelanders announced Baumgart’s departure in December.