A tangent can be made for almost every former professional footballer at Hamburger SV, which does not make the traditional club, which was once relegated and now established as a second division, look bad. This is also the case with striker Luca Waldschmidt: In May 2017, he moved into the HSV pantheon because he scored a winning goal in a “non-relegation thriller” on the last match day that kept HSV in the league. This HSV, always blessed by Fortuna, could never slip into second class, was a common prophecy at the time. But that’s mostly how it works with predictions for the future: It turns out very differently.
The fact that the two parties are now quite far apart was confirmed by a transfer report on Sunday: Waldschmidt, 25, is going to VfL Wolfsburg, who is looking forward to the Champions League draw on Thursday, while HSV is not in the second division Place comes. For Waldschmidt’s services, the factory club paid twelve million to the Portuguese record champions Benfica Lisbon, for whom the striker scored twelve league goals last season. “Luca has already proven that he is a very dangerous attacking player who can be used in any attack position and is therefore very flexible,” said VfL sporting director Marcel Schäfer about the obligation of the left footer. This closes the circle, so to speak. The striker scored against Wolfsburg in the much-acclaimed header in Hamburg, which should open up a great HSV career for him.
Waldschmidt once called the Gazzetta dello Sport “il bomber”
“I thought the gate could open the door to a certain extent,” Waldschmidt once said in retrospect about his time at HSV. However, the door was slammed in his face, which in retrospect turned out to be one of the many misjudgments that Hamburgers made and still do. For those who were sorted out at the time, however, it was probably the decisive turning point: In 2018, Waldschmidt moved from the turbulent HSV to tranquil Freiburg for five million euros and found the ideal conditions there under coach Christian Streich to take the so-called “next step” as a footballer.
Waldschmidt showed his potential at the U21 European Championship 2019 in Italy, where he was top scorer with seven goals. the Gazzetta dello Sport christened him “il bomber” – a commendation that arouses worldwide associations with the recently deceased Gerd Müller. But that was of course not the reason why Waldschmidt was now considered a beacon of hope for the German national team, which has been looking for a “nine” for some time. The now adopted national coach Joachim Löw granted Waldschmidt seven missions, in which the striker was able to convince. Waldschmidt had hoped for the decisive leap from his engagement in Lisbon.
Waldschmidt was not too popular with Benfica coach Jorge Jesús
Waldschmidt moved to the Stadion des Lichts in 2020 after two successful years in Breisgau, allegedly for a transfer fee of 15 million euros. When he moved to Wolfsburg, the sum is now slightly lower, with all ancillary costs – for example the possible agency fees – not being paid by the Portuguese, as it is said in Lisbon. Some interests came together. The crisis-ridden Benfica needs money, and we can hear about Waldschmidt that he was very popular – except for coach Jorge Jesús.
At Benfica he was perceived as reserved and shy, which was not least due to the fact that the Portuguese language should not have passed his lips very fluently. And even if he showed his talent, he was only first choice in 26 of the 43 competitive games he played for Benfica. In the end, Benfica was only third – nine points behind local rivals Sporting Lisbon, who won ahead of FC Porto. The mixed season was also one of the reasons that he could not play in Löw’s EM squad.
“I really wanted that,” said Waldschmidt about his return to the Bundesliga. Perhaps he was also attracted by the prospect that the new DFB coach Hansi Flick might be one of the grandstand guests at Wolfsburg home games every now and then. At the Mittelland Canal, Waldschmidt meets a solid VfL team that is currently at the top of the Bundesliga table under the new coach Mark van Bommel – another “non-relegation crime”, like the one with HSV, is no longer to be feared by the attacker for the time being . However, forecasts are considered difficult, especially if they concern the future, as Karl Valentin said and Luca Waldschmidt has learned.